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American Journal of  Physical Education 
and Health Science (AJPEHS)

Assessment of  Diabetes Mellitus Perception among Adult Residents in Akure South 
Local Government Area of  Ondo State, South West Nigeria

Ifedayo-Josiah1* 

Volume 1 Issue 1, Year 2023
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Article Information ABSTRACT

Received: March 31, 2023

Accepted: April 25, 2023

Published: May 04, 2023

The study aims at assessing the level of  diabetes mellitus perception among the adults 
residing in Akure South local government areas of  Ondo state.  The pooled diabetes 
mellitus prevalence in Nigeria, according to the united nations estimate of  2017 is 5.77% 
this implies that 11.2 million Nigerians,(1 out of  17) adults are living with diabetes and 
this portends a dangerous trends for the country’s health development as has constituted 
a socio-economic burden on the nation. A descriptive cross-sectional method was adopted 
for the investigation. The sample consists of  332 residents of  the study population area.  
A multistage sampling technique was used for the study. Data were collected through self-
administered structure questionnaire and descriptive statistics (frequency table, proportion, 
mean and percentages) were used for the analysis. Secondary information was sourced from 
government publications, hospital records, group discussions, Health journals ,and relevant 
internet materials. The study revealed that majority of  the respondents had adequate 
knowledge about diabetes mellitus. The finding also concluded that despite the good 
perception about diabetes among the adult residents, the disease  prevalence and presentation 
are still high. The study thereby recommended increased awareness, engagement in physical 
exercise, consumption of  balanced diets and regular screening for diabetes as preventive 
measures to control and /or  reduce the mortality among the adult residents in Akure South 
Local Government. 

Keywords

Diabetes, Mellitus Perception, 
Physical Exercise, Nigeria

INTRODUCTION
Diabetes mellitus is a major public health problem and 
a great socio-economic burden in developing countries 
of  the world and Nigeria is no exceptional. It a chronic 
disease caused by inherited and/or acquired deficiency in 
production of  insulin by the pancreas, it could also be due 
to the ineffectiveness of  the insulin produced. The name 
diabetes mellitus was derived from the Greek Diabainein 
which means ‘‘to pass through’’ describing the copious 
urination and mellitus from the Latin which means 
‘‘sweetened with honey’’ referring to sugar in the urine. 
According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.  Diabetes is 
non-communicable disease as more than half  of  those 
affected are unaware until they are diagnosed on screening 
or affected with one or more of  the disease complication 
(ogbera and ekpebegh, 2014)Diabetes results in increased 
concentration of  glucose in the blood and the damage 
of  many of  the body systems including the blood vessels 
and nerves; it is one of  the major non-communicable 
diseases (NCDs) of  public health concern globally. 
In 2018, a complied data by world health organization 
(WHO) showed that approximately 150 million people 
have diabetes mellitus worldwide, Aynalem And Zeleke in 
2018 estimated that 425 million people between the age 
brackets of  20-79 years suffered from diabetes mellitus 
and it is expected that this will increase to about 592 
methods people and 629 million people by years 2035 
and 2045 respectively, according to international Diabetes 
federation (DF) atlas guideline report, currently, there are 
352 million adults with impaired glucose tolerance who 
at high risk of  developing diabetes in future (Elegbede, 

Sanni and Alabi 2022). About 70% - 80% of  the disease 
burden is borne by the developing countries. The 
estimated prevalence of  diabetes in Africa is 1% in rural 
areas and ranges from 5% to 7% in urban sub-Sahara 
Africa.
The pooled diabetes mellitus prevalence in Nigeria, 
according to the united Nation estimate in 2017 is 5.77%. 
This implies 11.2 million Nigerians (1 out of  17) adults 
living with diabetes and this portends a dangerous trend 
for the country’s health development.
Diabetes has negative effects on work productivity and 
leads to high economic burden in terms of  healthcare 
expenditure. Most persons with diabetes in developing 
countries are persons with 35 to 64 age range. This age 
range includes a significant segment of  the productive 
work force.
The high prevalence of  diabetes mellitus is strongly 
related to the various risk factors which can be classified 
into non-modifiable and modifiable factors. The non-
modified factors include obesity, alcohol consumption, 
smoking, hypertension, pregnancy, hypercholesterolemia, 
infections, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diets and 
polycystic ovarian syndrome (Erasmus, Fakeye Olukoga, 
Ebomoyi, Adeleye and Arije 1989)   
Diabetes is a known risk factor for blindness vascular 
brain diseases, venal failure, lower limb gangrene and 
death from acute diabetes emergencies. Epidemic of  
diabetes is increasing round the world and awareness of  
these diseases remains low. Inadequate knowledge about 
diabetes is common among various categories of  adult 
populations in Nigeria and in many African countries. 

