ASSESSING KNOWLEDGE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BENEFITS IN DIABETIC PATIENTS

Background
The aim of this work was to examine the awareness of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) on the importance of physical activity (PA) in the prevention and treatment of their disease.

Material and methods
The survey was completed by 178 respondents (47.3% women, 52.7% men), of whom 69.1% were dependent on exogenous insulin. Data was collected in April 2019 via a questionnaire given to patients at the Department of Diabetology and Internal Medicine at the Louis Pasteur University Hospital in Košice, Slovakia.

Results
More than half of the respondents admitted having insufficient information about their health condition, and a similar proportion felt lack of knowledge regarding exercise for their illness. As many as 69.1% of the patients reported inadequate help by their health care providers with regard to the do’s and dont’s of their disease, and 41.9% of respondents reported having no knowledgeable health care provider with whom to share their concerns.

Conclusions
Based on the results obtained, it is concluded that a substantial number of DM patients do not have adequate information about their health condition and how to improve it. On the other hand, nearly two-thirds of participants recognize that regular physical activity (PA) is an option to achieve positive changes.