RESULTS
A total of 557 patients were included in the study. Every eligible
fifth patient who was approached consented to participate,
thus giving a respondent rate of 100%. The present study
included 205 men and 352 women with type 2 diabetes mellitus,
aged between 30 and 84 years, with a mean (SD) of
55.95 years (9.13 years) and diabetes mellitus duration of
7.8 years (6.21 years). Just 14.7% of the patients had diabetes
only (without any comorbidities), whereas the remaining
patients were diagnosed with diabetes and other comorbidities,
such as hypertension, dyslipidemia or both.
Approximately 60.3% of the population used a combination
of oral antidiabetic drugs, followed by monotherapy (24.4%),
and a combination of oral antidiabetics and insulin (15.3%).
The patients in the monotherapy group were 6.81-fold more
likely to achieve glycemic control compared with those using a
combination of insulin and oral antidiabetic drugs. Those using
a combination of oral antidiabetic drugs were 2.36-fold more
likely than those receiving combination insulin and oral antidiabetic
drug therapy to achieve glycemic control. Among the
patients receiving monotherapy, more patients receiving sulphonylureas
achieved glycemic control, with HbA1c levels lower
than 6.5% (41.4%), than those using metformin (37%). However,
patients receiving sulphonylureas (n = 29) were fewer
than those receiving metformin (n = 100).
For self-management behavior among the patients, 40.8%
did not control their diet (sugar intake), 55.3% did not engage
in regular exercise and 88.9% did not smoke. Approximately
53.4% of the patients were compliant in taking their medication.