Status of diabetes control and knowledge about diabetes in patients

There are a number of studies in the literature which show that knowledge about the diabetes mellitus is related to socioeconomic status, education, duration of diabetes, age, sex, and family history. The above facts have prompted us to evaluate the status of knowledge of diabetes in our patients at the diabetic clinic Vivekananda Polyclinic and Institute of Medical Sciences (VPIMS), Lucknow, India. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the knowledge of diabetes among the suffering with people with type-2 diabetes mellitus and its correlation with diabetes control.

The participants' knowledge about diabetes and their understanding about control and complications of diabetes were assessed by a standardized questionnaire. The data was collected at a single, routine visit of the patient to the diabetic clinic at VPIMS, Lucknow, India over a period of 1 year after detailed clinical examination and relevant investigations.

Only 50% of the patients know what diabetes is, 46% know it is a hereditary disease, 68.8% know about its symptoms, 50% have complete knowledge about complications, 45.2%, know simple treatments of diabetes. Among educated graduate and professional category majority of subjects (62.5%) had good level of knowledge about diabetes which was statistically significant (p<0.001). Those having frequent/regular exercise, having higher education and shorter duration of diabetes had a better control over postprandial (PP) blood sugar as compared to those having occasional/no exercise and lower level of education (p<0.05).

The findings indicate a greater need for behavioral change to control diabetes and its associated threats.