Urbanization in India has led to changes in diets and lifestyles, besides an alarming increase in obesity and diabetes, making it the ‘Diabetes Capital of the world.’ While the prevalence of such chronic conditions in the northeastern region is on the rise, prevalence of alcohol and tobacco use is highest in the country, increasing the risk and severity of these conditions. The aim of the study was to explore the pathways determining diabetes risk, assessed using the Indian Diabetes Risk Score which was based on age, family history, physical activity, and waist circumference. It was hypothesised that health literacy will influence knowledge and self-efficacy, leading to health behaviours, that will reduce diabetes risk. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 443 adults in Meghalaya and structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesised model. The pathways linking health literacy to health outcomes were moderated by gender, and health literacy influenced health behaviours and diabetes risk only among men. Health literacy was also mediated by self-efficacy and health behaviours in determining diabetes risk. The model explained 76.7% and 63.9% of the variance in diabetes risk for men and women respectively. Understanding these pathways is critical for health promotion and in developing a comprehensive program that is gender-specific, focusing on improving health literacy and self-efficacy to effectively reduce diabetes risk. These findings are especially pertinent to the large population of individuals with pre-diabetes in India.

Authors:
Naphisabet Kharsati, Indian Institute of Technology, India
Mrinmoyi Kulkarni, Indian Institute of Technology, India

About the Presenter(s)
Naphisabet Kharsati is a doctoral student at IIT Bombay, and recently joined as an Asst. Professor at NFSU Delhi. Her research explores the interactions between individual and system factors influencing diabetes management and prevention in India.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

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