Bernard B Benjamin et al. Int. Res. J. Pharm. 2017, 8 (6) 35 INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL OF PHARMACY www.irjponline.com ISSN 2230 – 8407 Research Article KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE ABOUT DIABETES AND ITS TREATMENT IN PATIENTS ATTENDING THE SPECIALITY CLINIC Bernard B Benjamin 1 , Prakruti P Patel 2 *, Geetha S Iyer 3 , Anuradha Gandhi 2 , R K Dikshit 4 1 Lead - Medical Reviewer Aggregate Reports, Cognizant Technology Solution, Mumbai, India 2 Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, B J Medical College, Ahmedabad, India 3 Doctoral Student, Population Health Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 4 Professor, Department of Pharmacology, GCS Medical College, Ahmedabad, India *Corresponding Author Email: prakrutiparth@yahoo.co.in Article Received on: 28/03/17 Approved for publication: 28/04/17 DOI: 10.7897/2230-8407.08693 ABSTRACT Diabetes mellitus is a prominent healthcare problem in India. Emphasis on self management and active participation of the patients can help reduce its complications. This baseline study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice about diabetes and its treatment among patients. A validated self-administered questionnaire was administered to diabetic patients attending the specialty OPD at a tertiary care, teaching hospital. The questions assessed the knowledge, attitude and views about diabetes, its complications and regarding prevention and treatment. Scoring of questions regarding knowledge was done (range 0 to 33). Latest fasting and postprandial blood sugar levels and HbA1C level were also recorded. The data was recorded in a Microsoft Excel 2007 spreadsheet and statistical analysis was done using Graph Pad InStat version 3.06. The study enrolled 200 patients (151 males and 49 females). About 75% patients knew the normal blood sugar levels, symptoms and complications of diabetes. Heart disease was considered to be a major complication and around 70% believed that these complications could be prevented. The mean knowledge score was 12.8±3.3 out of 33. The level of knowledge was better with greater age and duration of diabetes. The attitude of the patients was favourable with majority realizing the importance of lifestyle modifications, uninterrupted treatment and regular follow up. However, few patients actually partook in the lifestyle changes. Attitude of the patients was encouraging but the knowledge and practice was generally lacking among the patients. Motivation and importance of self management patient education regarding drugs, diet and regular exercise is important for decreasing mortality and morbidity due to diabetes. Key words: Knowledge, attitude, self care practices, diabetes mellitus INTRODUCTION Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorders in which a person develops high blood sugar, either due to inadequate insulin production, or insensitivity of the cells to insulin. 1 Of all the chronic non-communicable diseases, diabetes is associated with highest morbidity and complications and it affects people from all socio-economic backgrounds. 2 Globally the number of people suffering from diabetes is projected to rise from 171 million in the year 2000 to 366 million in 2030. 3 With an estimated 50.8 million people living with diabetes, India has the world's largest diabetic population, followed by China with 43.2 million. The prevalence of diabetes in India varies from 5.4% in northern states to as high 12.3 to 15.5% in south India. 4- 6 The increased prevalence of this disease in India is said to be due to increased urbanization, lifestyle transition and change in nutrition (e.g. consumption of diet rich in fat, sugar and calories). 7 Also the incidence of both micro and macro vascular complications involving the nervous and the cardiovascular systems are high perhaps due to a poor glycemic control. 8 The mainstay of therapy in diabetes mellitus is insulin and oral anti-diabetic drugs. However, studies have shown that implementation of simple lifestyle modifications like decrease in saturated fat intake, increase in dietary fibre content and a regular exercise can significantly reduce blood glucose, insulin and HbA1C levels. 9, 10 Additionally, it is also recognised that empowerment of the patients themselves by promoting self- management results in achieving optimal blood glucose outcome and reduces the incidence of complications. 1 1 Diabetes self- management education (DSME) has become an integral part of diabetes care for all patients who want to achieve successful health-related outcomes regardless of age. 12 Hence, a combination of knowledge of the disease, the lifestyle modifications as well as the treatment is extremely essential to combat diabetes. Hence it was considered worthwhile to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of diabetes and its management in our set up. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a cross-sectional, observational, questionnaire based study conducted among the patients attending the diabetes outpatient clinic at a tertiary care, teaching hospital in western India. Approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee and requisite permission from the clinic was taken prior to the study. The target population was all patients, above 18 years of age of either gender, diagnosed and undergoing treatment for diabetes mellitus (type 1 and 2) and willing to give an informed consent. A questionnaire was designed by the investigators to test the knowledge, attitude and practice of the diabetic patients regarding the disease and its management. This questionnaire was filled in at a face to face interview with the investigator. It comprised of 22 questions, out of which 3 were general