Uptake of diabetes testing and associated individual-level factors among people with a familial risk of diabetes mellitus in rural Kenya.

Abstract

People with family history of diabetes are expected to have regular diabetes testing owing to their higher risk of the disease. Regular testing is associated with early diagnosis of diabetes and has a potential of reducing the health and economic burden caused by the disease. This study therefore sought to determine the uptake of diabetes testing and associated individual-level factors among relatives of individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Understanding uptake of diabetes testing among individuals with family history is a significant step towards promoting both primary and secondary prevention among this group at risk. This was a cross-sectional study among 202 adult relatives of patients with T2D in Kiambu county in Kenya. Multi-level sampling technique was employed and interviewer-administered questionnaire used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test for independence and Fisher's exact test as well as multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze data at 0.05 level of significance. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Review Committee of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. The results indicated that 52.5% of the relatives had never had a blood glucose test. Individual level factors that had a statistically significant association with uptake of diabetes testing included residence (p=0.003), employment status (p=0.019), familial risk awareness (P=0.003), perceived risk (p=0.002), knowledge of diabetes signs and symptoms (p=0.001) and relationship with the patient (p=0.045). Living in farms (AOR=3.9, p=0.002), being aware of own familial risk (AOR=2.5, p=0.016), high knowledge (AOR=2.3, p=0.017) and being a close relative to the patient (AOR= 3.0, p= 0.041) increased uptake of diabetes testing. In conclusion, uptake of diabetes testing is low and is associated with several individual-level factors that can be modified to increase the uptake. Strategies to increase uptake such as health education should be enhanced. Key Words: Diabetes, family, risk, screening, testing