Abstract
BackgroundThe prevalence of diabetes has been rising increasing rapidly in middle- and low-income countries. In Africa, the World Health Organization projections anticipate diabetes mellitus to be the seventh leading cause of death in by 2030. Alcohol consumption influences diabetes evolution, in such a way that it can interfere with self-care behaviours which are important determinants of diabetes prognosis. In this study, we evaluated factors associated with alcohol consumption among persons with diabetes in Kampala to inform management policies and improve comprehensive diabetes care.MethodologyA cross-sectional study was conducted systematically among 290 adults with diabetes, attending diabetic clinics at Mulago National Referral Hospital and St Francis Hospital Nsambya. Data were entered and analysed in Epi-Info version 7 and STATA 13 software. Modified Poisson regression was used to identify factors associated with alcohol consumption among persons with diabetes. All tests were two-sided and the significance level for all analyses was set to p < 0.05.ResultsThe prevalence of alcohol consumption among persons with diabetes was 23.45% [95% CI: 18.9–28.7%]. Divorced, separated and widowed patients (Adj PR: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.21–0.83); and Protestant (Adj PR: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.24–0.82); Muslim (Adj PR: 0.30, 95% CI: 0.14–0.62); and Pentecostal (Adj PR: 0.32, 95% CI: 0.15–0.65) patients were less likely to consume alcohol. Diabetic patients who had a diabetes duration greater than 5 years were more likely to consume alcohol (Adj PR: 1.90, 95% CI: 1.25–2.88).ConclusionApproximately one-quarter of participants consumed alcohol. However being catholic, never being married and having diabetes for more than 5 years predisposed persons with diabetes to alcohol consumption. Sensitization messages regarding alcohol consumption among persons with diabetes should be target patients who have never been married and those who have spent more than 5 years with diabetes; religion should also be considered as an important venue for health education in the community.
Highlights
The prevalence of diabetes has been rising increasing rapidly in middle- and low-income countries
Sensitization messages regarding alcohol consumption among persons with diabetes should be target patients who have never been married and those who have spent more than 5 years with diabetes; religion should be considered as an important venue for health education in the community
We identified factors associated with alcohol consumption among persons with diabetes, by using both bivariate and modified Poisson regression analysis (Poisson regression with robust error variance) to obtain estimates that are relatively robust to omitted covariates, as the prevalence of alcohol consumption among persons with diabetes was greater than 10% [23]
Summary
The prevalence of diabetes has been rising increasing rapidly in middle- and low-income countries. In Africa, the World Health Organization projections anticipate diabetes mellitus to be the seventh leading cause of death in by 2030. Alcohol consumption influences diabetes evolution, in such a way that it can interfere with selfcare behaviours which are important determinants of diabetes prognosis. The prevalence of diabetes has been increasing more rapidly in middle- and low-income countries [3]. Alcohol consumption is detrimental among persons with diabetes and influences diabetes evolution [6]. It can interfere with self-care behaviours, which are important determinants of diabetes prognosis because they are necessary for maintaining a good glycaemic control [6]. Addiction to alcohol among diabetic patients has been found to increase the risk of hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, dehydration, high blood pressure, eye disease, damage to nerves, injuries and death [7,8,9,10]
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