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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Clinical Diabetes
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1372046

Unmasking the Silent Epidemic: A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Undiagnosed Diabetes in Ethiopian Adults

Provisionally accepted
Teshager W. Abate Teshager W. Abate 1,2*Ashenafi Genanew Ashenafi Genanew 3Haileyesus Gedamu Haileyesus Gedamu 4Abebu Tegenaw Abebu Tegenaw 4Emiru Mengistie Emiru Mengistie 4Alemeshet Y. Berhie2 Alemeshet Y. Berhie2 4Temesgen Ergetie Temesgen Ergetie 5Belayneh F. Shibesh Belayneh F. Shibesh 6,7
  • 1 Faculty of Nursing University of Alberta, Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
  • 2 Department of Adult Health Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
  • 3 Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Science, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
  • 4 Department of Adult Health Nursing, School of Health Science, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahirdar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
  • 5 Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
  • 6 Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
  • 7 School of Medicine, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Undiagnosed diabetes mellitus poses a significant global public health concern, exerting a substantial impact on the well-being of individuals, their families, and societies at large. Those individuals with undiagnosed diabetes miss opportunities to maintain quality of life and prevent diabetes-related complications. Even if there are ample primary studies on undiagnosed diabetes in Ethiopia, the results reveal conflicting results. Therefore, a comprehensive national picture of undiagnosed diabetes is essential for designing effective strategies at the national level.Methods: This study adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for prevalence studies (PROSPERO ID: CRD42021266676). PubMed, Web of Science and the World Health Organization's Hinari portal were searched using a strategy developed in collaboration with Liberians. The inclusion criteria comprised studies reporting undiagnosed diabetes in Ethiopia. Two independent reviewers conducted a quality assessment using a 10-item appraisal tool. Meta-analysis and meta-regression were performed using a randomeffects model.Twenty-five studies with 22,193 participants met the inclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes among the Ethiopian adult population was 5.68% (95% CI: 4.53 -6.83, I 2 = 75.4). Factors significantly associated with undiagnosed diabetes include age, waist circumference, overweight, family history of diabetes, and a history of hypertension.Our systematic review found a noteworthy prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes in Ethiopia. The majority of factors linked with undiagnosed diabetes in this review were modifiable. This underscores the importance of targeted factors and public health interventions to improve early detection and reduce the burden of undiagnosed diabetes and its complications in Ethiopia.

    Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus, Undiagnosed diabetes, factors, Meta-analysis, Ethiopia

    Received: 17 Jan 2024; Accepted: 03 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Abate, Genanew, Gedamu, Tegenaw, Mengistie, Berhie2, Ergetie and Shibesh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Teshager W. Abate, Faculty of Nursing University of Alberta, Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2R3, Alberta, Canada

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.