Awareness of Diabetes Mellitus in the Population of Urban Field Practice Area of a Tertiary Care Hospital Located at Eastern Part of Uttar Pradesh, India

World Health Organization had predicted potential for rise in the prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) by the end of the last century. The World Economic Forum (2010) has predicted premature deaths due to non-communicable diseases. According to the research studies, India's prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus is expected to rise to 79.4 million. The present study was carried out study for understanding general awareness about DM.

1. To assess the awareness regarding risk factors associated with Diabetes Mellitus.

2. To assess the awareness about Diabetes Mellitus with regard to symptoms, complications and management.

The data was collected during health camp, organized at urban field practice area of a tertiary care hospital, located at eastern part of U.P. A semi-structured, pretested questionnaire was used by trained medical social workers after obtaining consent from respondents. Data was analyzed by using statistical methods such as average, mean, percentage.

Out of 164 persons, 144 persons had some awareness about DM and were recruited in the study. Majority of the respondents were married (90.28%), and belonged to Hindu religion (80.56%) and unemployed or homemakers (56.94%). About 43 (61.92%) respondents had heard of case/s of DM in the family. About half of the respondents were aware of heredity as a risk factor where as for other risk factors namely obesity, age advancement, lack of exercise, alcohol consumption and stress the awareness was less than 25%. Perceived knowledge about symptoms, complications and management of diabetes was poor.

In the present study, 44.44% of the respondents were aware of the risk factors and 61.81% of the respondents were not aware about symptoms of DM. Only 81.94% of the respondents were not aware of any kind of management of DM; maximum awareness was found for regular intake of medicines and for regular consultation with the doctor (68.09% each) followed by balanced diet (46.81%). Similar observations were found in Singarore where general knowledge was low but understanding of symptoms and complications was high.

In the present study the awareness of DM was poor with regard to its risk factors, symptoms, complications and management. A planned, community based health education program for prevention and control of DM is very essential for the population in Eastern U.P.