2277-PUB: Factors Effecting Diabetes Patients’ Perception of Diet: An Extended Analysis of Facts and Fads

Abstract

Aim: To assess the awareness of dietary constituents, perception of diet in those with diabetes. Methods: A cross-sectional, objective, qualitative questionnaire-based assessment was performed among outpatient diabetes patients who visited tertiary diabetes care centers in Metropolitan cities of India. The questionnaire was answered by diabetes patients in a simple ’Yes’ or ’No’ format about awareness of various foods. The questions were about diet, quantity that could be consumed, and myths about various food products consumed routinely. Patients’ perception of diet was categorized into ’correct’ and ’incorrect’ depending on their response to each question in a 10-point questionnaire. A score of ’1’ was given for each ’correct’ answer and ’0’ for an ’incorrect’ answer. Maximum score one can get is 10/10 and a minimum of 0/10. Results: Total 2295 patients with diabetes were assessed. Patients included were in age range 9 to 90 years with median age of 55 years. Males, females were 62% and 38% respectively. A mean score of 3.8 and median score of 4 was achieved. 2.2% patients achieved maximum correct answer score of 9/10 and 5.9% patients had minimum score 0/10. 44.8% patients scored <4, 45.3% scored 4-6 and 9.9% scored >6. Socioeconomic status, education, HbA1c levels, occupation, Insulin use, duration of diabetes were the factors that contributed to better level of awareness about diet (p <0.001). Age <40 years, male gender, type 1 diabetes, previous diet counseling, exercise patterns, family history of diabetes, unmarried, weight <40kgs, history of no alcohol usage and being non-smoker, were associated with better scores, although not statistically significant. Conclusion: This study gives valuable insights into the lack of awareness about daily food products and the factors associated with the diet perceptions in diabetic patients. This facilitates health care providers to work on areas that could facilitate improving awareness about dietary practices in those with diabetes. Disclosure R.S. Erukulapati: None. M. Rm: None. K. Dash: None. S. Das: None. H. Reddy: None. V. S: None. A. Punjani: None. S. Yalamanchili: None. S. Tippisetty: None. V.K. Kolukula: None. S.G. Krishna: None.