Diabetes in Sub-Saharan Africa: Distribution Based on Social Status in Libreville (Gabon)

Many researchers continue to believe that urbanization is a major contributor to diabetes. We seek to demonstrate that the social status associated with urbanization has an impact on the prevalence of diabetes in Libreville, Gabon in sub-Saharan Africa.

Our study was conducted in Libreville, the capital of Gabon; the city has a population of 397,000. Our study analyzed data from the registries of patients hospitalized in 2013 in the main diabetes center in Libreville.

The results revealed that, for 2013, 798 patients were hospitalized with diabetes at a prevalence of .2%. We found differences (P<.05) between women (423) and men (375). Mean age for women was 52.02 years and 48.88 years for men. The number of existing cases hospitalized was significantly more than new cases. All levels of society were represented in our study: students (42); military (36); administratives (99); technicians (180); unemployed (295); and retired (146). The results showed that the unemployed (36%), particularly women (29.40%) are most affected by diabetes.

Our results show the impact of social status on the increase of diabetes in Libreville. We found that urbanization, associated with insecurity especially in women, had an effect on the prevalence of diabetes in Libreville. These results indicate that, apart from the non-modifiable factors (age, race, ethnicity), insecurity is a modifiable factor that should be taken into account.