Gender Difference in Care of Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

Introduction: Biologically male and female have similar diabetes prevalence. Gender differences in the social structure bring differences in life style modifications and all other self care behaviors in type 2 diabetes. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the gender difference in care of type 2 diabetes in Western region, Nepal. 
 Methods: Hundred men and hundred women respondents participated in a cross-sectional study conducted in two hospitals in Pokhara, Nepal. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to each of the respondents.
 Results: Dry mouth (χ2 = 3.977, P = 0.046) and abdominal pain (χ2 = 3.840, P = 0.050) were reported as symptoms of diabetes in 51% and 31% women compared to 37% and 19% men respectively. The study revealed that women had low self-efficacy with respect to their diabetes care (35%) in comparison to men (65%). There was significant association between gender and diet practices which showed men have 0.328 (95% CI: 0.184 - 0.585) times less chances of bad dietary practices compared to women. After adjusting for age, education, occupation and self-efficacy, men were less likely to have bad dietary practices (OR= 0.513, 95% CI: 0.266, 0.992).
 Conclusions: The result of this study provided evidence that there are gender differences in reporting of symptoms, mode of diagnosis and certain self-management behaviors. Therefore there is a need to design gender specific behavior change communication strategies for better management of type 2 diabetes.Keywords: diabetes care; gender; self-efficacy; self-management.

Sex Differences in the Presentation, Diagnosis, and Management of Acute Coronary Syndromes: Findings From the Kerala-India ACS Registry

“…However, there are few studies about sex differences in chronic diseases. Small observational studies have shown some differences in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus and epilepsy in Nepal and India, respectively, but not in the acute setting [23,24]. This highlights the need for further study in the management and outcomes of acute manifestations of noncommunicable, chronic diseases in India.…”

Self-Care Behaviors of Nepalese Adults With Type 2 Diabetes

“…Adherence to the multidimensional, self-care regimen is challenging (Zulman, Rosland, Choi, Langa, & Heisler, 2012) and places a significant burden on physical and mental well-being (Wang, Wu, & Hsu, 2011). Various external factors like availability of social support, psychological factors such as self-efficacy (Hunt, Grant, & Pritchard, 2012;Strom & Egede, 2012), socioeconomic factors (e.g., low income, employment status; Debussche, Balcou- Debussche, Besancon, & Traore, 2009), demographic factors (e.g., gender, religion, marital status, educational status, expectation regarding aging [ERA]; Kart, Kinney, Subedi, Basnyat, & Vadakkan, 2007;Karter et al, 2007;Kiberenge, Ndegwa, Njenga, & Muchemi, 2010;Shrestha, Kosalram, & Gopichandran, 2013), cultural factors (Nam, Chesla, Stotts, Kroon, & Janson, 2011;Shrestha et al, 2013), and disease-related factors (like presence of DM-related complications, presence of comorbidities; Song et al, 2012) have been identified to affect self-care behaviors of adults with DM.…”

How do multi-modality strategies affect outcomes in T2D using a randomized control trial?

“…24 Men were less likely to have inappropriate dietary practices than women with family support. 23 In this study, gender, education, duration of diabetes and adult education favorably affected HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose, and body weight. The effect of predictors like men, aging adults, having a moderate-income group, and a higher education group, longer duration of diabetes and had a lower glycemic control benefited from the exposure to the multi-modality strategies by the diabetes nurse educators.…”

“…22 Gender differences in diabetes process of care have also been observed in a few studies. 23,24 More women tend to adhere to self-care (healthy diet, glucose monitoring, and self-foot examination) compared to men. However, women tend to be inactive due to gendered differentiated roles and socio-cultural norms compared to their counterparts.…”