Endocrine Abstracts

Background: This study seeks to assess the precision of obesity perception among patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (DMT2), acknowledging obesity as a pivotal modifiable risk factor crucial for diabetes prevention. Furthermore, it is important to unveil and analyze the factors that contribute to the misperceptions of obesity within DM patients.

Methods: This study aims to investigate a cohort of consecutive patients treated at the Endocrinology Unit of Mother Teresa University Hospital Center in Tirana during the period from September to November 2023. A questionnaire was used to collect subjective information as weight perception, lifestyle factors, and glycemic knowledge. Complementary objective measures were extracted from medical records, such as Body Mass Index (BMI), Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels, High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL), Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL), and Triglyceride levels.

Results: In our cohort of 59 participants, 59.32% had diabetes. 74.30% of the DM patients had a misperception of their weight classification. The mean age was 56.2±15 years. Among patients with misperception, 65.3% perceive themselves as overweight but were obese, 19.23% perceive themselves as normal weight but were overweight or obese, and 15.38% perceive themselves as underweight but were normal weight. Despite this misperception, a strong correlation exists between their self-reported weight and the real weight. DM patients with misperception mainly attribute the cause of their obesity to the administration of multiple medications (31.71%), followed by lack of movement (27.23%), diabetes (22.76%), overeating (13.62%), and genetic factors (4.66%). In contrast, patients with accurate perceptions primarily attribute obesity to overeating (65.75%).

Conclusions: The study reveals a notable prevalence of body misperceptions (74.30%) regarding weight classification among DM patients, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to improve awareness. Various factors identifying as the causes of obesity among patients with DM underscore the importance of tailored education and counseling for effective diabetes management.