BACKGROUND Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global health care problem that can impose a substantial economic burden. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a common microvascular complication of DM that increases the potential for morbidity and disability due to ulceration and amputation. Though there is a significant amount of variation in the primary studies on DM regarding the prevalence of DPN in Africa. Hence, this study was aimed to estimate the overall prevalence of DPN in DM patients in Africa. METHODS PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, African Journals OnLine, WHO African Library, and the Cochrane Review were systematically searched online to retrieve related articles. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines was followed. Heterogeneity across the included studies was evaluated by the inconsistency index (I2). Publication bias was examined by funnel plot and Egger's regression test. The random-effect model was fitted to estimate the pooled prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy among patients in Africa. The meta-analysis was performed using the STATA™ Version 14 software. RESULTS Twenty-three studies which includes 269,691 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The overall pooled prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy was 46% (95% CI:36.21-55.78%). Based on the subgroup analysis, the highest prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy in DM patients was reported in West Africa at 49.4% (95% CI: 32.74, 66.06). CONCLUSION This study revealed that the overall prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy is relatively high in Africa. Hence, DPN needs situation-based interventions and preventive strategies, which are specific to the country. Further meta-analysis is needed to identify associated factors for the occurrence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

中文翻译：

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非洲糖尿病周围神经病变的患病率：系统评价和荟萃分析。


背景技术糖尿病(DM)是一个全球性的卫生保健问题，可能造成巨大的经济负担。糖尿病周围神经病变 (DPN) 是 DM 的一种常见微血管并发症，会增加因溃疡和截肢而导致发病和残疾的可能性。尽管关于非洲 DPN 患病率的 DM 初步研究存在很大差异。因此，本研究旨在估计非洲糖尿病患者中 DPN 的总体患病率。方法 系统地在线检索 PubMed、Scopus、Google Scholar、African Journals OnLine、WHO 非洲图书馆和 Cochrane Review 来检索相关文章。遵循系统评价和荟萃分析 (PRISMA) 指南的首选报告项目。通过不一致性指数（I2）评估纳入研究的异质性。通过漏斗图和艾格回归检验检查发表偏倚。随机效应模型用于估计非洲患者糖尿病周围神经病变的汇总患病率。使用 STATA™ 14 版软件进行荟萃分析。结果 荟萃分析中纳入了 23 项研究，涉及 269,691 名参与者。糖尿病周围神经病变的总体患病率为 46% (95% CI:36.21-55.78%)。根据亚组分析，西非糖尿病患者中糖尿病周围神经病变的患病率最高，为 49.4%（95% CI：32.74，66.06）。结论 这项研究表明，非洲糖尿病周围神经病变的总体患病率相对较高。因此，DPN 需要针对该国具体情况的干预措施和预防策略。 需要进一步的荟萃分析来确定糖尿病周围神经病变发生的相关因素。