Indigenous health: update on the impact of diabetes and chronic kidney disease

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: With respect to chronic diseases such as diabetes and its complications, indigenous populations are known to suffer from poor health outcomes in comparison with whites. The purpose of this review is to highlight recent epidemiologic and intervention studies that have occurred in the areas of diabetes and renal disease among indigenous populations. RECENT FINDINGS: The burden of diabetes is increasing among younger indigenous groups with epidemic levels of end-stage kidney disease. As dialysis therapy has contributed to prolong life among indigenous patients, cardiovascular disease has now become the leading cause of mortality in these populations. Clear preventive intervention strategies to improve rates of progression to end-stage kidney disease are not prevalent nor are they emerging over time. Access to kidney transplantation is also reduced among indigenous populations in Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada. Reasons for this disparity are unclear but likely multifactorial. SUMMARY: Diabetes and its complications have produced a health crisis among indigenous populations. The impact on healthcare systems in countries where these indigenous populations reside will be substantial unless significant efforts are made to improve diabetic renal disease outcomes in the near future.     

Literature review of type 2 diabetes mellitus among minority Muslim populations in Israel

This review surveys the literature published on the characteristics and implications of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) for the Arab andBedouin populations of Israel. T2 DM is a global health problem. The rapid rise in its prevalence in the Arab and Bedouin populations in Israel is responsible for their lower life expectancy compared to Israeli Jews. The increased prevalence of T2 DM corresponds to increased rates of obesity in these populations. A major risk group is adult Arab women aged 55-64 years. In this group obesity reaches 70%. There are several genetic and nutritional explanations for this increase. We found high hospitalization rates for micro and macrovascular complications among diabetic patients of Arab and Bedouin origin. Despite the high prevalence of diabetes and its negative health implications, there is evidence that care and counseling relating to nutrition, physical activity and self-examination of the feet are unsatisfactory. Economic difficulties are frequently cited as the reason for inadequate medical care. Other proposed reasons include faith in traditional therapy and misconceptions about drugs and their side effects. In Israel, the quality indicators program is based on one of the world’s leading information systems and deals with the management of chronic diseases such as diabetes. The program’s baseline data pointed to health inequality between minority populations and the general population in several areas, including monitoring and control of diabetes. Based on these data, a pilot intervention program was planned, aimed at minority populations. This program led to a decrease in inequality and served as the basis for a broader, more comprehensive intervention that has entered the implementation stage. Interventions that were shown to be effective in other Arabic countries may serve as models for diabetes management in the Arab and Bedouin populations in Israel.     

Intrauterine determinants of diabetic kidney disease in disadvantaged populations

Disadvantaged populations worldwide are experiencing an increasing incidence of kidney disease, much of which is attributable to diabetes. This report reviews the evidence that intrauterine exposure to growth retardation, diabetes, and vitamin A deficiency contribute disproportionately to the rising incidence of kidney disease in disadvantaged people, because they encounter these exposures more frequently than people from developed countries. These abnormal intrauterine exposures reduce nephron mass by impairing nephrogenesis, thereby increasing the susceptibility to kidney damage from diseases such as hypertension and diabetes that commonly affect disadvantaged people.     

Trends in prevalence of diabetes in Asian countries

Diabetes is a major lifestyle disorder,the prevalence of which is increasing globally.Asian countries contribute to more than 60% of the world’s diabetic population as the prevalence of diabetes is increasing in these countries.Socio-economic growth and industrialization are rapidly occurring in many of these countries.The urban-rural divide in prevalence is narrowing as urbanization is spreading widely,adversely affecting the lifestyle of populations.Asians have a strong ethnic and genetic predisposition for diabetes and have lower thresholds for the environmental risk factors.As a result,they develop diabetes at a younger age and at a lower body mass index and waist circumference when compared with the Western population.The adverse effect of physical inactivity and fatty food are manifested as the increasing rate of overweightness and obesity,even among children.The health care budgets for the disease management are meager and the health care outcome is far from the optimum.As a result,complications of diabetes are common and the economic burden is very high,especially among the poor strata of the society.National endeavors are urgently needed for early diagnosis,effective management and for primary prevention of diabetes.This editorial aims to highlight the rising trend in prevalence of diabetes in Asia,its causative factors and the urgent need to implement national strategies for primary prevention of type 2 diabetes.     

