Browsing by Author "Nwokeleme, Ogechi Chikaodi"

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    Risk factor associated with diabetic foot ulcer among people living with diabetes attending government owned hospitals in Owerri, Imo State
    (Federal University of Technology, Owerri, 2023-07) Nwokeleme, Ogechi Chikaodi
    Diabetic foot ulcer is the most common life threatening complication associated with diabetes, a metabolic disorder characterized by elevated blood glucose. It results in medical and socioeconomic burden for the patients, families, society and also countries. In Imo State Nigeria, there is not much of literature on epidemiological studies on diabetic foot ulcer among persons living with diabetes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) among persons living with diabetes in government owned hospitals in Owerri, Imo State. A hospital based case control study design was adopted for this study. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the 400 study participants from people living with diabetes attending government owned hospitals who fulfilled the criteria, of which 200 were cases and 200 controls. Well-structured questionnaire alongside patient folder was used to collect information on demographic factors, foot care knowledge, diabetes management pattern and diabetes duration. All data were entered and analyzed using the International Business Machine (IBM) Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSs) version 22. Results clearly indicated that 260 (65%) were males. For the case group, the males were 140 (70%) while they were 120 (60%) females in the control group. more than half of the total subjects (205: 51.2%) were of age 51 – 70 years (case group: 70%, control group: 32.5%). The 31 – 50 years comprised of 17.5% of the case group and 59.5% in the control group. only 8 (2%) subjects in all were up to or below 30 years and they all fall within the control group (4%). There were approximately 54% of foot ulcer cases in males against 43% in females, consequently the risk for foot ulcer was found to be 36% significantly lower among females than in males (p= 0.036, X2= 4.40, OR= 0.64). Diabetes foot ulcer increased significantly with age (p< 0.0001, X2= 96.78), with 76% cases recorded for the above 70 compared to 68% and 23% respectively on the 51-70 years and 31- 50 years. Using the above 70s as the reference age group, the odds for foot ulcer were found to lower by 39% among the 51-70 years (p= 0.388 X2= 0.74, OR= 0.69) and 91% significantly lower among the 31- 50 years (p< 0.0001, X2= 35.1, OR= 0.09). The foot ulcer cases were estimated to be 69.9% among those that responded they have not heard of it in the past. The risk for the disease was close to 6 times higher among the group that did not hear of the foot care (p < 0.0001, X2= 69.03, OR= 5.88). Similarly, the odds were also significantly higher among those that do not perform regular foot examination (p < 0.0001, X2= 44.90, OR= 7.17), or only do so sometimes (p < 0.0001, X2= 17.50, OR= 3.37), compared to those that conduct regular examination of foot. Not following diabetes diet plan (p < 0.0001, X2= 52.17) as well as not taking diabetes medication (p < 0.0001, X2= 52.17) are significant risk factors of foot ulcer in this study (p< 0.0001. In conclusion, this study found that a significant number of risk factors exist among people living with diabetes attending government owned hospitals in Owerri, Imo state. Considering sociodemographic factors, the study result showed that level of education, occupation, male gender and age were significant risk factors. Furthermore, lack of foot care knowledge and practice, poor diabetes management pattern and long term diabetes duration all contribute to risk of developing DFU. The researcher recommended that surveillance of DFU should be carried out in the state, risk targeted public health interventions in communities, monitoring and evaluation of treatment uptake, education on foot care practices and further studies on suicidal ideation among people living with diabetes.