Survey of awareness of diabetes mellitus (Type-2) among Muzaffarpur Population, Bihar

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is reported  as one of the hazardous diseases rising at a very  fast rate. One of the major reasons behind this is  the lack of knowledge and awareness among the  people. Increase in knowledge and complications  regarding diabetes among people expected to  have a better outcome of the disease. This study  was planned to assess the awareness about  diabetes. Methods: This study was conducted in the urban  area of Muzaffarpur city located in Bihar. This  study was a community-based cross-sectional  study and includes 600 participants randomly  selected from different age groups. Demographic  data and knowledge of participants on various  aspects of DM were collected by a well-prepared  questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used for  data analysis. Result: It was found that 39.83% of participants  had knowledge of DM. Only 9% of subjects were  graduate or highly educated. This percentage  reflects the low prevalence of diabetic knowledge  in society. Only 10.67% knew that DM was  caused by insufficient insulin. 73.67% of  respondents did not know any DM symptoms.  61% of respondents did not know how this  disease can be prevented. 88.33% of respondents  did not have any idea about the complication of  DM. Conclusion: This study indicated that awareness  about diabetes was very poor, especially in  subjects with low education. The study  concluded that there is an urgent requirement of  different strategies like diabetic health  campaigns, issuing pamphlets of information  about DM, public speaking sessions, etc to spread  awareness among the general population.