[Disease duration, patient compliance and presence of complications in diabetic patients]

Diabetes mellitus (especially type 2) is one of the most common metabolic diseases in care of general/family physician.

The aim of the study was to investigate the duration of the disease, association of the disease duration with the onset of complications, and physician's assessment of patient compliance. The study was a part of the international Health Monitoring Project carried out by the Chair of Family Medicine, Andrija Stampar School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Zagreb, in cooperation with The Netherlands Institute of Primary Health Care (NIVEL). The aim was to assess the value of data on the incidence and prevalence of diabetes mellitus in primary health care.

Family physicians, general/family practice specialists, teachers and heads of general/family practice practical teaching who were collecting data for the questionnaire structured for this purpose were included in the study. Description and distribution analysis was used on data analysis, and chi2-test on testing of differences.

Out of 96 general/family physicians who agreed to participate in the study, 58 (60.4%) collected data on 3065 patients: 1275 (41.6%) men and 1790 (58.4%) women. In 1044 (34.1%) patients the disease lasted for 1-5 years, in 990 (32,3%) for 6-10 years and in 1031 (33.6%) for more than ten years. Complications were recorded in 1521 (49.62%) patients, showing a statistically significant correlation with the duration of the disease (chi2 = 627.889; df = 2; p < 0.001). Physicians estimated that good compliance was established in 1579 (51.52%) patients. There were significantly less complications in these patients (chi2 = 6.098; df =2; p = 0.047).

The number of complications in diabetes mellitus increased proportionally with the length of the disease, while the number of complications was lower in cases with better patient compliance. In the care for a patient with diabetes mellitus family physician should train the patient in self-care, tending to establish partnership in long lasting treatment, which is a precondition for good compliance.