Diabetes mellitus and stroke in the Arab world

Objectives: The relationship between diabetes mellitus and stroke in the Arab countries is underreported. In this review, we investigate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus among patients with stroke in the Arab world. Methods: We searched published literature to identify studies reporting on patients with stroke from the Arab countries. Eligible articles were reviewed to extract data on the frequency of diabetes among their samples and on the details of disease diagnostic criteria, control status and stroke subtypes. Results: We identified 29 studies reporting on a total of 10,242 patients. The estimated prevalence of diabetes among the ischaemic stroke population of these studies was 37.5%. None of the studies described the prevalence of diabetes among haemorrhagic patients with stroke. The criteria for diagnosing diabetes were not always described. Studies from the Gulf countries tended to report a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus than studies from other Arab-world countries. Conclusions: There is insufficient reporting regarding the status of diabetes mellitus and its complications. The majority of studies suggest a remarkable variability in its prevalence. We hope that this review will draw attention to this prevalent health problem and prompt a better estimation of the impact of diabetes mellitus on the vascular health of our nations.