Abstract

Diabetes mellitus often referred to simply as diabetes, is defined as a chronic disease that occurs either when the
pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin produced. Insulin is a
hormone that is needed to convert or regulate sugar (glucose), starches, and other food into energy needed for daily
life and if the body cells do not absorb the glucose, the glucose accumulates in the blood (hyperglycemia) causing
severe adverse effects to many body systems including the nervous, digestive, circulatory, endocrine and urinary
systems, but all body systems are in some way affected. Thus, diabetes is a metabolic and multi-system disorder.
Type 2 results from the body’s ineffective use of insulin. It is common in middle-aged and later life, although it had
been more frequently seen in adolescents and young adults due to an increase in child obesity and inactivity and
comprises between 90% and 95% of people with diabetes around the world. This study aimed to determine the factors
associated with diabetes mellitus among patients aged between 18 to 60 years attending diabetic clinics at Hoima
Regional Referral Hospital. A cross-sectional study embracing both analytical and descriptive data was conducted
whereby both qualitative and quantitative data were acquired using participant self-administered questionnaires and
investigator-administered questionnaires using the convenience sampling technique. A total of 105 participants were
studied, with a response rate of 97.1%. Results are depicted in 95% Confidence Intervals (C.I), Odd Ratios (OR), and
P-values; all calculated using Binary Logistic Regression with Pearson’s correlation in the Statistical Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20. Graphical representation was done by Microsoft Excel Software. A total of 105
participants was studied, with a response rate 97.1%. The results based on the 102 respondents showed that about
62(60.6%) of the respondents were female and 38(39.4%) were male. The mean age of the study population was 35
years with a standard deviation of 6.32 years. The significance of the associated factors was computed using
Pearson’s correlation with the female gender being significant at P=0.021; increasing age being significant with a
value of P=0.002; family history of diabetes being significant at P=0.027* with a 2-tailed test at 95% confidence
level, P<0.05. The study showed that diabetes mellitus was highly associated with a positive family history of
diabetes, the female gender, and social life.
Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Insulin, Glucose, Female gender, Body systems