How dietary intake of type 2 diabetes mellitus outpatients affects their fasting blood glucose levels

Objective: The study aims to explore the association between the adherence to dietary recommendations among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with their fasting blood glucose levels. Method: This is a cross-sectional anthropometric and dietary study conducted on 169 T2DM patients receiving outpatient treatment at the Central Nursing and Rehabilitation Hospital in Thanh Hoa provincial hospital in Vietnam in 2018. Results: The rate of patients who had good fasting glycemic control was still low (30.8%). Their diets were poor in energy and unbalanced; the contribution of carbohydrates to the total dietary intake was high (68.2%), and only 24.9% of patients consumed 4–6 meals/day. There was a statistically significant association between the dietary intake with carbohydrate dietary intake containing ≥60% carbohydrate and the number of meals per day (<4 meals) with their fasting blood glucose levels (OR = 4.964, p < 0.05 and OR = 16.508; p < 0.01, respectively). Conclusions and recommendations: Hospital staff are advised to combine treatment with dietary counseling to help patients controlling their weights and glycemic levels more efficient, thereby contributing to improving their treatment outcomes.