RESUMO
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to find out the pattern and factors associated with self-care practices among diabetic patients as self-care was considered imperative for the control of disease and enhancement of patient's quality of life. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional clinic-based observational study conducted among the type 2 diabetes mellitus patients who came for follow up to the outpatient department of a tertiary hospital of Kolkata from September to December 2019. Self-care practice assessed using questions adapted from the "Summary Diabetes Self-Care Activities Questionnaire" by face-to-face interview. Logistic regression used to find out the predictors of self-care practice. RESULTS: Self-care practice was unsatisfactory among 67.5% of the patients. Near half (56%) of the patients had mild to moderate distress and about 18% were severely distressed. Self-care practice was significantly associated with the educational level, family history, presence of hypertension, advice given regarding self-care activities, and diabetes distress levels of the participants. CONCLUSIONS: Primary care physicians should be encouraged to give practical aspects of self-care practices and counseling regarding diabetes distress. To perform self-care practices adequate, support from the family level and community level is imperative.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Vitamin D deficiency/Vitamin D Insufficiency (VDI) is now recognized as a pandemic. Cutaneous exposure to ultraviolet-B causes photolysis of epidermal 7-dehydrocholesterol, converting it to pre-Vitamin D3 (precholecalciferol), which then undergoes isomerization to form the stable hormone Vitamin D3. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study is to determine the status of Vitamin D level among the adults residing in a rural area of West Bengal and to find out the optimal cutoff of the sun exposure for Vitamin D sufficiency. METHODS: This study was a rural community based cross-sectional study. It was done from May 2016 to April 2017 among 197 adults residing in a rural block of West Bengal. Data were collected by interviewing the respondents with the help of a structured pre-tested pre-designed schedule. After interviewing, every individual was examined for height and weight and blood was collected for serum Vitamin 25-(OH) D. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were utilized to find out optimum cut-off for sun exposure using Youden's index. Binary logistic regression was performed to find out the associates of high sun exposure. All analysis was done using R. RESULTS: Overall VDI was found in 133 (67.5%). Among them, 102 (51.8%) were female. On ROC curve for veritable sun exposure for Vitamin D sufficiency, area under curve was 0.7841 which signifies veritable sun exposure as a good screening tool. CONCLUSION: Proper information, education, and communication material regarding various aspects of sun exposure and Vitamin D should be prepared with due consultation of field experts and disseminated to increase awareness among the community.
