Obesity and diabetes mellitus association in rural community of Katana, South Kivu, in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo: Bukavu Observ Cohort Study Results.
BACKGROUND
Factual data exploring the relationship between obesity and diabetes mellitus prevalence from rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa remain scattered and are unreliable. To address this scarceness, this work reports population study data describing the relationship between the obesity and the diabetes mellitus in the general population of the rural area of Katana (South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo).


METHODS
A cohort of three thousand, nine hundred, and sixty-two (3962) adults (>15 years old) were followed between 2012 and 2015 (or 4105 person-years during the observation period), and data were collected using the locally adjusted World Health Organization's (WHO) STEPwise approach to Surveillance (STEPS) methodology. The hazard ratio for progression of obesity was calculated. The association between diabetes mellitus and obesity was analyzed with logistic regression.


RESULTS
The diabetes mellitus prevalence was 2.8 % versus 3.5 % for obese participants and 7.2 % for those with metabolic syndrome, respectively. Within the diabetes group, 26.9 % had above-normal waist circumference and only 9.8 % were obese. During the median follow-up period of 2 years, the incidence of obesity was 535/100,000 person-years. During the follow-up, the prevalence of abdominal obesity significantly increased by 23 % (p <0.0001), whereas the increased prevalence of general obesity (7.8 %) was not significant (p = 0.53). Finally, diabetes mellitus was independently associated with age, waist circumference, and blood pressure but not body mass index.


CONCLUSIONS
This study confirms an association between diabetes mellitus and abdominal obesity but not with general obesity. On the other hand, the rapid increase in abdominal obesity prevalence in this rural area population within the follow-up period calls for the urgent promoting of preventive lifestyle measures.
Observatory NCDs VLIR-UOS/UCB, Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. philkatch@yahoo.fr.|Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Internal Medicine, Reference Provincial General Hospital of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. philkatch@yahoo.fr.
Philippe Bianga
PB
Katchunga
Observatory NCDs VLIR-UOS/UCB, Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.|Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Internal Medicine, Reference Provincial General Hospital of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Justin
J
Cikomola
Observatory NCDs VLIR-UOS/UCB, Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.|Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Internal Medicine, Reference Provincial General Hospital of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Christian
C
Tshongo
Observatory NCDs VLIR-UOS/UCB, Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Arsene
A
Baleke
Observatory NCDs VLIR-UOS/UCB, Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
David
D
Kaishusha
Regional School of Public Health (ERSP), Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Patrick
P
Mirindi
Observatory NCDs VLIR-UOS/UCB, Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.|Institut de technique médicale, hôpital général de référence de Katana, Katana, Sud-Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Théodore
T
Tamburhe
Observatory NCDs VLIR-UOS/UCB, Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.|Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Health sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Yves
Y
Kluyskens
Department of Clinical Biology, Reference Provincial General Hospital of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Antoine
A
Sadiki
Department of Clinical Biology, Reference Provincial General Hospital of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Socrate
S
Bwanamudogo
Observatory NCDs VLIR-UOS/UCB, Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Zacharie
Z
Kashongwe
Observatory NCDs VLIR-UOS/UCB, Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University of Bukavu, Bukavu, South-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.|Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Health sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Marc
M
Twagirumukiza
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012424:Rural Population; D055105:Waist Circumference
Democratic Republic of the Congo; Diabetes mellitus; Obesity; Sub-Saharan Africa