Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Aug 20, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Aug 21, 2025 - Oct 16, 2025
Date Accepted: Dec 12, 2025
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Diabetic dyslipidaemia and its determinants among people with diabetes in South Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol
ABSTRACT
Background:
Diabetic dyslipidaemia (DD), characterized by a classical triad of abnormal lipid profiles among the diabetes population, presents a major public health concern in South Africa, particularly among Black South Africans. The increasing prevalence of DD significantly contributes to the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD). With the incidence of diabetes rising from 4.5% in 2010 to 12.7% by 2021, urgent preventive measures and effective treatments are crucial to tackle the risk of premature mortality.
Objective:
This systematic review and meta-analysis protocol seeks to examine the existing literature on DD to provide an understanding of its prevalence and associated predictors among the diabetic population in South Africa, with the intention of informing more effective clinical and public health interventions.
Methods:
The protocol is registered with the international database for systematic reviews PROSPERO and will adopt the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The available literature on DD will be systematically searched in the common scholarly database and reviewed accordingly. All published and unpublished studies conducted in South Africa before the year 2024, written in English will be included. Two members of the review team will independently screen the studies identified through the database search and assess risk of bias using the revised JBI critical appraisal tools. The review will integrate both quantitative and qualitative data synthesis. Results from both qualitative and quantitative data synthesis will be presented through forest plots, subgroup forest plots, and summary tables, presenting findings on pooled prevalence, odds ratios for predictors, heterogeneity statistics, and sensitivity analyses.
Results:
The protocol was finalised in January 2025. The literature search and screening of studies are currently in progress. Data extraction has commenced. The completion of statistical analyses is expected by October 2025. We anticipate submission of the completed systematic review and meta-analysis for publication in December 2025.
Conclusions:
The findings of the analysis will aid in crafting the design of targeted interventions and policies to advance the management of DD and, subsequently, to reduce the increased risk of ACVD among the diabetic population. Clinical Trial: PROSPERO database (ID: CRD42024614221); https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024614221
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