Epidemiology of Macrovascular Complications of Diabetes in South Asians and Comparison with Other Ethnicities

South Asians have been shown to have increased abdominal adiposity, visceral fat, low muscle mass and subclinical inflammation, all of which make them prone to diabetes and its macrovascular complications. Diabetes is the most important risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) in South Asia and South Asians with diabetes have a higher prevalence of CAD than Caucasians. Similar trends have been seen with coronary mortality, stroke and cerebrovascular disease. Importantly peripheral vascular disease and diabetic foot disease occur less frequently in South Asians compared to Caucasians. In addition, erectile dysfunction is emerging as an important complication of diabetes in South Asians and its association with cardiovascular disease is being recognised increasingly