Diabetes Mellitus: the increasing burden of disease in Kenya

Abstract

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death globally and diabetes mellitus is the 4th main contributor [1]. It is characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia with disturbances of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism resulting from defects in insulin secretion, action or both [2]. There are three main types: type 1 (TIDM) (10%), 2 (TIIDM) (85%) or gestational (5%)[3] affecting 347 million people [4]. There were about 1.3 million deaths in 2008 [4] predicted to increase to over 2 million by 2030 [1]. The burden of diabetes is disproportionately high in low-middle income countries