Objective: To explore the influences of patients' self-management to glycaemic control among type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) outpatients in urban China.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 1524 T2DM outpatients from 15 hospitals in 4 major cities of China. Questionnaire interview was used by trained surveyors to collect data on general characters and self-management. HbA1c test was applied to measure blood glucose in the centralized hospital in each city. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between self-management components including diet control, knowledge,blood monitoring and regular exercises and level of HbA1c.
Results: 1524 outpatients were enrolled in the study. Multivariate analysis showed that patients who were under diet control (OR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.34 - 0.72), knowledgeable on DM (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.46 - 0.80), compliance behavior (OR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.40-0.98), having regular monitoring on blood glucose (< or = 4 times/month: OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.50 - 0.87; > 4 times/month: OR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.36 - 0.73) and examining HbA1c (< or = 3 times per year: OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.23 - 0.48; 0-3 times per year: OR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.43 - 0.74) were more likely to have a better glycaemic control measured by HbA1c.
Conclusion: Diet control, knowing diabetes, compliance behavior and regular monitoring on blood glucose and examining HbA1c can improve the glycaemic control among T2DM outpatients in urban China.