Prevention and Management of Diabetes in South Asians

Abstract

South Asians, the fastest growing immigrant population and the second-largest visible minority in Canada, are 3 to 5 times more likely to have diabetes than the white population. This review discusses challenges related to the prevention and management of diabetes in the South Asian population in Canada. Several studies have suggested that, despite their generally lower body mass index, South Asians have an increased incidence of abdominal obesity, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. In addition, although the incidence of diabetes among South Asians has increased in recent decades, the majority of cases are still undiagnosed and thus poorly controlled. Suboptimal treatment of diabetes in South Asians may be due to several barriers, including a lack of knowledge about diabetes, negative beliefs and attitudes relating to diabetes, and noncompliance with lifestyle changes such as diet, weight control and physical activity, all of which are compounded by a lack of culturally sensitive and ethnic-language-specific diabetes education centres in Canada. Improved efforts toward the primary prevention and optimal management of type 2 diabetes are necessary to reduce the burden of diabetes and its complications among South Asians in Canada.