Determinants of blood sugar level among type I diabetic patients in Debre Tabor General Hospital, Ethiopia: a longitudinal study

In 2019 among all populous countries in Africa, Ethiopia has the fourth-highest number of people with diabetes (1.7 million). This aggravated prevalence figure implies that diabetes mellitus is a major public health problem in Ethiopia. Due to urbanization, this problem is very critical in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. The study aimed to identify factors that affect the longitudinal fasting blood sugar among T1DM (Type I diabetes mellitus) patients in Debre Tabor General Hospital (DTGH); North-west Ethiopia. A retrospective study design was conducted from 210 randomly selected T1DM patients in the clinic (Outpatient Department) at Debre Tabor General Hospital under the follow-up period from September 2019 to August 2021. To fit these retrospective data records, we used Random intercept and slope models. In this study, the unstructured variance–covariance structure was the appropriate structure for the random intercept and slope model. At a 5% level of significance, family history of diabetes mellitus, age, comorbidity, hemoglobin, and visit time in months were significant factors. Also, all the random effect parameters were statistically significant. It implies that the variability within and between T1DM patients in FBS over time was statistically significant. The mean fasting blood sugar level at baseline was 5.4944 mg/dl and decreased to 5.0679 mg/dl at the final follow-up time. Major contributors for the increment of fasting blood sugar level were increasing age, decreasing haemoglobin, having comorbidity, and belonging from a family with diabetes history. The overall within and between variability in fasting blood sugar level among T1DM patients in DTGH were high. Intervention measures at DTGH level should be undertaken using health education and other measures by providing an emphasis on the prevention, early detection, and treatment of diabetes mellitus.