If you are a diabetic and struggling to control your glycemic levels, apart from diet control, you should also look at brushing up your knowledge of the disease.
A study done on 200 patients by a team of doctors of Government Medical College Bhavnagar found that there was a positive correlation between a diabetic person’s knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) related to the disease and overall glycemic control. It found that only 40 per cent prevalence of strict glycemic control among the subjects and they had a better KAP score than those with poor control.
The study subjects had been diagnosed with the disease for an average of 9 years.
The study titled Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Urban Gujarati type 2 diabetics: Prevalence and Impact on Disease Control also highlighted other interesting findings including the fact that walking which benefits diabetics in multiple ways was neglected by most.
It found that of the 200 patients, only 54 per cent had a practice of regular walking and only 27.5 per cent were involved in foot care in the form of wearing socks.
The study was carried out by Dr Jayesh Solanki, Dr Nidhi Sheth, Dr Chinmay Shah and Dr Hemant Mehta of the Department of Physiology, Govt Medical College, Bhavnagar and it was funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research.
The study also found high levels of misinformation about the disease with 74.5 per cent of the respondents believing that the disease can be totally cured and 67 per cent of them believing that bitter food can help cure it.
Dr Banshi Saboo, a diabetologist said that better knowledge is key to managing the disease. “Among my own patients I have found that only those who do regular follow-ups end up having better control over the disease,” said Dr Saboo.
He said the sheer number of diabetics, the shortage of doctors and infrastructure means that even doctors can’t dedicate that level of time and energy in creating awareness among patients.
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 "World Diabetes Day")
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