Awareness of Diabetes Complication in Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes

Authors: Parise M, Fiorentino R, Sciuto G, Mazzullo M, Scavelli FB, Gnasso A, Irace C* and Cutruzzola A

DOI: 10.23880/doij-16000251

Volume 7, Issue 1

Abstract

Patients with diabetes are well-educated about the self-management of glycemic control; conversely, the education on the screening of complications are less structured and personalized. We designed our study to assess the awareness of complications in a sample of people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). This is an observational cross-sectional study. A questionnaire aimed to evaluate the knowledge of micro- and macro-vascular diabetic complications and of the tests used to detect them was provided to consecutive people with T2D. Three-hundred eleven participants with T2D were enrolled and competed the questionnaire. The majority of them were aware of retinopathy (98%), kidney disease (90%), cardiovascular diseases (57%), and leg sensitive abnormalities (83%), while few were aware of sexual (38%), bladder (45%), gastrointestinal (27%) and cardiovascular autonomic disorders (0.6%). Among those who were aware of sexual disorders, 33% defined the complication specific of male sex and 5% of both sexes. About one-third were aware of albuminuria, and 37% indicated electromyography as the standard test for peripheral neuropathy. An adequate level of awareness for most complications was observed. However, some complications linked to autonomic neuropathy and standard tests to detect diabetic nephropathy and peripheral neuropathy were poorly known. Furthermore, bladder, gastrointestinal disorders, and cardiac autonomic neuropathy were also less aware or unaware. A comprehensive education might be helpful to prevent the lesser-known complications and avoid inappropriate and expensive diagnostic tests.

Keywords: Awareness; Diabetes complications; Diabetes mellitus type 2; Survey; Questionnaire

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