MAGNITUDE OF COMORBIDITIES AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG ADULT DIABETES PATIENTS ON FOLLOW-UP AT PUBLIC HOSPITALS IN EAST HARARGHE ZONE, OROMIA REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Background: Diabetes comorbidities have a considerable negative influence on people’s quality of life and healthcare delivery and raise diabetic mortality. However, there is limited information about diabetes comorbidities and risk factors in the study setting. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the magnitude and factors related to diabetes comorbidities among patients with diabetes in East Hararghe, Ethiopia. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from June 01 to 30, 2022 among 440 patients with diabetes at three public hospitals in East Hararghe, Ethiopia. The participants were selected using systematic random sampling. The data were collected through interviews using a structured questionnaire. Data related to diabetes comorbid and biochemical tests were extracted from medical records. Diabetes comorbidity was dependent variable. A Poisson regression model with robust variance estimation was used to investigate the association of independent variables with comorbidities. An adjusted prevalence ratio with a 95% CI was reported to show an association using a p-value ≤0.05. Results: The magnitude of diabetes comorbidities was 71.1% (95% CI:67.2%-75.6%). Duration of diabetes ≥10 years (APR=1.74; 95% CI: 1.45, 2.08), participants with T2D (APR=1.26;95% CI:1.01-1.59), poor glycemic control (APR=1.17;95% CI:1.02-1.34), nonadherence to diabetes treatment (APR=1.48; 95% CI: 1.15-1.90) and low self-efficacy (APR=1.24;95% CI:1.06-1.44) were factors significantly associated with the diabetes comorbidities. Conclusion: The magnitude of diabetes comorbidities was high, with more than two-thirds of diabetes patients experiencing it. This implies that the diabetes comorbidities are endangering their lives in various ways and increasing the need for medical care. Diabetes co-morbidities were more common among those with poor diabetic medication adherence, low self-efficacy, type 2 diabetes, more than ten years of diabetes treatment, and poor glycemic control.