Priyanga Ranasinghe

Prevalence and trends of the diabetes epidemic in South Asia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundDiabetes mellitus has reached epidemic proportions worldwide. South Asians are known to have an increased predisposition for diabetes which has become an important health concern in the region. We discuss the prevalence of pre-diabetes and diabetes in South Asia and explore the differential risk factors reported.MethodsPrevalence data were obtained by searching the Medline® database with; ‘prediabetes’ and ‘diabetes mellitus’ (MeSH major topic) and ‘Epidemology/EP’ (MeSH subheading). Search limits were articles in English, between 01/01/1980–31/12/2011, on human adults (≥19 years). The conjunction of the above results was narrowed down with country names.ResultsThe most recent reported prevalence of pre-diabetes:diabetes in regional countries were; Bangladesh–4.7%:8.5% (2004–2005;Rural), India–4.6%:12.5% (2007;Rural); Maldives–3.0%:3.7% (2004;National), Nepal–19.5%:9.5% (2007;Urban), Pakistan–3.0%:7.2% (2002;Rural), Sri Lanka–11.5%:10.3% (2005–2006;National). Urban populations demonstrated a higher prevalence of diabetes. An increasing trend in prevalence of diabetes was observed in urban/rural India and rural Sri Lanka. The diabetes epidemicity index decreased with the increasing prevalence of diabetes in respective countries. A high epidemicity index was seen in Sri Lanka (2005/2006–52.8%), while for other countries, the epidemicity index was comparatively low (rural India 2007–26.9%; urban India 2002/2005–31.3%, and urban Bangladesh–33.1%). Family history, urban residency, age, higher BMI, sedentary lifestyle, hypertension and waist-hip ratio were associated with an increased risks of diabetes.ConclusionA significant epidemic of diabetes is present in the South Asian region with a rapid increase in prevalence over the last two decades. Hence there is a need for urgent preventive and curative strategies .

Effects of zinc supplementation on diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The number of people with diabetes and pre-diabetes are exponentially increasing. Studies on humans have shown the beneficial effects of Zinc supplementation in patients with diabetes. The present study aims to systematically evaluate the literature and meta-analyze the effects of Zinc supplementation on diabetes. A systematic review of published studies reporting the effects of Zinc supplementations on diabetes mellitus was undertaken. The literature search was conducted in the following databases; PubMed, Web of Science and SciVerse Scopus. A meta-analysis of studies examining the effects of Zinc supplementation on clinical and biochemical parameters in patients with diabetes was performed. The total number of articles included in the present review is 25, which included 3 studies on type-1 diabetes and 22 studies on type-2 diabetes. There were 12 studies comparing the effects of Zinc supplementation on fasting blood glucose in patients with type-2 diabetes. The pooled mean difference in fasting blood glucose between Zinc supplemented and placebo groups was 18.13mg/dl (95%CI:33.85,2.41; p<0.05). 2-h post-prandial blood sugar also shows a similar distinct reduction in (34.87mg/dl [95%CI:75.44; 5.69]) the Zinc treated group. The reduction in HbA1c was 0.54% (95%CI:0.86;0.21) in the Zinc treated group. There were 8 studies comparing the effects of Zinc supplementation on lipid parameters in patients with type-2 diabetes. The pooled mean difference for total cholesterol between Zinc supplemented and placebo groups was 32.37mg/dl (95%CI:57.39,7.35; p<0.05). Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol also showed a similar distinct reduction in the Zinc treated group, the pooled mean difference from random effects analysis was 11.19mg/dl (95%CI:21.14,1.25; p<0.05). Studies have also shown a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressures after Zinc supplementation. This first comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of Zinc supplementation in patients with diabetes demonstrates that Zinc supplementation has beneficial effects on glycaemic control and promotes healthy lipid parameters. Further studies are required to identify the exact biological mechanisms responsible for these results.

Medicinal properties of 'true' cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum): a systematic review.