1 City University, Cambodia
* Corresponding author’s e-mail: josiahifedayo@gmail.com

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Recognition of  significant health risk, knowledge and 
awareness about diabetes mellitus, complications and 
management are important for adoption of  preventive 
behaviors (Ilesanmi, Ojo, Omotoso, Junaid, Amenaheinan 
and Alele, 2015). Public health interventions are needed 
to impact knowledge about this disease on the adult 
residents of  Akure South Local Government Area of  
Ondo State.

Type 1 
Diabetes is believed to be an autoimmune condition. The 
implication is that the immune system mistakenly attacks 
and destroys the beta cells in your pancreas that produce 
insulin. The damage is permanent. What is responsible 
for these attacks is unclear. Genetic and environmental 
factors more than lifestyle factors are suspected of  
playing a role.

Type 2
Type 2 diabetes starts out as insulin resistance. This means 
the body cannot use insulin efficiently, which causes 
your pancreas to produce more insulin until it cannot 
keep up with demand insulin production then decreases 
which causes high blood sugar. The exact cause of  type 
2 diabetes is unknown but may be resulted from genetics, 
sedentary lifestyle, or Obesity. Gestational diabetes is 
caused by insulin-blocking hormones that are produce 
during pregnancy.

Statement of  Problem
The disease burden related to diabetes is high and 
rising in every country, fuelled by the global rise in the 
prevalence of  obesity and unhealthy lifestyles. The latest 
estimates show a global prevalence of  537 million adults 
(20-79years) diabetes in 2021, expected to rise to 643 
million by 2030 and the 783 million by 2045. Classification 
of  diabetes has now been widely accepted. Type 1, type 2 
diabetes and are gestational diabetes mellitus types, with 
type 2 diabetes accounting for the majority (>85%) of  
total diabetes prevalence.
Before now, Diabetes used to be a burden of  the developed 
world being a disease associated with affluence, but with 
epidemiology, demographic and nutritional transmission, 
the diseases has now shown tremendous increase in 
prevalence in countries that were not hitherto affected or 
nominally affected by diabetes.

Mellitus
Objective of  The Study
The general objective of  this study is to investigate the 
perception of  diabetes mellitus among adult residents in 
Akure South Local Government Area of  Ondo State.

Research Questions
1. What is the perception by the respondents about the 

most used channels of  information dissemination about 
diabetes mellitus in Akure South Local Government areas 
of  Ondo State?

2. What is the perception about causes of  diabetes 
mellitus among adult residents of  Akure South Local 
Government Area of  Ondo State?

3. What Is the perception about the effects of  diabetes 
mellitus among adult residents of  Akure South Local 
Government Area of  Ondo State?

4. What perception about preventive measures against 
the prevalence of  diabetes mellitus among adult residents 
of  Akure South Local Government Area of  Ondo State?

Theoretic Framework
This study is anchored on the health belief  theoretical 
model. According to Rosen stock and Beck (1994). 
The health belief  model is a socio–psychological health 
behavior change model developed to help explain and 
predict health related behavior, particularly with respect 
to acceptance or hesitancy of  health interventions. This 
means that individual beliefs about particular health 
conditions will go a long way in determine how they 
will embrace interventions. Therefore, the relevance of  
this theory to this work rests on the fact that embrace 
of  interventions on diabetes mellitus among the adult 
residents will largely depend on their beliefs of  the causes 
of  the disease which invariable determine the type of  
intervention they are going to embrace.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The research design adopted for this study is descriptive 
research design. This allows collection of  data in a 
quantitative manner. The study population comprises 
adult (Male and Female) residents of  Akure South Local 
Government Area of  Ondo State.
To determine the sample size of  the study, leiz Fisher’s 
formula was adopted, 
below is the calculation.

Z = standardize normal (1.96) 
P = prevalence of  diabetes mellitus obtained from 
previous study (knowledge of  causes, effects of  diabetes, 
carried out in Kwara State (2012). 
d = degree of  accuracy set at 5% (precision) = (0.05)

Thus, 369 respondents were considered as the sample 
size. The10% non–response rate was recorded. So, 
the distributed questionnaire collected back from the 
respondents was 332.
A multistage sample technique was adopted for the 
selection of  the participants for the study. This type of  
sampling techniques restores the researchers to choose 
his/her sample in stages until he/she gets the required 
sample. (Asamala,  2012). The choice of  the study area 

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Am. J. Phys. Educ. Health Sci. 1(1) 13-18, 2023

was informed by its large population and its centralized 
location. In using multistage sampling technique, the eleven 
political wards in Akure South Local Government Area 
were first identified. They are Aponmu, Gbogil/Isikan 
1, Gbogi/Isikan 2, Ijomu/Obanla, Ilesa, Oda, Odopetu, 
Oke-Aro, Iro, Oshodi/Isolo, and Owode/Imuagun.