Diabetes in the elderly population

Type 2 diabetes mellitus has emerged as an important condition of older patients in which both microvascular and macrovascular complications are a common cause of morbidity and mortality. In contrast to type 1 diabetes mellitus, this endocrinopathy is clustered in minority populations and has both strong genetic and environmental factors that influence disease manifestation. A number of physiological alterations of glucose metabolism including hepatic overproduction of glucose, and reduced glucose utilization by peripheral tissues as a result of insulin resistance contribute to the development of the metabolic manifestations of this disease. Ultimately, pancreatic failure and reduced insulin secretion lead to hyperglycemia and the diabetic state. Frequently, many of these metabolic manifestations, or what has been termed Syndrome X, antecede the development of overt diabetes by many years. This syndrome is manifest clinically by such cardiovascular risk factors as hypertension, dyslipidemia, and coagulation abnormalities. This abnormal metabolic milieu contributes to the high prevalence of macrovascular complications including coronary artery disease as well as more generalized atherosclerosis. Microvascular complications have only more recently been recognized as an important and frequent complication of type 2 diabetes. Among the elderly and minority populations, this has become the single most important cause of end-stage renal failure that necessitates renal replacement therapies. The outcome for these patients on hemodialysis, the modality most frequently selected, is poor, with the majority of these patients dying of cardiovascular causes. Unfortunately, interventional strategies to reduce or prevent the microvascular and macrovascular complications have only recently received the needed attention and will require considerable effort and resources to improve the clinical outcomes and life expectancies for these patients.     

Genetic susceptibility to nephropathy in Pima Indians with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Summary: In Pima Indians, the incidence of end-stage renal disease, nearly all of which is attributable to type 2 diabetes mellitus, is more than 20 times that in the general United States population. Studies in the Pimas indicate that factors other than diabetes per se enhance susceptibility to the development of diabetic nephropathy. Aggregation of renal disease in families, a relationship between parental blood pressure and diabetic nephropathy in the offspring, and an association between higher prediabetic blood pressure and the occurrence of renal disease after the onset of diabetes all point to individual differences in susceptibility. Although clustering of environmental exposures may be responsible for these findings, they may also represent genetic transmission of susceptibility to renal disease. Recently, linkage analyses were performed in 98 diabetic sib-pairs, both affected by diabetic nephropathy. Two adjacent markers on chromosome 7 met the criteria for suggestive linkage with two-point analysis. Positioned between these markers is the gene coding for aldose reductase. Polymorphisms of this locus are associated with diabetic microvascular complications in other populations. Linkage studies provide evidence that familial aggregation of diabetic renal disease reflects, in part, genetic transmission of susceptibility that appears to be independent of the transmission of diabetes.     

Diabetes in French Guiana,adapting national standards of therapeutic education and care to the amazonian challenge

French Guiana is a territory located more than 7000 km from France. It is also the largest French territory, with almost 84000 km~2 and 90% of it is covered by forest. Some municipalities are isolated due to the scarcity of transportation and the poor road infrastructure. The population is extremely diverse ethnically and culturally, and includes more than thirty ethnic groups. Immigration is high because it is one of the richest countries in the area bordering northern Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, and as a result of socio-economic crises in some other countries such as Haiti, and it has permeable natural borders. Diabetes and obesity, are emerging issues, with double the prevalence of Mainland France, whereas infectious diseases, such as HIV, take second place. Therapeutic and educational management are challenging because they require the adaptation of tools and treatments to the multiculturalism and precariousness often encountered in these populations. The French and European recommendations are unsuited to the needs of the territory and must take into account the epidemiological, sociological and cultural parameters of these populations in order to provide appropriate and graded management of diabetes in the French Amazon.     

Management and control of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Lebanon:Results from the International Diabetes Management Practices Study Wave 6

BACKGROUND Diabetes mellitus is a worldwide public health problem associated with significant complications. There is lack of data on the quality of care of patients with diabetes, specifically among the non-Western countries. Efforts have been made in Lebanon to better study the characteristics of patients with diabetes mellitus in order to improve glycemic control and prevent late-term complications.AIM To investigate control and therapeutic management of patients with diabetes mellitus in the current medical practice in Lebanon.METHODS Wave 6 of the International Diabetes Management Practice Study in Lebanon is an international and multicenter study involving selected countries.RESULTS Only 1 patient with type 1 diabetes and 595 patients with type 2 diabetes were included in Wave 6. Average age was around 60 years, with a mean body mass index of 30. The mean fasting serum glucose was 159.42 mg/dL, and the mean glycosylated hemoglobin(HbA1 c) level was 7.98 with around 30% achieving an HbA1 c target of 7%. More patients were on oral anti-diabetic medications.Screening of diabetic complications has improved over the years. A large percentage is diagnosed with hypertension and dyslipidemia, the majority ofwhom were treated but only a small percentage were controlled.CONCLUSION Diabetes, with its associated dyslipidemia and hypertension, is still not very well controlled. Screening for diabetes complications has improved over the years.Patients need to have more proper care, and physicians need to follow diabetes guidelines, and to have a larger number of patients who have appropriate treatment of diabetes, hypertension and lipids.     

