Diabetes knowledge and its determinants in a Mexican population

PURPOSE the purpose of this study was to measure the level of diabetes Knowledge in a representative group of Mexican individuals with diabetes and to identif y the factors that influence it. METHODS A validated questionnaire was administered to 570 outpatients; 12.2% had Ty pe 1 diabetes, 36.4% had Type 2 diabetes treated with insulin, and 52.2% ha d Type 2 diabetes treated with oral agents. Samples for HbA(1c) determinati on also were obtained. RESULTS The percentage of correct answers in each section of the questionnaire was low. Type 1 patients had the highest scores, followed by the insulin-treate d Type 2 patients; those with chronic complications also had high scores. E ducational background, attendance at diabetes courses, age, and HbA(1c) con centration were the mainz predictors of knowledge. Attendance at courses wa s influenced by the severity of the disease. CONCLUSIONS The amount of patient Knowledge about diabetes-related issues was low in th is representative Mexican population. The educational efforts were focused on those with the worst metabolic control and/or with diabetes complication s.