Researchers based in the Health and Wellness Sciences Faculty at CPUT, in collaboration with the University of Stellenbosch, are leading research on the prevalence of diabetes and the associated cardiovascular risks factors.

The prevalence of diabetes in South Africa, especially in the Western Cape, is not well documented, and as a result there is no recent data available on the prevalence of diabetes in this province.

However, with the research being conducted by CPUT postgraduate students and staff, this gap of information in the health sector is being addressed.

Shafick Hassan, head of the Radiography and Nursing Department who is heading up the research team said: “The last prevalence study on diabetes was conducted in Mamre in the 1980’s.”

With researchers focusing on the Bellville South community in the Northern Suburbs, findings have already revealed a sharp increase in the prevalence of diabetes, compared to what was reported more than a decade ago.

The researchers spent several months collecting blood samples to measure glucose and cholesterol levels and conducted blood pressure tests on individuals aged between 35 and 65.

Approximately 1000 people had been tested.

“To date we have found the prevalence of diabetes in that community to be much higher than anticipated. Preliminary results indicate a diabetic prevalence of 26.3%,” said Hassan.

The results of the study may also indicate a broader health problem in the population of the Western Cape , which could severely impact on the limited health resources in province.

Research has proved that diabetes is a contributing factor to various health problems, including eye problems, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease.

Studies have also linked the rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance ( IGT ) to the global epidemic of obesity and lifestyle changes associated primarily with urbanization.

Hassan said the findings of this study will provide vital information, which will be useful for national and provincial health planners when planning intervention strategies for conditions related to diabetes and future health services needs.

More importantly, he said information on this study must be disseminated appropriately.

Currently the lead researchers, which include CPUT’s Dr Tandi Matsha and Stellenbosch University Professor Rajiv Erasmus, are discussing the findings with stakeholders in the health sector.

The researchers, who are linked to the Oxidative Stress Research Group, which is based in the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, are also in the process of writing up a number of journal articles on this study.

They had also presented data on the study at several conferences.

Hassan said the research is ongoing and that plans are in place to extend the study to other communities in the Western Cape .

By Candes Keating, Marketing and Communication Department

Written by CPUT News
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Over 5000 Bellville South residents are in line to benefit from a multi-million rand diabetes study tracking the development of the disease.

The community was selected for its proximity to CPUT’s Bellville campus where a clinic specially developed for the study is.

The three-year-long project will monitor the development of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Participants are eager to be involved because they are given regular health screen checks which include a dental exam and weight and blood checks. Head of the programme Prof Tandi Matsha says she hopes the participants will be available to be tracked for the rest of their lives.

“For many of the people attending they may not know that they have diabetes and this type of service alerts them to possible problems,” she says.

“Diabetes is increasing all over the world but 80% of that increase is happening in low to middle-income countries like South Africa.”

Valerie Daniels, 44, says she is privileged to be part of the study because she will now be eligible for other benefits like having a new set of dentures made.

“Those kinds of things take very long at the government hospitals and you need to sit for a very long time at the clinic for a simple check-up,” she says.

“I will definitely keep coming back.”

All participants are ferried to and from the clinic by a dedicated shuttle and are assisted by qualified staff members.

The diabetes and cardiovascular study is a R8.25 million rand research project that was awarded by the Medical Research Council.

Anyone interested in participating in the study can contact Dr Gloudina Hon at 021 959 6015.

Written by Lauren Kansley
Tel: +27 21 953 8646
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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

Results of a South African study conducted by a group of investigators from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), Stellenbosch University (SU) and the US National Institute of Health (NIH) have demonstrated for the first time in an African population, the added value of combining glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and glycated albumin (GA) to diagnose dysglycemia, the combination diabetes mellitus and pre-diabetes. 

Diabetes mellitus, which is a condition characterised by chronic elevation of blood sugar, is a fast-growing disease worldwide, and much so in countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where the number of people with diabetes is estimated to increase by 134% from 24 million in 2021 to 55 million by 2045, according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) South Africa (4.2 million), Nigeria (3.6 million), Tanzania (2.9 million), Ethiopia (1.9 million), and Democratic Republic of Congo (1.9 million) are currently the top five SSA countries for the number of people with diabetes. Diabetes in SSA is further characterised by the low detection rates, with about 54% of SSA people with diabetes being unaware of their condition, against 44.7% at the global level.

