Abstract
Introduction
Diabetes is a public health main concern globally, and its prevalence is expected to reach 9.3% (463 million patients) in 2019 and is projected to reach 10.2% (578 million) by 2030. The majority of diabetic deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, where approximately 80% of diabetic patients live. Diabetes kills about 5 million people every year worldwide, most of whom die at premature ages. The aim of this study is to describe the situation of diabetic patients who received care and treatment at the Diabetes Service in Khmer Chinese Friendship Hospital Preah Kosomak.
Methods
This cross-sectional study used existing data from the Khmer Chinese Friendship Hospital Preah Kosomak from January to December 2022, with 21,348 adult patient records stored in the Access database of the Diabetic Service. We used descriptive statistics to describe our data.
Results
Among the total records, 99.1% of patients had type 2 diabetes, with fewer than 1.0% of patients having type 1 diabetes. The average age was 55.6 years (SD=11.2). Among those with type 2 diabetes, 56.8% were men. Patients aged ≥ 60 years had the highest percentage (39.1%), followed by patients aged 50--59 years (37.3%). Among those with type 1 diabetes, 59.8% were female. Patients aged between 20 and 29 years had the highest percentage of type 1 diabetes (66.8%). Close to three-quarters (72.5%) of the patients resided in Phnom Penh. Most diabetic patients (92.9%) came to follow up their health condition regularly. New patients were 7.0% and 0.11% of patients were referred during that year, respectively.
Conclusion
This study clearly highlights the high number of diabetic patients in the Khmer Chinese Friendship Hospital Preah Kosomak, especially those with type 2 diabetes, which is a serious public health problem. This concern should not be overlooked. Owing to the limited number of variables, further studies should include more key variables, such as clinical signs and symptoms, disease complications, and biomarkers (HbA1c).