Prevalence of comorbidities and its associated factors among type-2 diabetes patients: a hospital-based study in Jashore District, Bangladesh.

Abstract

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of comorbidity and its associated factors among Bangladeshi type-2 diabetes (T2D) patients. A hospital-based cross-sectional study. This study was conducted in two specialised diabetic centres residing in the Jashore District of Bangladesh. A systematic random sampling procedure was applied to identify the T2D patients through a face-to-face interview. A total of 1036 patients with T2D were included in this study. A structured questionnaire was administered to collect data on demographic, lifestyle, medical and healthcare access-related data through face-to-face and medical record reviews. The main outcome variable for this study was comorbidities. The prevalence of comorbidity was measured using descriptive statistics. A logistic regression model was performed to explore the factors associated with comorbidity among Bangladeshi T2D patients. The overall prevalence of comorbidity was 41.4% and the most prevalent conditions were hypertension (50.4%), retinopathy (49.6%), obesity (28.7%) and oral problem (26.2). In the regression model, the odds of comorbidities increased with gender (male: OR: 1.27, 95% CI 0.62 to 1.87), age (50-64 years: OR: 2.14, 95% CI 1.32 to 2.93; and above 65 years: OR: 2.96, 95% CI 1.83 to 4.16), occupation (unemployment: OR: 3.32, 95% CI 0.92 to 6.02 and non-manual worker: OR: 2.31, 95% CI 0.91 to 5.82), duration of diabetes (above 15 years: OR: 3.28, 95% CI 1.44 to 5.37), body mass index (obese: OR: 2.62, 95% CI 1.24 to 4.26) of patients. We also found that individuals with recommended moderate to vigorous physical activity levels (OR: 0.41, 95% CI 1.44 to 5.37) had the lowest odds of having comorbidity. Meanwhile, respondents with limited self-care practice, unaffordable medicine and financial problems had 1.82 times, 1.94 times and 1.86 times higher odds of developing comorbidities. The findings could be useful in designing and implementing effective intervention strategies and programmes for people with T2D to reduce the burden of comorbidity.