Health status of type 2 diabetic patients attending primary care centers in Puducherry region - An observational...

Diabetes causes enormous health burden worldwide, causing serious threat to people's health and wellbeing. It is also highlighted by the International Diabetes Federation that around 537 million people are currently affected by diabetes, and this is expected to rise to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045, which should be addressed with a multisectoral approach. The health status of diabetic patients at all dimensions (physical, psychological, social, environmental) is unsatisfactory, causing a significant rate of morbidity and mortality.

To assess the holistic health status of patients with type 2 diabetes in all dimensions in a primary health care facility.

Observational study.

A total of 104 diabetic patients (46.2% female; 53.8% male) were enrolled with a mean age of 51.46 ± 10.22 years (female 49.46 ± 8.56 years; male 53.91 ± 9.75 years). Anthropometric parameters such as body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, physiological parameters such as heartrate and blood pressure, biochemical parameters such as fasting blood glucose, postprandial blood glucose, HbA1c, fasting insulin, Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance using the formula Fasting Insulin × Fasting glucose)/22.5 to assess insulin resistance, lipid profile, blood urea and serum creatinine, and psychological parameters such as perceived stress scale to assess stress level and WHOQOL-BREF scale to assess quality of life were measured.

Independent t-test was applied to find the significance between male and female subjects in the baseline of the measured parameters.

The average age of diabetic females was significantly lower than that of the males (P = 0.016), which shows that females are affected at a younger age. The majority are overweight; particularly, females have significant higher BMI when compared to males (P = 0.018). The HbA1c level was > 8%, LDL was above normal, and fasting insulin was >7, which may cause metabolic syndrome as shown by previous studies. The majority of the patients were stressed and have low quality of life.

The overall health status of diabetic patients was unsatisfactory, particularly BMI, which is the key indicator to many health issues. Since diabetes affects individuals at all levels, there is a need for integration of complimentary and alternative medical systems such as Yoga therapy for diabetic patients in a primary care center along with medical management which provides a holistic approach improving overall health and wellbeing. Incorporating Yoga therapy for diabetic patients in a primary care center along with medical management helps to overcome the enormous health burden of disease.