Limited Knowledge of Chronic Kidney Disease among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients in India

Diabetes and hypertension are the two major causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Epidemiological studies have found poor knowledge about the CKD among the general population. Hence, this study aimed to assess the awareness of CKD among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in India. Patients with confirmed T2DM were included in the study. Patients receiving dialysis or with a history of a kidney transplant were excluded. A validated questionnaire was used to assess knowledge about CKD. Demographic characteristics were presented using descriptive statistics and trends in groups were calculated using the chi-square test. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS v9.4. A total of 323 patients completed the study. The mean age of the patients was 56 ± 11.25 years, and 51.7% were female. Only 33.43% of the patients correctly identified diabetes and hypertension as risk factors for CKD, while 44.27% were aware of the kidney’s function. Statistically significant associations were observed between kidney disease knowledge and education status (p = 0.004), socioeconomic status (p = 0.000), and income status (p = 0.003). No association was observed between the knowledge about CKD and age, gender, hypertension stages, CKD stages, duration of diabetes as well as hypertension and co-morbidities. Based on the results of this study, we found poor knowledge of CKD among Indian T2DM patients. The government should start a CKD awareness programme to deal with this rising co-morbid condition.