Type 1 diabetes mellitus in the African population: epidemiology and management challenges.

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) is a growing concern worldwide; while there has been a great improvement in the knowledge, epidemiology and management of this condition in the developed worlds, there has been little or no improvement in sub-Saharan Africa. The true burden of this disease is not even known, but a difference in the pattern and outcome of T1DM in the sub-Saharan Africa compared to the western World seems to be present. Moreover, much of the available data is not population-based and is of limited value for making generalizations about Diabetes in children of Sub-Saharan Africa.