Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to understand the prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics associated with diabetes among adults in Namibia and South Africa. METHODS: Data from the Demographic and Health Survey for Namibia (2013) and South Africa (2016) were analyzed. The dependent variable, diabetes, was defined using lab values for blood glucose≥ 126 for Namibia, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) ≥ 6.5% for South Africa. Logistic regression was used to identify independent correlates of diabetes for each country. Demographic (age, sex, geographic location, number of children), economic (wealth index, education level), and cultural (religion - Namibia, ethnicity - South Africa) factors were added in blocks to the models. RESULTS: In Namibia, 4.6% had diabetes based on blood glucose, and 14.6% had diabetes based on HbA1c in South Africa. In Namibia, after adjustment, higher wealth was independently associated with diabetes (OR:1.67; 95% CI: 1.11, 2.50). In South Africa, after adjustment, those who were older (OR: 1.06; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.07), female (OR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.52), lived in a rural area (OR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.20, 1.96), and Black (OR: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.17, 4.42) or Other (OR: 5.74; 95% CI: 2.50, 13.20) compared to White, had increased odds of diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of diabetes is high in South Africa and relatively low in Namibia using reliable laboratory diagnostic indices. Strategies to address the rising burden of non-communicable diseases like diabetes are needed in sub-Saharan Africa.