RESUMO
@#Introduction: Four out of five diabetic Malaysians were unable to achieve good glycaemic targets. Insufficient health literacy among patients with diabetes is associated with worse glycaemic control. Thus this research is aimed to determine the impact of the Healthy Lifestyle Education (HLE) course to the diabetic control. Methods: This is a comparative cross-sectional study. Medical records of patients with diabetes who either attended or not attended HLE course at Simpang Health Clinic from April 2018 to September 2018 were reviewed and study data extracted. Wilcoxon signed-ranks test, Pearson chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test and Binary logistic regression were employed. Results: A total of 220 medical records including 106 HLE attendees and 114 non-attendees were recruited. Mean ages of attendees and non-attendees were 57.5±11.9 years and 60.8±9.9 years respectively. The attendees achieved reduction in glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting blood sugar (FBS) and total cholesterol after HLE course (p<0.05). Those non-attendees had significant weight lost but increment in systolic blood pressure, HbA1c, LDL and insulin’s total daily dose (p<0.05). Reduction in Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS) among the HLE Attendees was independently associated with HbA1c reduction [p=0.015, odds ratio (95% CI) = 3.83 (1.30-11.27)]. Conclusion: Our work suggests that HLE has improved glycaemic and lipid control among patients with diabetes. Hence it should be executed at the primary care settings.