Individual attitude to the prevention of complications of the disease as the main determinant of preventing decompensation in patients with diabetes mellitus.

A sociological study was conducted to study the attitude of patients with diabetes mellitus to the prevention of complications of the disease and the degree of willingness to follow the prescriptions of the attending physician for compliance with the treatment regimen. The purpose of the study: to assess the degree of individual attitude of patients with diabetes mellitus to the prevention of complications of the disease. Materials and methods. A survey of patients with diabetes mellitus (n = 450) with an equivalent gender distribution was conducted. The respondents in the age group of 39–59 years made up 39.0%, 60–79 years – 36.0%, over 80 years – 6.0%. Urban residents (66%) outnumbered rural residents (34%). Statistical processing of the obtained data was performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0.1 analytical software package. Results. The results of the study indicate that there are defects in carrying out preventive work among patients with diabetes mellitus. The insufficiently active attitude of patients to the need for education in the «Diabetes School» was revealed. 65% of them have not been trained in the «Diabetes School». 54% of respondents carry out self-monitoring of glycemia only when their condition worsens, resulting in decompensation of the disease. The largest number of patients who ignore self-control is between the ages of 18 and 39. About half of the respondents indicated irregular dieting. Villagers are less committed to dieting. The minimum number of patients with rare compensation (26.0%) is noteworthy. With age, the frequency of decompensation of diabetes mellitus increases, while decompensation of carbohydrate metabolism is less common in women than in men. Conclusion. The results of the study suggest that there are problems in the organization of preventive work among patients with diabetes mellitus. The low adherence of patients with diabetes mellitus to the treatment regimen indicates the need to step up the work of the «Diabetes School» and focus the attention of heads of medical organizations on strengthening sanitary and educational work at all levels. This approach will help reduce the frequency of medical care requests, hospitalizations and ambulance calls.