Diabetes in 2005

Worldwide the number of persons with diabetes has tripled since 1985 and this disease is increasing at an alarming rate becoming one of the major public health problems. Obviously this situation affects the developed countries following the high prevalence of obesity. But the recent data concerning the developing countries are alarming with, in some areas (North of Africa, Middle East, India, China, and Mexico), a prevalence of diabetes larger than in Europe or North America. Indeed, this huge increase is due to the poor dietary habits of these populations, the westernisation of the diet and subsequently the increased BMI. However some other environmental factors are responsible for this situation, above all, the decrease of physical activity, due to the new ways of life with both their benefits and their deleterious metabolic side effects. Type 2 diabetes is frequently associated with many components of the metabolic syndrome this explaining the frequent association with hypertension, dyslipidemias, and a high cardiovascular and renal risk (diabetes causing one third to 40% of these diseases). The prevention of diabetes by the change of the Lifestyle or if necessary some drugs become a major concern worldwide. Meanwhile the new recommendations for the treatment of diabetes tend to be more vigorous and strict (i.e. "treat earlier and stronger") trying to reach a "near normal" glycaemia, blood pressure and Lipids. The availability of new drugs and the high evidence based Levels of several trials confirm the lawfulness of these approaches.     

Alterations of bone and mineral metabolism in diabetes mellitus. Part I. An overview

A critical review of the literature leads to the conclusion that alterations of bone and mineral metabolism occur both in diabetic patients and in animals with experimentally induced insulin deficiency syndromes. The coexistence of juvenile insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (type 1) and radiological evidence of decreased bone mass (osteopenia) appears to be firmly established. Available data support the view that these patients have an increased propensity to skeletal fracture. Adult-onset, non-insulin-dependent diabetic populations, more heterogeneous as regards the type of diabetes, the therapy and the presence of complications or coexistent disease, are characterised by subpopulations with either a decreased, a normal or an increased bone mass. The pathogenesis of diabetic osteopenia is multifactorial. Data obtained from studies employing appropriate animal models of chronic insulin deficiency indicate that various metabolic and hormonal abnormalities may be involved.     

A genome-wide search for type 2 diabetes susceptibility genes in West Africans: the Africa America Diabetes Mellitus (AADM) Study

The incidence of type 2 diabetes is growing rapidly, not only in developed countries but also worldwide. We chose to study type 2 diabetes in West Africa, where diabetes is less common than in the U.S., reasoning that in an environment where calories are less abundant, incident cases of type 2 diabetes might carry a proportionately greater genetic component. Through the Africa America Diabetes Mellitus (AADM) study, we carried out a genome-wide linkage analysis of type 2 diabetes in a cohort of 343 affected sibling pairs (691 individuals) enrolled from five West African centers in two countries (Ghana: Accra and Kumasi; Nigeria: Enugu, Ibadan, and Lagos). A total of 390 polymorphic markers were genotyped, and multipoint linkage analysis was conducted using the GENEHUNTER-PLUS and ASM programs. Suggestive evidence of linkage was observed in four regions on three chromosomes (12, 19, and 20). The two largest logarithm of odds scores of 2.63 and 1.92 for chromosomes 20q13.3 and 12q24, respectively, are particularly interesting because these regions have been reported to harbor diabetes susceptibility genes in several other populations and ethnic groups. Given the history of forced migration of West African populations during the slave trade, these results should have considerable relevance to the study of type 2 diabetes in African Americans.     

Diabetic retinopathy-ocular complications of diabetes mellitus

In industrialized nations diabetic retinopathy is the most frequent microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus and the most common cause of blindness in the workingage population.In the next 15 years,the number of patients suffering from diabetes mellitus is expected to increase significantly.By the year 2030,about 440 million people in the age-group 20-79 years are estimated to be suffering from diabetes mellitus worldwide(prevalence 7.7%),while in 2010 there were 285 million people with diabetes mellitus(prevalence 6.4%).This accounts for an increase in patients with diabetes in industrializednations by 20% and in developing countries by 69% until the year 2030.Due to the expected rise in diabetic patients,the need for ophthalmic care of patients(i.e.,exams and treatments) will also increase and represents a challenge for eye-care providers.Development of optimized screening programs,which respect available resources of the ophthalmic infrastructure,will become even more important.Main reasons for loss of vision in patients with diabetes mellitus are diabetic macular edema and proliferative diabetic retinopathy.Incidence or progression of these potentially blinding complications can be greatly reduced by adequate control of blood glucose and blood pressure levels.Additionally,regular ophthalmic exams are mandatory for detecting ocular complications and initiating treatments such as laser photocoagulation in case of clinical significant diabetic macular edema or early proliferative diabetic retinopathy.In this way,the risk of blindness can considerably be reduced.In advanced stages of diabetic retinopathy,pars-plana vitrectomy is performed to treat vitreous hemorrhage and tractional retinal detachment.In recent years,the advent of intravitreal medication has improved therapeutic options for patients with advanced diabetic macular edema.     

