SUMMARY
Objective: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycemia with a global prevalence rate of 8.3%. Diabetes not only affect general health but also oral health leading to periodontitis. Low level of knowledge about diabetes and lack of awareness regarding preventive options will ultimately impact self-care behavior. To assess diabetes related knowledge among patients attending Vinayaka Mission’s Sankarachariyar (VMS) Dental College outpatient department in Salem city, Tamilnadu. Materials And Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out for about two weeks which encompassed a convenient sample of 400 subjects aged 18-80 years. Knowledge of respondents regarding diabetes was measured using 15 item self-administered modified Diabetes Knowledge Questionnaire (DKQ). Results: When knowledge regarding cause of diabetes was considered, only 40% of subjects were aware that diabetes is not a communicable disease. Almost half (57.5%) of the participants believed that sweet consumption causes diabetes. Furthermore, 55% participants knew that diabetes can damage kidney and around 54.5% agreed that diabetes can also affect dental health. The higher mean knowledge scores was observed among males compared to females and the difference was statistically insignicant (p=0.37). Significantly higher mean knowledge scores were dissipated by subjects with graduation education (p=0.01), those with professional occupation (p=0.02) and participant from urban location (p=0.00). Conclusion: The study showed significantly lower level of awareness regarding diabetes among rural respondents compared to urban residents. Gap related to diabetes mellitus knowledge should be abridged between rural and urban province in order to reduce disease burden and to yield positive health outcomes in the society.KeywordsDiabetes mellitus; Diabetes management; Knowledge; Oral self-care.