Metabolic Risk Burden, Lifestyle Characteristics, and Diabetes Self-Care Awareness among Adults Attending a Diabetes Screening Camp

Abstract

Aim and Background:
Diabetes mellitus is frequently accompanied by obesity, dyslipidemia, unhealthy lifestyle practices, and
inadequate self-care awareness, all of which increase the risk of long-term complications. This study
aimed to evaluate glycemic status, anthropometric risk, lipid-related cardiometabolic burden, lifestyle
characteristics, blood glucose monitoring behavior, healthcare follow-up, and diabetes education/support
access among adults attending a diabetes screening camp in Malappuram district, Kerala, India.
Materials and Methods:
This cross-sectional screening included 364 consenting adult participants attending a tertiary care centre-
based diabetes screening camp. Data were collected on age, sex, body mass index, HbA1c, fasting blood
sugar, lipid profile, medication history, family history of diabetes, tobacco and alcohol use, diet plan,
exercise, blood glucose monitoring frequency, healthcare-provider visits, and diabetes education/support
access. Participants were classified as strict normoglycemic, prediabetes/high-risk, or diabetes-range
glycemia/known diabetes based on HbA1c, fasting blood sugar, and diabetes medication status.
Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis tests, chi-square tests, Spearman
correlation, and multivariable logistic regression.
Results:
Among 364 participants, 200 were female (54.9%) and 164 were male (45.1%). The mean age was 44.91
± 15.77 years and mean BMI was 26.04 ± 4.60 kg/m². Overall, 218 participants (59.9%) were obese by
Asian BMI cut-offs. Based on metabolic-risk classification, 108 participants (29.7%) were strict
normoglycemic, 62 (17.0%) had prediabetes/high-risk glycemia, and 194 (53.3%) had diabetes-range
glycemia/known diabetes. Participants with diabetes-range glycemia/known diabetes showed
significantly higher age, BMI, HbA1c, fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, triglycerides, VLDL, non-
HDL cholesterol, lipid ratios, and dyslipidemia score, with lower HDL levels. Self-care indicators were
suboptimal: only 22.5% followed a diet plan, 18.7% reported exercise, 23.1% performed regular
monthly/weekly blood glucose monitoring, 18.4% had regular healthcare-provider visits, and 21.4% had
access to diabetes education/support. Increasing age and BMI were independently associated with
diabetes-range glycemia/known diabetes, while diabetes-range glycemia/known diabetes was strongly
associated with high dyslipidemia burden.
Conclusions:
Adults attending this diabetes screening camp showed a substantial burden of glycemic abnormality, obesity,
dyslipidemia, and inadequate structured self-care practices. Screening programmes should therefore move
beyond glucose testing alone and incorporate BMI assessment, lipid-risk evaluation, lifestyle counselling,
blood glucose monitoring education, referral linkage, and follow-up support for complication prevention.