BackgroundIn traditional medicine Cinnamon is considered a remedy for respiratory, digestive and gynaecological ailments. In-vitro and in-vivo studies from different parts of the world have demonstrated numerous beneficial medicinal effects of Cinnamomum zeylanicum (CZ). This paper aims to systematically review the scientific literature and provide a comprehensive summary on the potential medicinal benefits of CZ.MethodsA comprehensive systematic review was conducted in the following databases; PubMed, Web of Science, SciVerse Scopus for studies published before 31st December 2012. The following keywords were used: “Cinnamomum zeylanicum”, “Ceylon cinnamon”, “True cinnamon” and “Sri Lankan cinnamon”. To obtain additional data a manual search was performed using the reference lists of included articles.ResultsThe literature search identified the following number of articles in the respective databases; PubMed=54, Web of Science=76 and SciVerse Scopus=591. Thirteen additional articles were identified by searching reference lists. After removing duplicates the total number of articles included in the present review is 70. The beneficial health effects of CZ identified were; a) anti-microbial and anti-parasitic activity, b) lowering of blood glucose, blood pressure and serum cholesterol, c) anti-oxidant and free-radical scavenging properties, d) inhibition of tau aggregation and filament formation (hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease), e) inhibitory effects on osteoclastogenesis, f) anti-secretagogue and anti-gastric ulcer effects, g) anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activity, h) wound healing properties and i) hepato-protective effects. The studies reported minimal toxic and adverse effects.ConclusionsThe available in-vitro and in-vivo evidence suggests that CZ has many beneficial health effects. However, since data on humans are sparse, randomized controlled trials in humans will be necessary to determine whether these effects have public health implications.

Efficacy and safety of ‘true’ cinnamon(Cinnamomum zeylanicum)as a pharmaceutical agent in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis: Efficacy and safety of ‘true’ cinnamon in diabetes

Diabet. Med. 29, 1480–1492 (2012)

Metabolic syndrome among Sri Lankan adults: prevalence, patterns and correlates

Metabolic Syndrome (MS) increases the risk for Coronary Artery Disease, stroke and diabetes. MS is twice more common amongst South Asian immigrants in US compared to native Caucasians. There are no nationally representative studies on prevalence of MS from any of the South Asian countries. The present study aims to evaluate the prevalence of MS among Sri Lankan adults and investigates its relationships with socio-demographic, clinical and biochemical parameters. Data on MS and its associated details were obtained from a population-based cross-sectional study conducted between years 2005–2006. MS was defined according to the International Diabetes Federation criteria. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed using the dichotomous variable MS (0 = absent, 1 = present). The independent co-variants were: gender, age category, area of residence, ethnicity, level of education, income and physical activity. Sample size was 4,485 (Response rate–89.7%), 39.5% were males and mean age was 46.1 ± 15.1 years. The crude prevalence of MS was 27.1% (95% CI: 25.8–28.5), and age-adjusted prevalence was 24.3% (95% CI: 23.0–25.6). Prevalence in males and females were 18.4% (95% CI: 16.5–20.3) and 28.3% (95% CI: 26.6–30.0) respectively (p < 0.001). Urban adults (34.8% [95% CI: 31.8–37.9]) had a significantly higher prevalence than rural adults (21.6% [95% CI: 20.2–23.0]). Among ethnic groups, the highest prevalence of MS was observed in Sri Lankan Moors (43.0% [95% CI: 37.2–48.9]). In all adults, MS was observed in those with the highest level of education and monthly household income. Prevalence of MS in the different physical activity categories of the IPAQ were; ‘inactive’–38.8% (95% CI 34.5-43.2), ‘moderately active’–33.5% (95% CI 30.9-36.1) and ‘active’–21.1% (95% CI 19.6-22.7). The results of the binary logistic regression analysis indicates that female gender (OR:1.7), increasing age, urban living (OR:1.7), Moor ethnicity (OR:2.6), secondary (OR:1.5) and tertiary levels of education (OR:2.3), monthly household income LKR 7,000–24,999 (OR:1.5) and >50,000 (OR:2.1), and physical inactivity (OR:1.6), all significantly increased risk of developing MS. MS is common among Sri Lankan adults affecting nearly one-fourth of the population. Female gender, increasing age, urban living, higher socio-economical status and physical inactivity were important associated factors.

