Factors Associated with Glycemic Control among Type 2 Diabetic Patients Attending Primary Health Care Centers in Qatar, a Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction/Aim: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a major global public health problem affecting huge number of the population with multiple complications that decrease the quality of life and contribute to earlier mortality. A lot of evidence suggests a link between poor glycemic control, diabetic complications and poor patient’s outcome. Therefore, it is critical for us to identify factors associated with poor glycemic control among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients as we aimed by this study. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted and included 510 type 2 diabetic patients attending non-communicable disease clinics at nine primary health care centers in Qatar aiming to explore some associated factors of poor glycemic control among them. A stratified cluster sampling technique with proportional allocation was utilized. HbA1c level >7% was considered as poor control, while HbA1c ≤ 7% was categorized as good control. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Pre-coded structured interviewing questionnaire was utilized. Review of medical records was done to collect the required information. Results: About two thirds (63.7%) of patients had poor glycemic control was high. Poor glycemic control was higher among patients with duration of diabetes of ≥ 10 years (73.4%) compared to those with duration of < 5 years (51.9%) and the difference was found to be statistically significant (χ2 = 14.498, p = 0.001). also, the differences were statistically significant regarding the management strategies of diabetes and the self-monitoring of blood glucose. The relation between the number of diabetic complications and glycemic control was statistically significant with poor control of 100% among patients had > 3 complications. Patients who were on diet, oral hypoglycemic drugs and insulin had 6.90 times higher risk of having poor glycemic control compared to those who were on diet and oral hypoglycemic drugs only (OR = 6.90, CI = 3.60-13.20). Finally, patients who don’t practice selfmonitoring of blood glucose had 3.66 more risk of having poor glycemic control compared to those practicing self-monitoring of blood glucose (OR = 3.66, CI = 2.40-5.60). Conclusion: Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that about two thirds of patients with T2DM in Qatar had a poor glycemic control with HbA1c level of > 7%. Comorbidities were highly prevalent among them and about 25% of them were developed one or more complications of diabetes. The duration of T2DM, the strategy used in management and the self-monitoring of blood glucose are critical factors in glycemic control. Citation: Mohamed HAE, Al-Kohji SM, El-Din Makhlouf MM, Osman SO, Al-Kuwari MG, et al. (2020) Factors Associated with Glycemic Control among Type 2 Diabetic Patients Attending Primary Health Care Centers in Qatar, a Cross-Sectional Study. J Community Med Public Health 4: 183. DOI: 10.29011/2577-2228.100083 2 Volume 4; Issue 02 J Community Med Public Health, an open access journal ISSN: 2577-2228