Stage 1
This stage involves using stratified sampling technique to 
classify these eleven (11) into nine (9) Urban Wards and 
two (2) Rural Wards.

Stage 2
Here, the two urban and two rural wards were selected 
through simple random sampling by balloting.

Stage 3
Two communities were selected from each of  the urban 
and rural wards. Thus eight (8) communities were selected 
in all four (4) communities from the urban wards and 

four (4) communities from the rural wards.
Again, proportionate allocation of  sample size was made 
to each of  the communities on the strength of  their 
populations. Adult residents between the age brackets 
of  35 – 65 years were assessed through structured 
questionnaire. Participation was anonymous and 
voluntary.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Data Presentation and Analysis
The data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics 
such as frequency tables percentage and’ Yes/No’. 
The table below provides the socio – demographic profile 
of  the respondents collected in the course of  this study.
From the below table 1: The result shows that 55 (16.6%) 
respondents are between 35 – 40 years; 220 (66.3%) are 
between 41 – 50 years; 40 (12%) are between 51 – 60 
years while 17 (5.1%) are above 60 years. This implies that 
majority of  the respondents have attained physical and 
intellectual maturity. 

Table 1: The Socio  Demographic
Age Group Frequency Percentage (%)
35 – 40 55 16.6
41 – 50 220 66.3
51 – 60 40 12
>60 1.7 5.1
Total 332 100
Source: Author Survey 2023

Table 2: Educational Qualifications
Education Frequency Percentage (%)
Wassce/ Ssce O’ Level 82 25
Nce/Ond/Hnd 120 36
University Degree 117 35
Post Graduate 13 4
Total 332 100
Source: Author survey 2023

From the table 2: The result shows that out of  332 
respondents 82 (25%) had Wassce/Ssce ‘O’ Level 
result; 120 (36%) had Nce/Ond/Hnd result; 117 (35%) 
had University Degrees and 13 (4%) had Postgraduate 
degrees. The table above shows the sex distribution of  
respondents. 
The table 3 shows that male respondents are in the 

majority (60.2%) while the female population accounts 
for 39.8% of  the respondents. From the above table, out 
o 332 respondents, 294 (88.6%) respondents are married 
20 (6%) are divorced while 18 (5.4%) were single parent. 
It can be concluded that the majority of  the respondents 
are married. 

Table 3: Gender of  Respondents
Gender Frequency Percentage 
Male 200 60.2
Female 122 39.8
Total 332 100
Source: author survey 2023

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Table 4: Marital Status of  Respondents
Marital Status Frequency Percentage (%)
Married 294 88.6
Divorced 20 6.0
Single parent 18 5.4
Total 332 100
Source: Author survey 2023

Research Question 1
What are the most used channels for information 
dissemination about Diabetes mellitus among adult 
residents in Akure South Local Government Area of  
Ondo State.
The table above presents the views of  the 332 respondents 
on the most-used information channels about Diabetes 

mellitus. From the results: 80(24)% agreed with hospitals, 
50(15%) agreed with community dialogue, 166(53%) 
agreed with mass media, 22(4%) agreed with group 
discussions while 14(4%) agreed with markets.
The analysis from this table shows that mass media 
(Television, Radio, the internet, Newspapers, 
Publications) are supported by the majority to be the 

Table 5: Respondents’ view on the most used channels for information dissemination
S/N Variables Frequency Percentage %
1. Hospitals 24
2. Community Dialogue 6.0
3. Mass media 166 53
4. Group discussions 22
5. Markets 14 4

Total 332 100
 Source: Author Survey 2023.

most-used channels to disseminate information about 
diabetes mellitus among adults’ residents in Akure South 
Local Government Area.
 
Research question 2
What is the perception about the causes of  diabetes 
among respondents?

The above table presents the views of  the 332 respondents 
on causes of  diabetes. From the results, 263 (79%) agreed 
that diabetes is caused by high carbohydrate food intake 
while 69 (21%) disagreed. Also, 313 (94.3) disagreed that 
diabetes can be caused by high intakes of  fat and oil while 
19 (15.7%) agreed.
In the same view 312 (94%) disagreed with the 

Table 6: Respondents’ view on causes of  diabetes
S/N Variables Yes (%) No (%)
1 Do you believe that diabetes is caused by high carbohydrate food intake? 263 (79%) 69 (21%)
2 Do you believe diabetes is a genetic disease and cannot be caused by 

nutritional problem?
63 (19%) 269 (81%)

3 Diabetes can result from high intake of  fact and oil? 19 (5.7%) 313 (81%)
4 Taking too much protein can result in diabetes? 17 (5%) 315 (95%)
5 Diabetes is caused by evil forces? 20 (6%) 312 (94 %)
Source: Author survey 2023

superstitious belief  that diabetes is caused by evil force 
while only 20 (6%) agreed. The analysis from the table 
implies that the majority of  the respondents have good 
knowledge about the causes of  the diseases.

