Résumé
Objectives: [1] To explore the trends and characteristics of diabetes mellitus in our community in Mosul. [2] To evaluate the patients behavior as regards their disease and the current state of management
Design: A cross sectional descriptive study
Setting: The laboratory unit of AI Razi general hospital in Mosul, from the 1"of April, through the10 of May 2001
Participants: Two hundreds and tifteen diabetic patients randomly enrolled during their attendance to the laboratory to have tests for their diabetes
Intervention: Demographic, clinical, and management data were gathered using interview schedule. Data regarding body weight and height were affirmed as well, and body mass index calculated. Blood glucose was assessed by measuring glycated hemoglobin A1c[Hb A1c] level in a number of randomly selected patients
Main outcome measures: The main outcome measures were the demographic features [age, sex and education], types of the disease trends of eating, frequency of conducting periodical clinical and laboratory checkups in addition to the measurement of HbA1c levels
Results: The study uncovered the ratio of the main types, prevalence of the disease among the patients' relatives. body weights, incidence of co-morbidities [hypertension and symptomatic ischemic heart disease]and sex and age distribution. Most of these were nearly similar to the western results. illiteracy was marked among the inflicted. Dietary attitudes were markedly defective and bodily exercises were extensively ignored. Ambulatory self-monitoring and the periodical laboratory and clinical checkups were unsatisfactory. Patients who got an HbA1c level of [> 7] constituted 89% of the sample
Conclusions: The current state of diabetic management is in gross failure. An energetic collaboration is required to improve it urgently