Impact of diabetes mellitus on Sudanese women

As there are increasing numbers of Sudanese women with diabetes, there is a great need for investigating the gender‐specific factors in presentation or management of this disease. We studied 150 diabetic non‐pregnant women who attended a medical clinic in Khartoum in July 1999–January 2000. The mean age was 45.3 years, 126 (84%) had type 2 diabetes, the mean duration of diabetes was 7.3 years, 58.6% of patients were poorly controlled and there was a lack of diabetic knowledge among them. Our patients were of poor physical activity, and 28% of them were obese. They were poorly adherent to diet or treatment. The patients were, generally, illiterate (58.6%) and lacking professional skills (78.7%), and 38% were unmarried or divorced. Our patients reported marital and sexual problems, poor performance at home or work and lack of family support. The young patients were worried about their academic achievement and chances of marriage. Our diabetic women, in our society, suffer a gender‐related impact of diabetes in addition to the disease itself. Management protocols tailored for diabetic women are needed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.