Self-Management of Diabetic Patients from the Urban Areas in Bangladesh

Background This study aimed to determine the knowledge about self-management and the effects of diabetes on the daily activities among adult patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in Bangladesh. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to August 2021 on diabetic patients from Dhaka and the Rangpur district in Bangladesh. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from study participants. This study’s researchers collected data via phone interview. The collected data was analyzed using Python (Version 3.8), Pandas, and ResearchPy (A Python package for research data analysis). Results Out of the 303 participants, all are middle-class service holders with an urban sedentary lifestyle. 69.64% and 30.3% are male and female, respectively, with 66% having post-secondary education and 35% having smoking habits. Most (68.32%) had onset of diabetic symptoms between 36-50 years, 23.43% with Type I and 41.9% with Type II diabetes. However, 34.65% of participants couldn’t answer about their ailment definitively. 22.44% of participants were on regular insulin shots within 3 months of the first diagnosis, and 90% were satisfied with managing diabetes. However, 54.46% admitted to adopting an altered lifestyle after becoming diabetic. Males and females with both types of diabetes showed significantly different comorbidities in a paired 2-tailed t-test (0.012 and 0.02 for Type I and Type II, respectively). The male participants showed higher incidences of cardiac issues, while females showed a higher propensity to hypertension. 85% of participants were confident about their medication, course of management, prognosis, diet, and lifestyle for controlling diabetes. Conclusions The disparity in the number of male and female participants and the high percentage of participants with no factual information about their prognosis need to be targeted for further study, and a patient-friendly engagement/ information dissemination action plan should be helpful. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: This study adhered to the most significant ethical standards imaginable, and participants gave informed consent. The Helsinki Declaration was observed in all procedures. Anonymity and confidentiality were maintained. Anonymity and confidentiality were maintained. We obtained ethical approval for this study from the Ethical Review Committee of CHIRAL Bangladesh (Reference No: CHIBAN21MAR2021-0003) I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes The dataset used and analysed during the study is available from the corresponding author and ethical review committee.