Prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus and associated factors among adult residents of Mizan Aman town, Southwest Ethiopia: Community-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus continues to be a significant global public health concern, and it is currently a public health issue in developing nations. In Ethiopia, about three fourth of adult population with diabetes are unaware of their diabetic condition. However, there is a limited research on this specific topic particularly in the study area.

OBJECTIVE: To assess prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus and its associated factor among adult residents of Mizan Aman town, south West Ethiopia.

METHODS AND MATERIAL: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 23 to July 7, 2022, on 627 adult residents of Mizan Aman town. A multi stage sampling technique was used to obtain 646 study units. Interviewer-administered structured questionnaires were employed to gather socio-demographic and behavioral data. Anthropometric measurements were obtained and blood samples were taken from each participants. The fasting blood glucose level was measured after an 8-hour gap following a meal, using a digital glucometer to analyze a blood sample. Data were cleaned and entered into Epi-data v 3.1 and exported to SPSS v. 26 for analysis. Bi-variable analysis was done to select candidate variables and multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to identify independent predictors of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI was computed and variables with p-value < 0.05 were declared to be predictors of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus.

RESULTS: The study revealed that, the overall magnitude of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus was 8.13% (95% CI: 6.1, 10.6). Predictors of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus were; physical activity level less than 600 Metabolic equivalent/min per week (AOR = 3.39, 95%CI 1.08 to 10.66), family history of diabetes mellitus (AOR = 2.87, 95% CI 1.41, 5.85), current hypertension(AOR = 2.9, 95% CI 1.26, 6.69), fruit consumption of fewer than three servings per week(AOR = 2.64, 95% CI 1.18 to 5.92), and sedentary life(AOR = 3.33, 95% CI 1.63 to 6.79).

CONCLUSION: The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus was 8.13%. Physical inactivity, family history of diabetes mellitus, current hypertension, sedentary life, and fruit servings fewer than three per week were independent predictors of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus.