Extract from the Cochrane Library page:
In the most recent Global Burden of Disease Study 2013, the global prevalence of diabetes increased 133% between 1990 and 2013.[1] Diabetes ranked seventh in the causes of years lived with disability. More than ever before, diabetes is a key condition contributing to ill health for the world’s population. The impacts of diabetes are higher for Indigenous populations, who generally have a higher prevalence of disease than other population groups in each country; for example Indigenous Australians are more than three times more likely to have diabetes than non-Indigenous Australians.[2]
Many conditions driving the global increase in diabetes are relevant to Indigenous people. Increasing rates of obesity and diabetes in pregnancy are particularly of concern. Children born to women with diabetes in pregnancy are more likely to be obese and to develop type 2 diabetes during their lifetime.
The Cochrane Reviews in this Special Collection are particularly valuable in helping guide national responses to diabetes. The reviews on pregnancy provide evidence for diet and exercise interventions in pregnancy to prevent gestational diabetes. Postpartum care is also important as these women have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes; a review on diet or exercise for weight reduction in women after childbirth focuses on this. The Collection also looks at support for healthy breastfeeding, one of a few factors shown to reduce the risk of later obesity and diabetes in children and mothers affected by diabetes in pregnancy.
Across the whole life span, and from individuals to whole communities, this Special Collection can help nations continue the difficult task of reducing diabetes among the world’s Indigenous peoples.
