Diabetes control and its related factors among elderly diabetic patients in Kuantan

Introduction: The ageing population in Malaysia is transforming swiftly at the same pace as other countries globally. With a growing elderly population, the healthcare burden in chronic diseases like diabetes is undoubtedly remarkable. This study aims to measure the diabetes control and identify its related factors among elderly diabetic patients in Kuantan. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at six selected government health clinics in Kuantan that involved 300 elderly diabetic patients from stratified random sampling. The information obtained were sociodemographic profile, clinical profile and answers from self-administered questionnaire of revised version for quality of life of diabetes patients (RV-DQOL13). The data were analysed using SPSS version 26. Results: The mean age of the patients is 68.04 (SD=6.009). Most patients were female (57.3%), Malay (70.3%), married (66%), living independently (Modified Barthel Index = 99%), and from the B40 group (96.3%). The prevalence of diabetes control is 59.3% (cut-off point=HbA1c 7.5%). Multivariate analysis revealed non-Malay (aOR=0.275, 95%CI: 0.116 to 0.655), using insulin (aOR=4.606, 95%CI: 2.001 to 10.603), and good satisfactory impact from RVDQOL13 (aOR=1.211, 95%CI: 1.018 to 1.441) were statistically associated with good diabetes control (p