Awareness regarding risk factors of type 2 diabetes among individuals attending a tertiary-care hospital in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Awareness regarding risk factors is a prerequisite for the prevention of diabetes in general population. However, there are great variations in the level of this awareness from population to population and this needs to be explored in different ethnic and social groups for designing appropriate preventive strategies. The purpose of the study was to assess the level of awareness regarding the risk factors responsible for the development of type 2 diabetes and its determinants among individuals who attended a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: Under an analytical cross-sectional design, 400 non-diabetic respondents, aged >30 years, were conveniently selected from the Out-Patient Department of BIRDEM, the tertiary care hospital of the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh. A pretested, semi-structured questionnaire was developed to assess knowledge and attitude of the respondents. Respondents’ level of knowledge and attitude were categorized as good, average and poor (GAP). Multivariate along with bivariate statistics was used to measure knowledge and attitude of type 2 diabetes. RESULTS: Among the respondents the levels of knowledge and attitude were 13%, 10% good; 68%, 75% average and 19%, 14% poor respectively. In multivariate analysis, high literacy (p = 0.0001), respondents who are in service (p = 0.02) and family history of diabetes (p = 0.02) were found significantly associated with the knowledge score after adjustment. Respondents who had passed secondary and higher secondary education had a significant association (p = 0.03) with the attitude score. Housewives had a significantly lower attitude score than others (p = 0.04). Family history of diabetes and knowledge on the risk factors of diabetes showed significant positive association with the attitude score (p = 0.013 and p = 0.0001 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, respondents participating in this study have average awareness regarding risk factors of diabetes. From a public health perspective, there is a decisive need of innovative prevention programs for targeting people including high-risk individuals.