Health-related quality of life among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus - A multicentre study in Bangladesh.

AIMS: This study aimed to explore the health-related quality of life and the various demographics and clinical characteristics associated with it among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Bangladesh. METHODS: A total of 1253 participants with type 2 diabetes were recruited from a cross-sectional and retrospective study conducted in Bangladesh in 2017. Participants were recruited from six rural and urban diabetes hospitals. The health-related quality of life of the participants was assessed using the validated EuroQol-5D-5L scale and EuroQol-VAS score. Information was collected via face-to-face interviews and existing medical records. Data was analysed using univariate and multivariable regression analyses with bootstrap resampling. RESULTS: The average health-related quality of life was 0.64 (±0.20) for EQ-5D-5L score and 61.69 (±34.98) for EQ-VAS score. Old age, low income, low education level, residing in an urban area, longer duration of diabetes, being physically inactive, the presence of macro- and/or micro-vascular complications, impaired cognitive function, being depressed and having anxiety were related to poor health-related quality of life. CONCLUSION: The health-related quality of life among people with type 2 diabetes in Bangladesh is low, and various socio-demographic and psychological factors and diabetes-related complications are associated with it. This finding will help reform treatments and enforce lifestyle modifications to ensure that the burden of diabetes on people's quality of life is minimal.

Informal allopathic provider knowledge and practice regarding control and prevention of TB in rural Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: BRAC (formerly Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), in collaboration with the National Tuberculosis Control Programme, provides one full-day training on TB to make informal allopathic providers knowledgeable for managing TB in rural Bangladesh. This study explored the knowledge and practices of the providers receiving the above training in the control and prevention of TB. METHODS: The study was conducted in 30 subdistricts, with 30 trained and 30 untrained providers randomly selected from each subdistrict. Approximately 3% (49/1800) did not provide complete information. Pre-tested structured and semi-structured questionnaires were used. RESULTS: TB was commonly perceived as a disease of only males (66.1%, 1157/1751). Only one-quarter knew about the bacterial cause of TB. Very few providers (2.1%, 36) had adequate knowledge regarding prevention of TB. They also lacked knowledge about TB treatment duration (71.6%, 1253), the meaning of DOTS (directly observed treatment, short course) (26.0%, 455) and multidrug resistance (20.6%, 360). Antibiotics (79.7%, 1396) and cough syrup (75.0%, 1313) were commonly prescribed by providers despite symptoms suggestive of TB. However, 70.2% (613) and 74.5% (650) of trained providers' knowledge and practice scores were equal to or more than the mean scores (≥6.97 and ≥6.6, respectively), whereas they were only 49.5% (435) and 64.2% (563), respectively, among untrained providers (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Misperception, lack of knowledge and irrational use of antibiotics are challenges that need to be addressed for controlling and preventing TB efficiently.