Self reported attitude and behavior of young diabetics about discussing their disease.

A performa-guided survey was conducted among 47 young patients of diabetes mellitus (onset of diabetes <30 years). Questions included were regarding the type of treatment, health status information about diabetes, and the assumptions and experiences of the patients on certain psychosocial behavior. A total of 59.6% subjects said that they could disclose everything about their disease to their friends and acquaintances. Twenty-seven percent felt that they could divulge only partial information and 12.8% did not want to discuss their disease with their friends and acquaintances. Subjects who said that they could disclose about their disease felt that they could do so because they were putting a lot of effort into achieving better control of their blood glucose. One of the fears expressed about not discussing their disease was that in doing so people would treat them differently or perceive them as sick. However only 38% experienced such a change in the behaviour of their acquaintances. Seventy-three percent of them had received unsolicited advice from others about food and dietary restrictions. Forty-three percent of the subjects had received instructions from acquaintances to stop all treatment and shift to household remedies. Hypoglycemia could be a motivating factor to help patients to discuss their illness with the acquaintances.