Epidemiology of microvascular complications of diabetes in South Asians and comparison with other ethnicities

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is widely prevalent in South Asians, and has a significant effect on health, as well as the economies of South Asian countries, particularly when the disease is associated with complications. There are certain characteristics associated with the South Asian phenotype that make South Asians especially prone to diabetes, as well as its complications. Microvascular complications cause considerable morbidity and mortality. There are significant differences in the epidemiology of microvascular complications between South Asians and people of other races. There is evidence of higher prevalence of nephropathy and retinopathy in South Asians compared with Caucasians; however, recent studies indicate that this trend seems to be leveling off. Importantly, diabetic neuropathy occurs less frequently in South Asians compared with Caucasians. These observations have important implications in managing South Asian patients with diabetes and microvascular complications.

Microvascular Disease in Patients With Diabetes With Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Versus Preserved Ejection Fraction

“…Furthermore, diabetic nephropathy was the most common microvascular complication compared with diabetic neuropathy in TOPCAT and BEST (4,5). Ethnicity has an important influence on the prevalence and distribution of types of microvascular complications (17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23). Asians with DM are at higher risk for developing diabetic nephropathy compared with Europeans (20,21).…”

Disease characteristics and treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus attending government health services in Indonesia, Peru, Romania and South Africa

“…Also, people living with DM in tropical countries may be at higher risk for infectious diseases . Cardiovascular complications, the leading cause of mortality and morbidity among patients with type 2 DM , may also be more common among people living with DM in LMICs , due to higher rates of smoking, and less access to cardiovascular risk assessment and management . Assessment of diabetes disease characteristics, cardiovascular risk profile and medical management of people living with DM has been undertaken in some country‐specific studies and compared across LMIC countries in Asia and sub‐Saharan Africa .…”

Elevated Squamous Cell Carcinoma Antigen, Cytokeratin 19 Fragment, and Carcinoembryonic Antigen Levels in Diabetic Nephropathy

“…Diabetic nephropathy (DN), which is defined as increased urinary albumin excretion in the absence of other renal diseases [16], has emerged as a leading cause of CKD globally [17]. According to the American Diabetes Association, DN can be categorized into stages of microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria based on the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) [16, 18].…”