Abstract

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of poor glucose control and identify contributing factors among type 2 diabetes patients in the Bamenda III health district, North West Region, Cameroon. A community-based cross-sectional study involved 162 adults with type 2 diabetes (mean age 58.7±9.5 years) in the Bamenda III health district, recruited using convenient sampling. Anthropometric measurements and blood glucose control (using fasting blood glucose as a proxy) were conducted following standard procedures. Data on sociodemographic and diabetes-related characteristics were collected using a structured questionnaire. Logistic regression calculated odds ratios (ORs) to assess the association between potential factors and poor glucose control. The prevalence of poor glucose control using fasting blood sugar levels was 51.8%. Males had a nonsignificantly (p = 0.882) higher mean fasting blood sugar (151.2mg/dl) compared to females (149.6mg/dl). Bivariate analysis showed that a family history of diabetes (OR 0.5, 95% CI, 0.3 to 0.9) and good dietary adherence (OR 0.4, 95% CI, 0.2 to 0.8) were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with good glycemic control, while age ≥ 67 years (OR 1.7, 95% CI, 0.7 to 4.6), gender (OR 1.3, 95% CI, 0.7 to 2.4), and owning a glucometer (OR 0.8, 95% CI, 0.4 to 1.7) were not significantly (p > 0.05) associated with glucose control. Multivariate analysis revealed that good dietary adherence (OR 0.4, 95% CI, 0.2 to 0.9) was significantly associated (p = 0.020) with good glucose control. This study demonstrated a high prevalence of poor glycemic control among adults with type 2 diabetes, with poor dietary adherence identified as a contributing factor in this setting.

Key words: Contributing factors, type 2 diabetes, adults, glycaemic control, Cameroon.