The rise of childhood type 1 diabetes in the 20th century

The incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes increased worldwide in the closing decades of the 20th century, but the origins of this increase are poorly documented. A search through the early literature revealed a number of useful but neglected sources, particularly in Scandinavia. While these do not meet the exacting standards of more recent surveys, tentative conclusions can be drawn concerning long-term changes in the demography of the disease. Childhood type 1 diabetes was rare but well recognized before the introduction of insulin. Low incidence and prevalence rates were recorded in several countries over the period 1920-1950, and one carefully performed study showed no change in childhood incidence over the period 1925-1955. An almost simultaneous upturn was documented in several countries around the mid-century. The overall pattern since then is one of linear increase, with evidence of a plateau in some high-incidence populations and of a catch-up phenomenon in some low-incidence areas. Steep rises in the age-group under 5 years have been recorded recently. The disease process underlying type 1 diabetes has changed over time and continues to evolve. Understanding why and how this produced the pandemic of childhood diabetes would be an important step toward reversing it.     

Practical considerations for the use of SGLT-2 inhibitors in the Asia–Pacific countries—An expert consensus statement

Recent clinical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of SGLT-2 inhibitors in reducing the risks of cardiovascular and renal events in both patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus. Consequently, many international guidelines have begun advocating for the use of SGLT-2 inhibitors for the purpose of organ protection rather than as simply a glucose-lowering agent. However, despite the consistent clinical benefits and available strong guideline recommendations, the utilization of SGLT-2 inhibitors have been unexpectedly low in many countries, a trend which is much more noticeable in low resource settings. Unfamiliarity with the recent focus in their organ protective role and clinical indications; concerns with potential adverse effects of SGLT-2 inhibitors, including acute kidney injury, genitourinary infections, euglycemic ketoacidosis; and their safety profile in elderly populations have been identified as deterring factors to their more widespread use. This review serves as a practical guide to clinicians managing patients who could benefit from SGLT-2 inhibitors treatment and instill greater confidence in the initiation of these drugs, with the aim of optimizing their utilization rates in high-risk populations.     

Individualized risk management in diabetics: how to implement best practice guidelines--design and concept of the IRIDIEM studies

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is rising rapidly in all developed countries, particularly in the growing population of persons >50 years of age. As a dangerous consequence, this is accompanied by a proportionate increase in the incidence of chronic renal disease. Evidence-based medicine has shown that tight blood glucose control can delay the onset and retard the progression of diabetic complications, and while it is a challenge to closely manage the complexity of diabetes, it is more difficult to effectively treat the multiple associated comorbidities that develop. Best practice guidelines support early intervention and aggressive treatment of hypertension, hyperglycaemia, proteinuria, hypercholesterolemia, and anaemia. To date, guideline-based management has been proven to be difficult. This article describes the concept of the IRIDIEM studies. The objective of these studies is to endorse and facilitate the use of current best practice guidelines for the management of frequent comorbid diseases and established risk factors in the treatment of type 2 diabetes associated with chronic kidney disease. Additionally, IRIDIEM will assess the impact of this improved disease management model on the progression of chronic kidney disease that can result from electronically prompting clinicians with evidence-based treatment advice.     

Epidemiology of fractures in type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes affects an increasing proportion of older adults, the population that is also at elevated risk of fracture. Type 2 diabetes itself increases the risk of fracture, particularly in African–American and Latino populations. In Western countries, overweight and obesity, associated with reduced fracture risk, are highly prevalent in diabetic patients. Studies in East Asian countries that have a lower prevalence of obesity with diabetes may help to disentangle the effects of diabetes and obesity on the skeleton. Type 2 diabetes is also associated with higher bone density, and as a result standard tools for fracture prediction tend to underestimate fracture risk in this population, an important challenge for risk assessment in the clinical setting. Contributing factors to the increased fracture risk in type 2 diabetes include more frequent falls and deficits in diabetic bone, not captured by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), that are as yet not clearly understood. Recent epidemiological studies indicate that poor glycemic control contributes to increased fracture risk although intensive lowering of A1C is not effective in preventing fracture.This article is part of a Special Issue entitled “Bone and diabetes”.     

