Knowledge and Awareness About Diabetes Mellitus Among Urban and Rural Population Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital in Haryana

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the fastest-growing public health problems in the twenty-first century. The ignorance among people about their disease may be related to their low socioeconomic status and lack of quality education available to them about the disease. It is a serious condition leading to several complications if the individual does not follow up regularly for check-ups and blood sugar monitoring. Lifestyle modifications such as a healthy diet, regular exercise, reducing weight, stress management, and smoking cessation can play a critical role in managing diabetes and improving the health and well-being of diabetic patients. Thus, through this study, we want to assess and create awareness among diabetic patients.

Methodology: It is a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted at a tertiary care hospital on diagnosed cases of DM. The patients aged 18 years or above of either gender who had already been diagnosed with DM type 1 and type 2 were included, and patients with gestational DM were excluded from the study. Informed consent was taken from the patients, and all the required details were obtained using a well-structured questionnaire. After obtaining all the answers, the level of knowledge and awareness was analyzed, and the data was entered into an MS Excel sheet (Microsoft, Redmond, Washington) and analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY).

Results: In our study, the maximum prevalence of diabetes was seen in males (55.5%) than females (44.5%), and the mean age of our study population was 53.3 ± 16.4 years. In our study, participants from rural areas made up the majority (59%) compared to those from urban areas (41%), and the majority of participants had a high school education. Among 211 diabetics, about 84%, 79%, and 41% of the patients knew about diabetes, symptoms of diabetes, and complication of diabetes. Only 18% of the patients were aware of the symptoms of hypoglycemia, and 38% of the patients possess their own glucometers and monitor their blood sugar levels on a regular basis. Merely 38% of the diabetics were aware of the various DM treatment choices. About 52% of patients had some awareness of insulin therapy. Out of 211 patients, about half skipped their antidiabetic prescriptions, and of those, 22% took a double dose the next day. A total of 121 patients (57%) combined the use of alternative and allopathic medications, and among these, 22% of patients had replaced the allopathic with alternative medicines. Almost 53% of patients had a positive family history of diabetes; 54% of patients believe that obesity is unrelated to diabetes, and 79% of diabetics are aware of the lifestyle changes that must be done for diabetes. Almost 67% of the patients believed that diabetes could be permanently treated, and 84% of patients believed that eating too much sugar caused their diabetes.

Conclusion: In our study, a significant number of patients suffering from diabetes had less knowledge and awareness about it. The prevalence of myths about the onset of diabetes was noticeably higher among diabetic patients. It was observed that a greater number of patients were shifting to alternative medications instead of allopathic ones, and in the long run, it can lead to various complications. Therefore, there is an immediate need to promote awareness about diabetes among the general population.