ABSTRACT

Diabetes mellitus is a condition that results from the body’s ineffective use of insulin. Management of diabetes mellitus requires compliance to dietary regimen, lifestyle changes and drugs. This study assessed the level of adherence to diabetic dietary regimen among diabetic patients at Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Abia State. The following specific objectives guided the study; to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents; determine patients' knowledge of diabetic dietary regimen; assess the level of adherence to diabetic dietary regimen among diabetic patients in Federal Medical Centre Umuahia; determine the relationship between socio-demographic and economic factors with adherence; and assess barriers that influence adherence to recommended dietary regimen among diabetic patients Federal Medical Centre Umuahia. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select a total of 110 diabetic patients in FMC Umuahia. Data on socio- demographic and economic characteristics, knowledge, adherence to dietary regimen and barriers to adherence were collected using well-structured and validated questionnaire. The IBM SPSS version 22.0 computer programme was used to analyze the data. Data obtained were described using frequency and percentage. Pearson correlation was used to analyze the relationship between socio-demographic/economic characteristics, knowledge and adherence to recommended dietary regimen. Significant relationship was judged at p ≤ 0.05. Result from the study showed that more than half (58.2%) of the respondents were female. Greater percentage (47.3%) of the respondents was above 60 years of age. More than half (52.7%) of the respondents had good knowledge about the recommended dietary practices. 49.10% of the respondents adhered to the recommended dietary regimen. Among the top most cited barrier was a financial constraint (43.6%). Other barriers cited in this study includes lack of information (23.6%), lack of quality food (10.9%), taste and preference (3.6%), poor self-control (7.3%) and lack of adequate food in the household (11.0%). Also, Most (60.0%) of the respondents were pre-hypertensive while 23.6%of them were hypertensive. Additionally, some (43.6%) of the respondents were overweight while 29.0% were obese.  There was a significant positive relationship between knowledge and adherence to recommended dietary practices and a negative relationship between age, educational qualification and adherence to recommended dietary regimen. There is therefore need to review and educate diabetic patients on a regular basis in order to reinforce the information and promote adherence to dietary regimen.