Systematic review of diabetes management among black African immigrants, white and South Asian populations

Abstract

# Background This study aims to explore the differences in the management of diabetes outcomes and prevalence among black Africans, white and South Asian populations living in western countries from published evidence. This review incorporates findings from differences in diabetes management outcome among black Africans compared to white and South Asian populations. # Methods A systematic search of major electronic databases with peer review publications was conducted. PubMed, CIHNAL, Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and Science direct databases were searched from 2007-2018. Relevant journals and citations from references were searched for selection in the review. Data were analysed to understand differences in diabetes outcomes among these populations. # Results Fifteen articles met the inclusion criteria out of the sixty-six articles retrieved and included in the review. Majority of the articles were cross-sectional quantitative studies (n=10) and qualitative studies (n=5). Diabetes prevalence and outcome measures such as haemoglobin A1c, blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index were reported to be higher among black African than white populations. The data showed disparity in diabetes management among black Africans as compared to white and South Asian groups. # Conclusions The poorer health outcomes reported among black Africans as compared to white and South Asian populations suggest poor diabetes management. Further research is needed to understand why there is such disparity in the health outcome of black African populations living with diabetes in western countries. There is a need to have a consistent target outcome measure in studies. Further synthesis was not possible due to differences in outcome measures used by studies reviewed.