Lema Girma Deshimo, Gebeyaw Enguday Demeke
Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Debre Berhan University, Debre Berhan, Ethiopia.
School of Public Health, Debre Berhan University, Debre Berhan, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2025 Jan 30;20(1):e0317288. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0317288. eCollection 2025.
Diabetes mellitus is a growing global health issue, especially in low- and middle-income countries like Ethiopia. To the best of our knowledge, the impact of diabetes knowledge on glycemic control in Ethiopia has not been documented. This study assessed diabetes knowledge and its relationship with glycemic control among Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients in Debre Berhan, Ethiopia.
A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 380 patients diagnosed with T2DM who were receiving care at two hospitals in Debre Berhan from January 1 to March 30, 2024. Patients' knowledge was assessed using the modified Diabetes Knowledge Questionnaire (DKQ-18), categorizing outcomes as either good or poor. Glycemic control was evaluated using hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify predictors of poor diabetes knowledge. Correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between knowledge and glycemic control.
Among the 380 participants, 75.2% were older than 45 years, and 51.3% were male. Overall, 62.4% of participants had poor knowledge of diabetes. Additionally, 72.6% had poor glycemic control, with HbA1C levels ≥7%. The mean average diabetes knowledge score was 7.9 (SD = 3.49) out of 18, and the median HbA1C was 8%. Diabetes knowledge was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with patients' educational level, occupation, family history of diabetes, and glycemic control. The Spearman correlation coefficient between HbA1C and diabetes knowledge scores was -0.166 (p = 0.001), suggesting a weak but statistically significant inverse relationship between knowledge scores and HbA1C levels.
The study found that the majority of patients had a low level of diabetes knowledge. Enhancing diabetes education and identifying additional factors that influence glycemic control are crucial for achieving optimal diabetes management in Ethiopia. Public health initiatives should prioritize enhancing diabetes knowledge through targeted educational programs and resources to support effective diabetes management and achieve optimal glycemic control.
糖尿病是一个日益严重的全球健康问题，尤其是在埃塞俄比亚等低收入和中等收入国家。据我们所知，糖尿病知识对埃塞俄比亚血糖控制的影响尚未见文献报道。本研究评估了埃塞俄比亚德布雷伯汉2型糖尿病（T2DM）患者的糖尿病知识及其与血糖控制的关系。
于2024年1月1日至3月30日在德布雷伯汉的两家医院对380例诊断为T2DM并正在接受治疗的患者进行了一项横断面研究。使用改良的糖尿病知识问卷（DKQ-18）评估患者的知识，将结果分为良好或较差。使用糖化血红蛋白（HbA1c）水平评估血糖控制情况。进行逻辑回归分析以确定糖尿病知识较差的预测因素。使用相关分析评估知识与血糖控制之间的关系。
在380名参与者中，75.2%年龄超过45岁，51.3%为男性。总体而言，62.4%的参与者对糖尿病知识了解不足。此外，72.6%的患者血糖控制不佳，糖化血红蛋白水平≥7%。糖尿病知识平均得分在18分中为7.9分（标准差=3.49），糖化血红蛋白中位数为8%。糖尿病知识与患者的教育水平、职业、糖尿病家族史和血糖控制显著相关（p<0.05）。糖化血红蛋白与糖尿病知识得分之间的Spearman相关系数为-0.166（p=0.001），表明知识得分与糖化血红蛋白水平之间存在微弱但具有统计学意义的负相关关系。
研究发现大多数患者的糖尿病知识水平较低。加强糖尿病教育并确定影响血糖控制的其他因素对于在埃塞俄比亚实现最佳糖尿病管理至关重要。公共卫生举措应优先通过有针对性的教育项目和资源来加强糖尿病知识，以支持有效的糖尿病管理并实现最佳血糖控制。