Physical activity patterns among South-Asian adults: a systematic review

Physical activity (PA) has many beneficial physical and mental health effects. Physical inactivity is considered the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. At present there are no systematic reviews on PA patterns among South Asian adults residing in the region. The present study aims to systematically evaluate studies on PA patterns in South Asian countries. A five-staged comprehensive search of the literature was conducted in Medline, Web of Science and SciVerse Scopus using keywords ‘Exercise’, ‘Walking’, ‘Physical activity’, ‘Inactivity’, ‘Physical Activity Questionnaire’, ‘International Physical Activity Questionnaire’, ‘IPAQ’, ‘Global Physical Activity Questionnaire’ and ‘GPAQ’, combined with individual country names. The search was restricted to English language articles conducted in humans and published before 31st December 2012. To obtain additional data a manual search of the reference lists of articles was performed. Data were also retrieved from the search of relevant web sites and online resources. The total number of hits obtained from the initial search was 1,771. The total number of research articles included in the present review is eleven (India-8, Sri Lanka-2, Pakistan-1). In addition, eleven country reports (Nepal-3, Bangladesh-2, India-2, Sri Lanka-2, Bhutan-1, Maldives-1) of World Health Organization STEPS survey from the South-Asian countries were retrieved online. In the research articles the overall prevalence of inactivity was as follows; India (18.5%-88.4%), Pakistan (60.1%) and Sri Lanka (11.0%-31.8%). STEPS survey reports were available from all countries except Pakistan. Overall in majority of STEPS surveys females were more inactive compared to males. Furthermore, leisure related inactivity was >75% in studies reporting inactivity in this domain and people were more active in transport domain when compared with the other domains. In conclusion, our results show that there is a wide variation in the prevalence of physical inactivity among South-Asian adults within and between countries. Furthermore, physical inactivity in South Asian adults was associated with several socio-demographic characteristics. Majority of South Asian adults were inactive during their leisure time. These Factors need to be considered when planning future interventions and research aimed at improving PA in the region.

The prevalence, patterns and predictors of diabetic peripheral neuropathy in a developing country

Prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) has reached epidemic proportions in Sri Lanka. Presently there are studies on the community prevalence of distal peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in Sri Lanka. We describe prevalence, patterns and predictors of DPN in patients with DM in Sri Lanka. Data were collected as part of a national study on DM. In new cases DPN was assessed using the Diabetic-Neuropathy-Symptom (DNS) score, while in those with established diabetes both DNS and Toronto-Clinical-Scoring-System (TCSS) were used. A binary logistic-regression analysis was performed with ‘presence of DPN’ as the dichomatous dependent variable and other independent co-variants. The study included 528 diabetic patients (191-new cases), with a mean age of 55.0 ± 12.4 years and 37.3% were males, while 18% were from urban areas. Prevalence of DPN according to DNS score among all patients, patients with already established diabetes and newly diagnosed patients were 48.1%, 59.1% and 28.8% respectively. Prevalence of DPN in those with established DM as assessed by TCSS was 24% and the majority had mild DPN (16.6%). The remainder of the abstract is based on subjects with established DM. The prevalence of DPN in males and female was 20.0% and 26.4% respectively. The mean age of those with and without DPN was 62.1 ± 10.8 and 55.1 ± 10.8 years respectively (p < 0.001). The majority of those with DPN were from rural-areas (75.3%) and earned a monthly income < Sri Lankan Rupees 12,000 (87.6%). In the binary logistic-regression presence of foot ulcers (OR:10.4; 95%CI 1.8–16.7), female gender (OR:6.7; 95%CI 2.0–9.8) and smoking (OR:5.9; 95%CI 1.4–9.7) were the strongest predictors followed by insulin treatment (OR:4.3; 95%CI 1.3–6.9), diabetic retinopathy (OR:2.7; 95%CI 1.3–5.4), treatment with sulphonylureas (OR:1.8; 95%CI 1.1–3.2), increasing height (OR:1.8; 95%CI 1.2–2.4), rural residence (OR:1.8; 95%CI 1.1–2.5), higher levels of triglycerides (OR:1.6; 95%CI 1.2–2.0) and longer duration of DM (OR:1.2; 95%CI 1.1–1.3). There is a high prevalence of DPN among Sri Lankan adults with diabetes. The study defines the impact of previously known risk factors for development of DPN and identifies several new potential risk factors in an ethnically different large subpopulation with DM.

