OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to assess glycemic control and complications of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents in Tanzania.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This demographic and clinical survey included 99 children aged between 5 and 18 years attending Muhimbili National Hospital Clinic for Diabetes. A structured questionnaire was used for evaluating socioeconomic data and for estimation of the prevalence of acute complications occurring over the last 6 months. The prevalences of retinopathy and diabetic nephropathy were determined by fundus ophthalmoscopy and by microalbuminuria, respectively.

RESULTS

All of these children were treated with a conventional insulin regimen. The mean +/- SD duration of diabetes was 4.76 +/- 3.58 years. Only 1 child (1%) had good glycemic control (A1C <7.5%), 60 children (60.6%) had moderate glycemic control (A1C 7.5-10%), 14 children (14.1%) had poor glycemic control (A1C >10-12.5%), and 24 children (24.2%) had very poor glycemic control (A1C >12.5%). At onset of diabetes, 75% of children presented with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA); 89 children (89.80%) had at least one episode of DKA, and 55 children (55.67%) had symptomatic hypoglycemic episodes. Microalbuminuria was present in 29 (29.3%) and retinopathy in 22 (22.68%) children.

CONCLUSIONS

Although there are some methodological limitations, this survey highlights the difficulties of achieving good metabolic control and the high prevalence of acute and chronic complications in Tanzanian children with type 1 diabetes. These results clearly show that major efforts are needed to improve quality of care in children with type 1 diabetes in Tanzania.