KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE TOWARDS DIABETES MELLITUS AMONG APPARENTLY HEALTHY ADULTS IN A RURAL SETTING IN PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder of chronic hyperglycemia characterized by disturbances to carbohydrate, protein, and fat metabolism resulting from absolute or relative insulin deficiency with dysfunction in organ systems. Diabetes Mellitus (DM) has been implicated as a risk factor for both cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus has been on the increase in our environment. The objective of this study is to assess knowledge, attitude and practice of Diabetes Mellitus, which is important in the control of Diabetes Mellitus but little information is available from developing countries where new Diabetes Mellitus(DM) cases are increasingly diagnosed. Method: We examined KAP on Diabetes Mellitus amongst apparently healthy adult population. A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 107 adults- 80 females and 27 males between the ages of 18 years and 80years for a period of 3 months using convenience sampling. KAP score about Diabetes mellitus was deduced from a set of KAP related questions/questionnaire. Results: This shows that 74.8% were females and 25.2% were males. About 46.7% of the respondents were self-employed followed by 17.8% unemployed and 6.5% were students. Overall , only 22.4% of the respondents had good knowledge of the case definition of diabetes Mellitus. 83.2% had positive attitude toward Diabetes Mellitus prevention. 46.7% of the respondents agree that diabetic complications can be prevented if blood glucose level is well controlled. Conclusion: The Knowledge of Diabetes Mellitus was quite poor in this study. This calls for more education of the populace and positive attitude and appropriate intervention towards addressing the relevant risk factors of Diabetes Mellitus thereby preventing future cardiovascular complications including metabolic syndrome in the general population.