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Research |
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A Comparison of Trends of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Prevalence in Singapore, Mauritius and China |
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Listen to what the team aims and expects of their research project
 Lim Wei-Yen |
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Abstract
Diabetes mellitus is a major global public health concern. In 2010, an estimated 6.4% of the world’s population suffered from diabetes. It is associated with high disease burden and significant healthcare costs. In Asia particularly, growing affluence and adoption of modern lifestyles have resulted in a surge in diabetes prevalence. Prevention and control of prevention and control of diabetes is hence a key Asian public health goal. Some risk factors for diabetes are well-known, including sedentary lifestyles, obesity, and modern diets. Genetic factors also confer risk. Nevertheless, differences in diabetes prevalence in different ethnic groups within the same country (for example in Singapore) and between the same ethnic groups in different countries (for example between Singapore and Chinese and Chinese in China) suggest that genetic and environmental risk factors interact in a complex fashion to determine overall risk.
We propose to compare the overall trends in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes among different ethnic groups in Singapore, Mauritius and China, and explore possible reasons for differences in prevalence rates among similar ethnic groups in the three countries. We aim to evaluate the impact of known biological and environmental risk factors on the prevalence of diabetes in different countries, and explore whether the relationships between risk factors and diabetes explain variations in diabetes prevalence among the same ethnic groups in different countries. In so doing, we hope to gain insight into the relative contributions of known biological and environmental risk factors in the Asian diabetes epidemic, and provide policy recommendations that would allow resource-constrained Asian countries to devise appropriate strategies to combat this modern scourge. |
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Team Members |
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Lim Wei-Yen
Assistant Professor
Epidemiology and Public Health
National University of Singapore
Singapore |
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Rob M Van Dam
Associate Professor, Consultant Breast Surgeon
Dept of EPH , Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine,
National University of Singapore
Singapore |
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Guang Wei Li
Professor and Director
Department of Endocrinology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital,
Beijing China |
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Elizabeth Laurel Mary Barr
Epidemiologist
Clinical Diabetes & Epidemiology, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute
Australia |
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Paul Zimmet AO
Director Emeritus
Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute
Australia |
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Stefan Ma
Deputy Director (Biostatistics & Research)
Epidemiology & Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health
Singapore |
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