Regular hospital visits and treatment outcomes among people living with type 1 diabetes: a 7-year study from South India

Aim Literature on how people with type 1 diabetes (TIDM) manage their condition in India is sparse. The aim was to explore the profile, practice of regular visits to the hospital, regular monitoring of glucose and treatment outcomes among people with T1DM. Methods A retrospective study was conducted among 239 people with T1DM using electronic medical records at a diabetes specialty care centre in Chennai from 2012 to 2018. Parameters such as socio-demographic, anthropometric and clinical data were collected and categorised into two groups-group 1 (n=141, Regular visit) and group 2 (n=98, Irregular visit). Results The median age and duration of diabetes for group 1 and group 2 (age; 19(8,60) and 25(12,50) years, (p<0.001) and duration; 10(2,35) and 8(3,25) years, (p=0.002)) showed significant difference. The median hospital visits were (group 1 vs. group 2; 10.0(7,14) vs. 3(1,9.0) times; p<0.001). No significant difference was seen in HbA1c among the groups. Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) was high among group 1 (16.3%) compared to group 2 (2%), (p<0.001). The presence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) was found to be high in group 2 (8.2%) than group 1 (0.7%), (p=0.004) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) was also higher among group 2, but did not reach statistical significance (15.3% vs. 9.9%, p=0.147). No gender difference was observed in the presence of complications. None of the individuals who had presence of complications was practicing SMBG regularly. Conclusion The individuals who made a minimum of one or more than one hospital visit per year were found to have nil or lesser complications. Individuals who practiced SMBG had less complications compared to those not practicing SMBG.

Automated summary

This study aimed to explore the profile, regular hospital visits, glucose monitoring, and treatment outcomes among people with type 1 diabetes in India. The results showed that individuals who made regular hospital visits and practiced self-monitoring of blood glucose had fewer complications.