Awareness on type 2 diabetes mellitus does not necessarily translate to a better knowledge and practices on prevention and management among adults

Abstract

The prevalence of diet-related non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes is on the rise in Tanzania. This creates a need to explore knowledge on prevention and management for designing appropriate interventions. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, knowledge and practices on prevention and management of type 2 diabetes among adults in urban areas of Dodoma region. This cross-sectional study involved 313 randomly selected adults. A pre-tested questionnaire adapted from the Tanzania STEPS SURVEY was administered through face-to-face interviews. Fasting blood capillary was tested using Gluco-plusTM. Sixty three percent were females and 53.6% (n=168) completed primary school. About 11% (n=35) had diabetes and 23% (n=72) pre-diabetes of which 82% (n=88) were undiagnosed before this study. About 60% (n=188) knows that diabetes can be prevented whereby 34% (n=64) and 21.3% (n=40) mentioned preventive measures to be physical activities and eating balanced diet respectively. Knowledge was positively associated with education level (AOR 2.05, 95% CI: 1.57-3.25) and female sex (AOR 1.76, 95% CI: 1.08-2.87). Half of the respondents did not know how to manage diabetes; 46% (n=70) mentioned diet as the only management strategy while 24% (n=36) mentioned physical activity. Furthermore, all participants were aware of type 2 diabetes existence of which 48% (n=150) reported it to be a consequence of overweight/obesity. However, about 89% (n=278) were unaware of gestational diabetes. Although pre-diabetes and diabetes rate was high, majorities were undiagnosed before the study and there was limited knowledge on prevention and management of diabetes creating a need for public education.