Assessment of the knowledge of diabetes mellitus among school teachers within the scope of the managing diabetes at school program.

OBJECTIVE: Training teachers and education professionals on diabetes is crucial for full-time monitoring of diabetic children in schools. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge on diabetes in a group of school teachers in Turkey. METHODS: Between November 2010 and November 2011, 1054 teachers from three regions of Ankara were given a questionnaire to assess their knowledge on diabetes. The mean age of the group (27% males, 73% females) was 38.8±8 years. 61.7% of the participants were class teachers, 23.3% were school counselors, and the rest were physical education teachers and administrators. RESULTS: A fair percentage (47.6%) of the participants had a moderate knowledge level on diabetes and 32.4% expressed a lower level of knowledge. A large proportion (94%) gave an accurate definition of diabetes. Of the total group of 1054 teachers, 625 were aware that blood glucose level might decrease in diabetic children during follow-up. Also, 75% believed that diabetic children were eligible for physical education classes. 52.8% of these teachers had no diabetic child in their classes and teachers with a diabetic patient in their family had better knowledge of diabetes compared to their counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: Our study results indicate that school teachers have limited knowledge on diabetes. We believe that their knowledge levels can be improved by widespread training programs.

Insulin oedema in newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Despite the essential role of insulin in the management of patients with insulin deficiency, insulin use can lead to adverse effects such as hypoglycaemia and weight gain. Rarely, crucial fluid retention can occur with insulin therapy, resulting in an oedematous condition. Peripheral or generalised oedema is an extremely rare complication of insulin therapy in the absence of heart, liver or renal involvement. It has been reported in newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, in poorly controlled type 2 diabetes following the initiation of insulin therapy, and in underweight patients on large doses of insulin. The oedema occurs shortly after the initiation of intensive insulin therapy. We describe two adolescent girls with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, who presented with oedema of the lower extremities approximately one week after the initiation of insulin treatment; other causes of oedema were excluded. Spontaneous recovery was observed in both patients.