A Study on Assessing the Diabetic Risk Among Health Care Professionals in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Puducherry: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder marked by elevated blood glucose levels, with type 2 diabetes being the most prevalent form. As a non-communicable disease, diabetes poses a major public health challenge, and its prevalence is rising worldwide, reaching epidemic levels that may soon surpass those of communicable diseases in both developing and developed countries. Objective: To evaluate the risk of diabetes among doctors and nurses at a tertiary care hospital. Methodology: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out among doctors and nurses at a tertiary care hospital in Puducherry from February to April 2022. Participants for the survey were selected using a simple random sampling method. Results: Most participants in the study were aged between 36 and 49 years, comprising 60.5% of the sample. Among them, 63.0% were male, and 65.5% resided in urban areas. The largest proportion had a normal BMI (51.5%), followed by overweight individuals (36.5%) and those classified as obese (7.5%). Additionally, 59.5% of participants exhibited abdominal obesity, 63.5% reported no physical activity, and 77.5% did not have a family history of diabetes. Conclusion: This study evaluates the effectiveness of a simplified Indian Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS) in identifying high-risk individuals within the working population. There is an immediate need to encourage for healthy lifestyle practices among doctors and nurses. Physicians should actively strive to implement the knowledge they possess daily.

Keywords

• blood glucose
• type 2 diabetes
• diabetes mellitus
• indian diabetes risk score