Compliance of Diabetic patients

K Lafta, Riyadh

	Compliance of Diabetic patients
Mustansiriya Medical Journal
Article 1, Volume 8, Issue 1, 2009, Pages 17-22
Author
Riyadh K Lafta
Abstract
Background Diabetes is likely to be the fifth leading cause of death. Global excess mortality attributable to diabetes is estimated at 2.9 million deaths which is equivalent to 5.2% of world all-cause mortality. Compliance with medical advice is essential for controlling the disease; it is affected by many factors related to the patient, the disease, the physician and the family. Objective To assess the level of diabetic patients’ compliance with diet, drugs and visits, and to assess its effect on the disease control through certain indicators. Methods A total of 300 diabetic patients from different age categories, both males and females, were included in this study. The patients are usually either self-referral or referred from other hospitals, primary health care centers, governmental general practice clinics or private clinics. A questionnaire form was constructed to collect data about the demographic characteristics of the patients, about diet and medications. Files of the patients were reviewed to have an idea about their compliance. Results Compliance with diet was medium in half of the patients, while with drugs; it was good in 60.3%, and 38.7% had good compliance to visits. The best compliance with diet (38.2%) was seen in the age group 40-49 year while the least (19.2%) was in the age group (30-39)[ (χ²=2.65, P>0.05), 37.4% of the patients who are using oral hypoglycaemic agents, and 36.7% of those using insulin had good compliance with diet (χ²=7.10, P<0.05). Conclusion We can conclude from this study that the diabetic patients (represented by the study sample) have poor compliance with diet and visits, the duration of the disease was the most common variable found to predict compliance.
Keywords
diabetic; compliance; Iraq

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