Global disability burden and its predictors among adult Nigerians living with Type-2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a public health issue associated with a high prevalence of disability. Studies on disability profile in terms of reduction in body structure and function, personal activities and societal participation, defined as 'global disability', are scarce among people living with T2DM in Nigeria.

To assess the prevalence of global disability and its predictors among Nigerian living with T2DM.

A cross-sectional analysis of 162 patients diagnosed with T2DM and attending a tertiary health facility was performed for global disability measure and function. Their clinical and socio-demographic data were obtained. Poisson regression analysis was applied to assess the predicting factors of disability.

A mean global disability score of 22.1 was reported among the participants, varying from moderate to high in each item. About 25.0% had mild disability, while 60.5% reported moderate to severe disability. Elevated glycosylated haemoglobin, fasting blood glucose, systolic blood pressure, age, disease duration and marital status predicted disability. A unit increase in HbA1c, systolic blood pressure and 1 month increase in DM duration had more disability reported estimates [1.062 (CI=1.050-1.075), 1.005 (CI=1.002-1.007) and 1.001 (CI=1.000-1.002) times, respectively]. Married participants were 1.13 (CI=1.02-1.23) times more likely to be disabled than unmarried.

There is mild to moderate burden and risk of global disability among Nigerian living with T2DM. Age, DM duration, marital status, fasting blood glucose, glycosylated haemoglobin and systolic hypertension significantly predicted disability.

None declared.