This report sets out to highlight the current status of diabetes-related mortality in north-central Nigeria and compare the results with other reports. We undertook a retrospective descriptive hospital-based study to determine the cause of death of type 2 diabetic patients over a 5-year period (2009–2013) at Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, Nigeria. Approval for the study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the institution. Relevant data (gender, age, occupation, blood pressur, and glycaemic control, co-morbid conditions and cause of death) were extracted from the case files of deceased patients and the hospital death register. There were 903 type 2 diabetic patients made up of 490 males (54%) and 413 females (46%), with a gender ratio of 1.2:1. Mean age was 54±16 years (mean±SD) years with a range of 36–82 years. Seventy-eight (78) patients (8.6% of type 2 diabetic admissions) died within the study period, made up of 37 males (47% of mortality) and 41 females (53% of mortality) respectively. The age range 60–69 years had the highest mortality. The most common causes of death were hyperglycaemic crises (38%), septicaemia (18%), diabetic ulcers (15%), and a variety of other causes (29%). We conclude that diabetes is still associated with an unacceptable in-patient high mortality burden.

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