Prevalence and determinants of diabetes among older adults in Ghana

Samwel Maina Gatimu,Miguel San Sebastian,Benson Williesham Milimo

doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3845-8

Abstract

BackgroundDiabetes is one of the leading non-communicable diseases in Africa, contributing to the increasing disease burden among the old adults. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and determinants of diabetes among adults aged 50 years and above in Ghana.MethodsA cross sectional study based on data collected from Study of Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) Wave 1 from 2007 to 2008. Data was collected from 5565 respondents of whom 4135 were aged 50+ years identified using a multistage stratified clusters design. Bivariate and hierarchical multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the association of the determinants and diabetes.ResultsThe weighted prevalence of diabetes among the adults aged 50 years and above in Ghana was 3.95% (95% Confidence Interval: 3.35–4.55) with the prevalence being insignificantly higher in females than males (2.16%, 95% CI: 1.69–2.76 vs. 1.73%, 95% CI: 1.28–2.33). Low level of physical activity (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 2.11, 95% CI: 1.21–3.69) and obesity (AOR 4.81, 95% CI: 1.92–12.0) were associated with increased odds of diabetes among women while old age (AOR 2.58, 95% CI: 1.29–5.18) and university (AOR 12.8, 95% CI: 4.20–39.1), secondary (AOR 3.61, 95% CI: 1.38–9.47) and primary education (AOR 2.71, 95% CI: 1.02–7.19) were associated with increased the odds of diabetes among men.ConclusionThe prevalence of diabetes among old adults shows a similar trend with that of the general population. However, the prevalence may have been underestimated due to self-reporting and a high rate of undiagnosed diabetes. In addition, the determinants of diabetes among older adults are a clear indication of the need for diabetes prevention programme targeting the young people and that are gender specific to reduce the burden of diabetes at old age. Physical activity and nutrition should be emphasised in any prevention strategy.

Highlights

Diabetes is one of the leading non-communicable diseases in Africa, contributing to the increasing disease burden among the old adults
Old age and education were associated with higher risk of diabetes among men while low and moderate levels of physical activity and obesity were associated with higher risk of diabetes among women
The prevalence rate was lower in comparison to Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, which could be due to differences in population size, exposures to risk factors and study designs [26,27,28,29]

Summary

Introduction

Diabetes is one of the leading non-communicable diseases in Africa, contributing to the increasing disease burden among the old adults. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and determinants of diabetes among adults aged 50 years and above in Ghana. 1.9% of the global disability adjusted life years is attributed to diabetes having doubled since 1990 [1]. The prevalence of diabetes is expected to double by 2030 from 8.3 to 17.6% globally [2, 4, 5], excluding the high numbers of undiagnosed cases estimated at 175 millions [2, 6]. In sub-Saharan Africa, 21.5 million people are living with diabetes leading to approximately half a million diabetes-related deaths in 2013 [2]. The prevalence of diabetes has been estimated to be between 7.7 to 20% and 5 to 8.8% for adults aged 45 years and more in Kenya and South Africa respectively [7, 8]. More diabetic people live in urban than in rural areas [8, 9]

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