Prevalence and trends of metabolic syndrome among adults in the asia-pacific region: a systematic review

BackgroundThe Asia-Pacific region is home to nearly half of the world’s population. The region has seen a recent rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity, type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The present systematic review summarizes the recent prevalence and trends of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) among adults in countries of the Asia-Pacific Region.MethodsData on MetS in Asia-Pacific countries were obtained using a stepwise process by searching the online Medline database using MeSH terms ‘Metabolic Syndrome X’ and ‘Epidemiology/EP’. For the purpose of describing prevalence data for the individual countries, studies that were most recent, nationally representative or with the largest sample size were included. When evaluating secular trends in prevalence in a country we only considered studies that evaluated the temporal change in prevalence between similar populations, prospective studies based on the same population or National surveys conducted during different time periods.ResultsThis literature search yielded a total of 757 articles, and five additional article were identified by screening of reference lists. From this total, 18 studies were eligible to be included in the final analysis. Of the 51 Asia-Pacific countries (WHO) we only located data for 15. There was wide between country variation in prevalence of MetS. A national survey from Philippines conducted in 2003 revealed the lowest reported prevalence of 11.9% according to NCEP ATP III criteria. In contrast, the highest recorded prevalence in the region (49.0%) came from a study conducted in urban Pakistan (Karachchi, 2004). Most studies reported a higher prevalence of MetS in females and urban residents. Data on secular trends were available for China, South Korea and Taiwan. An increase in the prevalence of MetS was observed in all three countries.ConclusionDespite differences in methodology, diagnostic criteria and age of subjects studied, the Asia-Pacific region is facing a significant epidemic of MetS. In most countries nearly 1/5th of the adult population or more were affected by MetS with a secular increase in prevalence. Strategies aimed at primary prevention are required to ameliorate a further increase in the epidemic and for the reduction of the morbidity and mortality associated with MetS.

Waist to height ratio: A better anthropometric marker of diabetes and cardio-metabolic risks in South Asian adults

AIMS Obesity associated metabolic diseases have reached epidemic levels in many South Asian countries. Conventional anthropometric indices have poor sensitivity and specificity for detecting people with increased metabolic risks. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare WHtR (Waist to Height Ratio) as a marker of diabetes and cardio-metabolic risks with existing classical anthropometric indices such as; Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Circumference (WC) and Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR) in a large sub-population of ethnic South Asians. METHODS A total of 5000 subjects recruited from a nationally representative community-based sample using multi-stage random cluster-sampling method. Anthropometric, biochemical and clinical parameters were measured. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed and area under the curve (AUC) was calculated for each anthropometric index. RESULTS Sample size was 4485. The mean WHtR in all adults was 0.496 (±0.077), males (0.477±0.065) had a significant lower WHtR than females (0.508±0.081) (p<0.001). WHtR had the highest correlation with metabolic parameters. In all adults, males and females the AUC of WHtR was significantly higher than that of BMI, WC and WHR in diabetes mellitus, pre-diabetes, hypertension, metabolic syndrome and hypercholesterolemia. Mean age, fasting blood glucose, 2-h post prandial blood Glucose, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were all significantly higher among all adults, males and females with WHtR≥0.5. CONCLUSIONS WHtR is a simple and effective anthropometric index to identify obesity associated metabolic risks among Sri Lankan adults.

The prevalence, predictors and associations of hypertension in Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional population based national survey.

Abstract We studied the community prevalence, patterns and predictors of hypertension in a large sub-population of South Asian adults with a view of identifying differential risk factors. Data were collected between years 2005–2006 and 5000 adults were invited for the study. The sample size was 4485, and about 39.5% were males. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures were 127.1 ± 19.8 mmHg and 75.4 ± 11.3 mmHg, respectively. Age-adjusted prevalence in all adults, males and females was 23.7%, 23.4% and 23.8%, respectively. Urban adults had a significantly higher prevalence of hypertension than rural adults. In the binary logistic–regression analysis, male gender (OR: 1.2), increasing age, Sri Lankan Moor ethnicity (OR: 1.6), physical inactivity (OR: 1.7), presence of diabetes (OR: 2.2) and central obesity (OR: 2.3) all were significantly associated with hypertension. In conclusion, nearly one-third of the Sri Lankan adult population is hypertensive. Hence, public health initiatives should encourage healthier lifestyles with emphasis on preventing obesity and increasing physical activity.