Awareness of Diabetes Mellitus among Uae Non-Diabetic Population in Ajman and Ras Alkhaimah

Abstract

The present study aims to assess the level of knowledge of DM among non diabetic people from Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) regard to causes, complication, clinical manifestation, management, treatment, drug adherence and control, hypoglycemia associated with diabetic therapy, hypoglycemia management and other aspects related to diabetes. A cross-sectional study was conducted among non diabetic people who were attending GMCH (Gulf Medical College Hospital) community pharmacy in Ajman and RAK hospitals during the period between July and December 2009. A self-administered questionnaire was used as a tool for data collection. The percentage of participants aware of diabetes causes, symptoms, complications, management, drug treatment, drug therapy adherence and diabetes monitoring were 60.4%, 78.7%, 54.8%, 68.9%, 89.8%, 50.6%, and 76.6% respectively. Awareness of hypoglycemic symptoms which can complicate diabetes therapy was only low 23.8%. For the management of hypoglycemia 45.1% of the participants recommended the use of sugar, 23% of them suggested the use of oral medicine and 32% of the participants recommended the use of insulin. The proportions of participants who had correct knowledge of the recommended frequency of follow-up of eye exam, urine test, blood sugar measurement and blood pressure test in diabetic patients were 33.6%, 39.6%, 87.2% and 23.8 respectively. The study showed low awareness of the population about various aspects of diabetes and the least knowledge was noticed on hypoglycemic symptoms, hypoglycemia management and diabetes complications. We recommend education program to improve population knowledge regards diabetes which can create enthusiasm to improve diabetes care and can go a long way in the prevention and management of diabetes in the Gulf region and UAE in particular.

“In a situation of rescuing life”: meanings given to diabetes symptoms and care-seeking practices among adults in Southeastern Tanzania: a qualitative inquiry

“…The results showed that among members of the community, awareness and knowledge of the diabetes signs and symptoms appear to be very limited, and people with diabetes knew little about the disease before they were diagnosed. These findings are in line with those of earlier studies for Tanzania [ 11 ] and other SSA countries [ 38 - 42 ]). The failure of individuals to correctly interpret, label, and assign meaning to their diabetes symptoms is indicative of the general lack of knowledge about diabetes in the community, and this has implications for the awareness of diabetes signs and symptoms and the care-seeking responses of patients.…”

Hypoglycaemia Among Insulin-Treated Patients with Diabetes: Evaluation of the United Arab Emirates cohort of the International Operations-Hypoglycaemia Assessment Tool study

“…15 The UAE has one of the world's highest prevalence rates of DM (15.4%), with 40% of those over the age of 60 years suffering from the condition and 2.7 new cases of T1DM diagnosed per 100,000 children and adolescents annually. [16][17][18][19] By 2045, it is predicted that 23.4% of the population between 20-79 years old in the UAE will have DM. 17,18 Therefore, identifying the incidence of hypoglycaemic events is paramount in order to determine disease burden.…”

“…21 In the current study, the level of knowledge of the definition and symptoms of hypoglycaemia was similar to previously reported findings among diabetic individuals. 19,22 This may be because such patients have individualised BG targets, greater experience with BG monitoring or have received patient education on this topic. 23 Fear of hypoglycaemia can have major clinical repercussions for DM management.…”