We assessed the clinical characteristics of newly-diagnosed diabetic patients presenting to the Mulago Hospital Diabetic Clinic for the first time between 1 January 1993 and 10 August 1994. There were 252 patients: 117 men and 135 women. Mean age at onset of diabetes was 45 years (range 2-87 years) and peak incidence was at 40-49 years. Body mass index (BMI) was available in only 71 patients, of whom 53.5 (33.8 female, 19.7 male) were overweight (BMI > 25 in women, in > 27 men) and 11.3 (8.5 men, 2.8 women) were underweight (BMI 150/100) in 27.3, impotence in 22.2 of the men, proteinuria in 17.1 , ischaemic heart disease in 4.8, foot ulcers in 4.0 and cataracts in 3.2. Insulin was the most commonly prescribed treatment (52.8); 31 of patients received oral hypoglycaemic agents, only 15.1 were managed on diet only, and 1.2 opted for herbal medicine.
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