Participation in blood glucose test, knowledge and prevalence of hyperglycemia among traders at New Market, Enugu.

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus causes great health complications which include cardiovascular diseases and nerve damage.
Aim: To ascertain the participation in blood glucose test, knowledge of diabetes mellitus (DM) and prevalence of hyperglycemia among traders at New market, Enugu State.
Methods: The study is a cross-sectional survey involving measurement of random plasma glucose level of the participants using Accu-check glucometer, and collection of data on the knowledge and participation of subjects in blood glucose test using structured questionnaire. The informed consent of the participants was duly obtained after detailed explanation of the objectives and procedures of the study. All the participants had a minimum of senior secondary school education. They were 130 (50 males and 80 females) from the age of 40 years and above. The data collected include participation in blood glucose test, knowledge of diabetes and prevalence of hyperglycemia. The data was analyzed descriptively.
Results: The results showed that 53.08% was aware of DM while, 46.92% was unaware; 11.54% of the people have checked their plasma blood glucose level within four years while 88.46% had not; 91.53% had normal plasma blood sugar level while, 8.46% had hyperglycemia; 36.36% of participants with hyperglycemia was aware of their diabetes status while, 63.64% was unaware.
Conclusion: There is high percentage of participants who were aware of diabetes mellitus; high percentage of those who have not checked their plasma glucose level within 4 years, low prevalence of hyperglycemia and high percentage of those who were not aware of their diabetes status.

Key words: Diabetes mellitus, hyperglycemia, awareness, prevalence.