Prevalence and Factors Associated With Poor Glycaemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients: A Single-Centre, Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study in Jhenaidah District, Bangladesh

Abstract

Background

Poor glycaemic control is a significant public health concern among patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), contributing to the progression of diabetes-related complications. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of and factors associated with poor glycaemic control among patients with T2DM attending a single specialised diabetic hospital in Jhenaidah, Bangladesh.

Methods

A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 497 patients with T2DM attending the outpatient department of Jhenaidah Diabetic Hospital, Bangladesh, from October 2023 to April 2024. Eligibility required a recent glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) result within the preceding 3 months. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews, review of medical records, and anthropometric measurements. Modified Poisson regression with robust variance was used to identify factors associated with poor glycaemic control; adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated, and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results

The prevalence of poor glycaemic control among patients with T2DM was 79.1% (95% CI, 75.3%–82.4%). Overall, 72.4% of participants had at least 1 comorbidity, most often overweight/obesity (63.4%) (composite measure: overweight/obesity, hypertension, and reduced eGFR), and 81.1% had at least 1 diabetes-related complication, most commonly neuropathy (59.6%). Patients with a diabetes duration of 6–10 years had a higher prevalence of poor control (aPR = 1.13, 95% CI, 1.01–1.27, p = 0.037). Those with 1 comorbidity (aPR = 1.20, 95% CI, 1.05–1.36, p = 0.007) and 2 or more comorbidities (aPR = 1.25, 95% CI, 1.09–1.43, p = 0.002) also had a higher prevalence of poor glycaemic control.

Conclusion

Longer diabetes duration and comorbidity burden were significantly associated with poor glycaemic control. Closer monitoring of these patients may improve outcomes, but larger multicentre studies are needed to confirm the findings. As a single-centre, cross-sectional study, the estimate is clinic-based rather than population-representative, and the associations cannot be interpreted as causal.