Prevalence, knowledge, and lifestyle‐associated risk factors of dyslipidemia among Ghanaian type‐2 diabetes mellitus patients in rural and urban areas: A multicenter cross‐sectional study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Dyslipidemia in diabetes mellitus has been linked to unhealthy lifestyle and bad eating habits. However, this association has not been well studied among rural and urban Ghanaian populations. In this study, we determined the prevalence, knowledge, and lifestyle‐associated risk factors of dyslipidemia among Ghanaian type‐2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in rural and urban areas. METHODS: This comparative multicentre‐cross‐sectional study recruited 228 T2DM outpatients attending the St. Michael Hospital, Pramso (rural) and Kumasi South Regional Hospital (urban), Ghana for routine check‐ups. Self‐structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic, knowledge, and lifestyle characteristics. Fasting blood samples were taken to measure lipid profiles. Dyslipidemia was defined per the American Diabetes Association criteria. All p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of dyslipidemia was 79/228 (34.7%). Dyslipidemia was more prevalent among urban participants 43 (18.9%) than rural participants 36 (15.8%). Twenty‐seven (11.7%) had adequate knowledge about the risk factors, complications, and management of diabetes. Eating supper after 7 p.m. [adjusted odds ratio = 3.77, 95% confidence interval (1.70–8.37), p = 0.001] significantly increased one's risk of having dyslipidemia by 3.8‐fold compared to eating supper earlier (before 5 p.m.). CONCLUSION: Dyslipidemia is increasing among T2DM patients in both urban and rural areas and it's independently influenced by eating supper after 7 p.m. Most participants were ignorant of the risk factors, complications, and management of diabetes. Adjusting eating habits and increasing diabetes awareness programs to sensitize the general public can mitigate the increasing prevalence of dyslipidemia in both urban and rural areas.