Diets for South Asians with diabetes: recommendations, adherence, and outcomes

Dietary Interventions for Type 2 Diabetes in South Asian Populations-A Systematic Review

PURPOSE

South Asians face a high burden of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We systematically summarized current research on the efficacy, cultural relevance, and research gaps of nutrition interventions that could be used for treatment in this population.

FINDINGS

We identified 18 articles published since 2010. Dietary pattern interventions have focused on low-glycemic index (GI) solutions and consistently reported improvement in glycemic management. Trials of nutrition education and counselling had diverse approaches, with those utilizing more intensive interventions generally eliciting better glycemic outcomes. Many studies developed interventions with cultural relevance by including traditional foods, providing materials in the local language, and acknowledging important food-related customs. These adaptations were seen in South Asian countries as well as Western countries hosting immigrants. Data from South Asian countries support low-GI and intensive counselling approaches for the treatment of T2D. Given the high prevalence of T2D in these populous countries, approaches that can reach large numbers of people are needed. In Western countries, more emphasis on providing culturally relevant nutrition therapy is needed.

Dietary Practice among Type 2 Diabetic Ppatients in Southern Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Diabetic patients' dietary practice is critical to improve glycemic, lipid, and blood pressure control. However, a significant number of patients had poor dietary practice. In Ethiopia, more than half of diabetic patients were not practicing a healthy dietary approach. Therefore, this study assessed variables that were hardly addressed in previous studies. The aim of this study was to assess dietary practice and associated factors among patients with type 2 diabetes.

METHODS

A facility-based cross-sectional study was performed among patients with type 2 diabetes in Arba Minch General Hospital from April 21 to May 20, 2020. A systematic sampling technique was used to select 352 patients. The data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 21 for cleaning and analysis. Descriptive statistics were performed. All variables in bivariate analysis with p-value <0.25 were entered into a multivariable logistic regression model, and statistical significance was declared at a p-value of less than 0.05.

RESULTS

The prevalence of poor dietary practice was found to be 40.6% (95%CI (35.7-46.0)). After adjusting for other variables in multivariable analysis, not attending formal education (AOR = 3.0; 95%CI (1.6-5.5)), being at primary education level (AOR = 2.2; 95%CI (1.1-4.4)), being moderately food insecure (AOR = 5.3; 95%CI (2.8-9.9)), having depression (AOR = 5.9; 95%CI (3.0-11.4)), and not having nutrition education (AOR = 2.2; 95% (1.1-4.6)) were factors associated with poor dietary practice.

CONCLUSIONS

A significant proportion of patients had poor dietary practice. The poor dietary practice was significantly higher among those with no formal education, at the primary education level, from the moderately food-insecure household, having depression, and not having nutrition education. The results imply the need for strengthening health information dissemination concerning healthy dietary practice in the form of a package.