Are diabetic patients being screened for sleep related breathing disorder?

Prevalence of both diabetes mellitus and obstructive sleep apnea(OSA)is high among general population.Both of these conditions are associated with significant morbidity.OSA affects approximately 25%of men and 9%of women,and its prevalence is even higher among obese,Hispanics,African American and diabetic patients.Diabetes on the other hand besides having high prevalence in general population has even higher prevalence among ethnic populations as Hispanics and African American.Despite the availability of several simple screening tools for OSA,as Berlin questionnaire,STOP-BANG questionnaire,NAMES Criteria,the utility for screening of OSA among the diabetic population remains marginal.This in turn can lead to significant morbidity and complications related to OSA as well as worsening of diabetes mellitus and increase in diabetic complications due to untreated sleep related breathing disorder.It is therefore imperative for the primary care giver to screen for OSA among the diabetic population as a part of their routine evaluation to prevent worsening of diabetes,and its cardiovascular,renal,ophthalmologic and neurological complications.     

Lead-related nephrotoxicity: a review of the epidemiologic evidence

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) represents a major global public health concern. Efforts to prevent and/or slow progression of CKD are essential. Lead nephropathy, characterized by chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis, is a well-known risk of chronic, high-level lead exposure. However, in recent years, lead exposure has declined sharply, particularly in developed countries. We reviewed epidemiologic research in general, occupational, and patient populations to assess whether lead, at current exposure levels, still contributes to nephrotoxicity. Other pertinent topics, such as risk in children, genetic susceptibility, and co-exposure to cadmium, are also considered. The data reviewed indicate that lead contributes to nephrotoxicity, even at blood lead levels below 5 microg/dl. This is particularly true in susceptible populations, such as those with hypertension (HTN), diabetes, and/or CKD. Low socioeconomic status is a risk factor for both lead exposure and diseases that increase susceptibility. Future public health risk for lead-related nephrotoxicity may be most significant in those rapidly developing countries where risk factors for CKD, including obesity and secondary HTN and diabetes mellitus, are increasing more rapidly than lead exposure is declining. Global efforts to reduce lead exposure remain important. Research is also needed to determine whether specific therapies, such as chelation, are beneficial in susceptible populations.     

What neonatal complications should the pediatrician be aware of in case of maternal gestational diabetes?

In the epidemiologic context of maternal obesity and type 2 diabetes(T2D),the incidence of gestational diabetes has significantly increased in the last decades.Infants of diabetic mothers are prone to various neonatal adverse outcomes,including metabolic and hematologic disorders,respiratory distress,cardiac disorders and neurologic impairment due to perinatal asphyxia and birth traumas,among others.Macrosomia is the most constant consequence of diabetes and its severity is mainly influenced by maternal blood glucose level.Neonatal hypoglycemia is the main metabolic disorder that should be prevented as soon as possible after birth.The severity of macrosomia and the maternal health condition have a strong impact on the frequency and the severity of adverse neonatal outcomes.Pregestational T2 D and maternal obesity significantly increase the risk of perinatal death and birth defects.The high incidence of maternal hyperglycemia in developing countries,associated with the scarcity of maternal and neonatal care,seriously increase the burden of neonatal complications in these countries.     

Diabetes mellitus: The epidemic of the century

The epidemic nature of diabetes mellitus in different regions is reviewed. The Middle East and North Africa region has the highest prevalence of diabetes in adults(10.9%) whereas, the Western Pacific region has the highest number of adults diagnosed with diabetes and has countries with the highest prevalence of diabetes(37.5%). Different classes of diabetes mellitus, type 1, type 2, gestational diabetes and other types of diabetes mellitus are compared in terms of diagnostic criteria, etiology and genetics. The molecular genetics of diabetes received extensive attention in recent years by many prominent investigators and research groups in the biomedical field. A large array of mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes that play a role in the various steps and pathways involved in glucose metabolism and the development, control and function of pancreatic cells at various levels are reviewed. The major advances in the molecular understanding of diabetes in relation to the different types of diabetes in comparison to the previous understanding in this field are briefly reviewed here. Despite the accumulation of extensive data at the molecular and cellular levels, the mechanism of diabetes development and complications are still not fully understood. Definitely, more extensive research is needed in this field that will eventually reflect on the ultimate objective to improve diagnoses, therapy and minimize the chance of chronic complications development.