Macrovascular, microvascular, and pulmonary dysfunction in sub-Saharan Africans with type-2 diabetes

The thesis aimed to gain insight into the burden and underlying mechanisms of macrovascular, microvascular, and pulmonary dysfunction among sub-Saharan Africans (both living in Africa and migrated to western Europe) with type 2 diabetes (T2D). This aim was broken down into the following objectives:
1. To quantify the prevalence of microvascular and macrovascular dysfunction among sub-Saharan Africans with T2D;
2. To explore the potential roles of migration on the burden of microvascular and macrovascular dysfunction among sub-Saharan Africans with T2D;
3. To study low-grade inflammation, abnormal uric acid levels, and vascular interrelatedness as potential underlying pathophysiological factors for microvascular and macrovascular dysfunction among sub-Saharan Africans with T2D;
4. To quantify the burden of pulmonary dysfunction and its associated factors among sub-Saharan Africans with T2D;
5. To determine the associations of pulmonary dysfunction with microvascular dysfunction in sub-Saharan Africans with T2D.
To address these objectives this thesis is divided into two parts. Part one quantifies the burden of vascular and pulmonary complications among sub-Saharan Africans in Ghana and compares the burden with Ghanaian migrants in Europe, as well as individuals of other ethnic backgrounds. Chapters two to five make up part one. Part two reports on underlying pathophysiological mechanisms for microvascular and macrovascular dysfunction in T2D, with sub-Saharan Africans as the primary population. Part two consists of chapters six through eleven.