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[Assessment of diabetic patient management at primary health care level]
R B Araújo1, I dos Santos, M A Cavaleti
1Departamento de Medicina Social da Universidade Federal de Pelotas, RS, Brasil.
Objective:
The characterization of diabetic patients seen at a primary health care clinic.
Methods:
The case notes of 3,024 families were searched by means of a cross-sectional study for patients 30 to 75 years of age with a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus who had had a medical consultation during the previous five years. These patients were interviewed at their homes and were asked to come to the health center for physical examination and a plasma glucose test using glucosylated hemoglobin (GH).
Results:
The prevalence of diabetes was 4%. The typical diabetic patient was a white women, > or = 50 years of age, from a family with a monthly income < or = 3 minimum wages. Compliance with GH was observed in 70% of the patients. Diet therapy was followed by less than one third of the patients and only one fifth were engaged in regular exercise. Nearly 70% were undergoing drug therapy (oral hypoglicemic agents or insulin); of these, only 15% used insulin. Most of the patients (66%) who agreed to have the GH test showed normal or fair glucose blood levels.
Conclusions:
Great efforts should be made by health teams to enhance diabetic patient education in order to promote compliance with recommendations regarding diet and exercise.