Research question 3
What is the perception about the effects of  diabetes 
mellitus among the respondents?
The table below presented the view of  the respondents 

about the effects of  diabetes. The table above presents, 
the awareness of  the effects of  diabetes; only 31 (9%) 
disagreed. Similarly, 203 (61%) agreed that poor vision is one 
of  the effects of  diabetes while only 25 (7.5%) disagreed. 
In the same vein, 9 (2.7%) agreed that blood urination is 
one of  the effects of  diabetes while 323 (97.3%) disagreed. 
From the analysis above, it can be inferred that the majority 
of  the respondents have good perception about the effects 
of  diabetes mellitus in the body.

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Table 7: Respondent’s view on the effects of  diabetes mellitus 
Variables Yes (%) No (%)
Loss of  weight 301 (91%) 31 (9%)
Poor vision 203 (61) 129 (39)
Frequency urination 307 (92.5%) 25 (7.5)
Tingling 135 (41) 197 (59)
Sore in the mouth 101 (30) 231 (70)
Thirstiness 302 (91) 30 (9)
Loss of  appetite 200 (60) 132 (40)
Blood urination 9 (2.7) 323 (97.3)
Sleeplessness 126 (38) 206 (62)
Source: Author survey 2023

Research Question 4
What is the perception about preventive measures against 
diabetes among respondents?
The table 8 presented 332 respondents views on the 
preventive measures against diabetes mellitus.
From the above table: 260 (78%) agreed that diabetes can 
be prevented by taking foods that are rich in protein 

and less in carbohydrates, only 72 (22%) had a contrary 
opinion. 250 (75%) agreed that regular exercise can 
prevent diabetes while 82 (25%) disagreed. 276 (83%) 
agreed that diabetes can be reduced by taking fruits and 
vegetables while 56 (17%) disagreed.244 (73%) agreed 
that maintaining an ideal weight can prevent diabetes 
while 88 (27%) disagreed.

Table 8: Respondents’ view on the preventive measures against diabetes mellitus
S/N Variables Yes (%) No (%)
1 Diabetes can be prevented by taking food rich in protein and less carbohydrate 260 (78%) 72 (22%)
2 Regular exercise 250 (75) 82 (25%)
3 Avoiding eating carbohydrate food late in the night 269 (81%) 63 (19%)
4 By taking fruits and vegetables 276 (83%) 56 (17%)
5 By maintaining ideal weight 244 (73%) 88 (27%)
6 Reduction in fat in take 192 (57%) 140 (43%)

From the analysis above, it can be inferred that most 
respondents have good perception about the preventive 
measures of  diabetes mellitus.
The study investigates the perception about the causes, 
effects and preventive measures of  diabetes mellitus 
among the adult residents in Akure South Local 
Government Area of  Ondo State.
The findings of  this study revealed that the majority of  the 
respondents have good perception about the causes and 
effects of  diabetes mellitus and the preventive measures 
that can control the disease prevalence among the residents 
of  Akure South Local Government Area of  Ondo State.
The findings also provide better understanding of  
the subject under research. The future research will 
establish the relationship between the nondisposable and 
disposable factors and the presentation of  the disease.
 
CONCLUSION
The study concluded that the good perception of  the 
respondents about diabetes was evident among the adult 
residents but this did not reduce the prevalence of  the 
disease.
The following recommendations are hereby put forwards 
to checkmate the progression of  diabetes mellitus in 
Akure South Local Government.

Recommendations
1. Governments should intensify the awareness 

programmes on diabetes among the citizens, particularly 
through the mass media and community dialogue 
approach.

2. The use of  devices such as glycometer should be 
encouraged for adult residents in order to check their 
sugar level regularly.

3. Governments should collaborate with NGOs in 
their campaigns against diabetes mellitus.

4. Screening for diabetes should be encouraged for 
men and women in both private and public hospitals for 
early diagnosis.

5. Eating of  balanced diet and exercise should be 
encouraged among adults by the health providers.

6. Adults should avoid excessive intake of  foods with 
high glycomic index before bed time .

7. Provision of  periodic training to health providers to 
improve their capacity on diabetes care, knowledge and 
practice.

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