Assessment of knowledge and concern of hypoglycemia among rural diabetes population

Abstract

Diabeties mellitus now a days is a very common disease in developing countries like India. It is considered as a public health problem globally. International Diabetes Federation states that around 382 million diabetic patients are present worldwide. And it states that most of them belong to low and middle-income countries. Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by elevated blood glucose levels and disturbances in carbohydrates, fats, and protein metabolism and associated with metabolic complications that can subsequently lead to premature death. The term hypoglycemia means "under-sweet blood." It occurs when the blood glucose falls to <40–50 mg/dl, which may endanger the patient's life as well as other person's lives. It can be caused by too much insulin intake or oral hypoglycemic agents, too little food, or excessive physical activity. Diabetes medications, including insulin and sulfonylureas, are among the most common causes of hypoglycemia in diabetic subjects. We conducted this study to elucidate how much of our rural sector population was aware of hypoglycemia and medication adherence. It is a Prospective, observational study using a validated questionnaire. Our study depicted women and people belonging to low socio-economic status had to be taught individually about the chronicity of diabetes, significant adherence to medication, and especially counselling periodically. We must educate our population in their native language about imminent symptoms of hypoglycemia and way of prevention. Trained diabetes counsellors are also important in our country as thus hold millions of diabetes population, and it should be made available at primary health care itself.