Abstract

Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic condition that arises when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when the
body cannot effectively use the insulin produced. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated
with non-adherence to diet recommendations among type 2 diabetic patients at Fort Portal 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 investigatoradministered
questionnaires using the convenience sampling technique. A total of 191 participants were studied,
with a response rate of 78.0%; the results were based on the 149 respondents. Results were depicted in 95%
Confidence Intervals, Odd Ratios, and P-values; all calculated using Binary Logistic Regression with Pearson’s
correlation in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 26. Graphical representation was done by Microsoft
Excel Software. Results based on the 149 respondents showed that about 76(51.1%) of the respondents were female
and 73(48.9%) were male. The mean age of the study population was 38 years (with a standard deviation of 9.62
years). The prevalence of non-adherence to diet recommendations among type 2 diabetic patients at Fort-Portal
Regional referral hospital was 14.8%. This prevalence was shown to be significantly associated with several factors;
computed using Pearson’s correlation of which the female gender being significant a value of 0.947*(P=0.021);
increasing age being significant with a value of 0.286* (P=0.002); negligence being significant at P=0.027* with a
2 tailed test at 95% confidence level, P<0.05. The prevalence of non-adherence to diet recommendations among type
2 diabetic patients at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital was 14.8%. This infers that there was quite a high
percentage of diabetic people who do not adhere to dietary recommendations and advice given to them by doctors.
Socio-demographic factors such as gender, age, and relation to members of the family with diabetes type 2 are
significantly associated with non-adherence to dietary recommendations.
Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus, Insulin, Pancreas, Diet, Female.