Lifestyle Practices and Glycemic Control among Type 2 Diabetic Patients in North Kerala

Abstract

In India, high prevalence of diabetes was reported in Kerala. The present study was conducted in North Kerala to explore the glycemic status and lifestyle practices of the diabetic patients. Around 179 diabetics were randomly selected. Information about their personal profile, diet, activity and awareness on diabetes was collected using a pre tested interview schedule. Fasting and post prandial blood sugar values of all the patients and HbA1c level of randomly selected 49 patients were recorded. The collected data was statistically analyzed. The mean age of the diabetics was 54.81 ± 10.42 years. Around 98.9% of them were non vegetarians. The mean Food Consumption Score was 75.75 ± 15.3. 86 percent of the diabetics consumed white rice based diet and 34.6% practiced no lifestyle modification. More than half of the diabetics were not aware of diabetes and its management. Most of them were sedentary workers. There was significant association between gender and exercise (p<0.05). The mean value of HbA1c was 9.74 ± 1.8%. The blood sugar levels were positively correlated with FCS. Uncontrolled blood sugar and poor lifestyle practices along with inadequate knowledge on diabetes and its control was observed. Effective education on diabetes management is the hour of need for the diabetics.