The low diabetes detection rate in Africa is explained by several factors, including the lack of screening programs, the low prioritisation of large segments of the population (young adults and non-obese people) for diabetes screening where programs are available, and the lack of accurate and practical diagnostic approaches.

In this first detailed study in an African population, the investigators used data from nearly 1 300 adult mixed-ancestry South Africans residing in Cape Town to examine the ability of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and glycated albumin (GA) in combination to diagnose diabetes or dysglycemia. HbA1c and GA are tests used to monitor blood sugar control in response to treatment in people with diabetes. Still, they have also been proposed for diabetes diagnosis, although not yet widely adopted in African settings due to their variable performance.

 “In mixed-ancestry, South Africa, HbA1c and GA levels varied in opposite directions with increasing levels of adiposity as measured by the body mass index (BMI). Consequently, combining the two tests improved the detection of dysglycemia above and beyond the achievements of each test taken separately. This improvement was observed across all levels of BM,” says Professor Andre Pascal Kengne, the lead author of the publication and Director of the Non-Communicable Diseases Research Unit (NCDRU) at the SAMRC.

Unlike other diagnostic tests for diabetes, HbA1c and GA do not require fasting. “These findings in mixed-ancestry South Africans are in line with results from our previous studies in African-born Blacks living in America, which have shown that combining HbA1c and GA improves dysglycemia diagnosis, particularly in individuals who are non-obese,” says Dr. Anne E. Sumner, senior author on the paper and Senior Investigator in the Section on Ethnicity and Health, Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. “This study suggests an approach that can be operationalised and incorporated into existing screening programs for diabetes in African settings,” adds Dr. Sumner.

Data used for the current study are from the Cape Town Vascular and Metabolic Health (VMH) project, an extension of the Bellville South research programme initiated in Cape Town in 2008. “These new findings are a handy addition to our efforts to improve the understanding, prevention, detection and control of common cardiometabolic diseases in mixed-ancestry South Africans and other African populations over the last two decades” says Prof Tandi E Matsha, co-lead author of the paper, Principal investigator of the VMH project, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Wellness at CPUT, and Director of SAMRC/CPUT Extra-mural Cardiometabolic Health Research unit.

“Population-based screening for common chronic infectious diseases such as HIV infection is already taking place across Africa using minimally invasive blood sample collection”, note the investigators. “Adding HbA1c and GA to these programs provides an opportunity to co-screen people for dysglycemia’ they conclude. HbA1c is already available as a point-of-care test, and a similar approach can be developed for GA.

*The study was published in clinical medicine, a Journal of The Lancet group, with the title “Combining HbA1c and glycated albumin improves detection of dysglycemia in mix-ancestry South Africans”; and is fully accessible here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(22)00173-0/fulltext

Written by SAMRC

The South African Medical Research Council/ CPUT/Cardiometabolic Health Research Unit will host its 1st Annual International Cardiometabolic Health and Diabetes Africa Congress next month.

The theme of the congress, which will be held virtually from 22 to 25 February, is Personalised Medicine.

The conference will provide a forum to discuss novel and emerging methodologies for preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and complications associated with these diseases, such as kidney and liver disease.

It will also include conversations about discovering novel biomarkers and potential treatment options involving personalised or alternative medicine. Several workshops are planned to bring together policymakers, academics, and emerging researchers to share their views on how we can effectively stop the upward trend leading to the rising prevalence of these conditions.

The congress will feature 39 international speakers and 12 South African speakers.

The unit’s Saarah Davids said staff members, researchers, students and postdoctoral fellows could participate by submitting either an abstract or participating in the youth forum as follows:

Abstracts:

• When submitting an abstract, it could be selected for poster or oral presentation. The programme is designed so that staff, researchers, students, and postdoctoral fellows would present with presenters in themed slots to gain experience and learn from experienced researchers in the same field.
• The criteria, template and other information, can be found at the following link: https://www.cmhcongress.org/main-program-criteria.html
• Closing date 31 January 2022

Youth forum:

• Those who are staff, researchers, postgraduate students, or postdoctoral fellows under the age of 40 who would want to present ideas for future projects. This will allow those presenting to get feedback from other young researchers and possibly aid in future collaboration
• The criteria, template and other information can be found at: https://www.cmhcongress.org/youth-forum-criteria.html
• Closing date 31 January 2022

Prof Thandi Matsha, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, is the chair of the congress organising committee.

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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