Perceived Risk Factors For Diabetes Mellitus Among Civil Servants Of Calabar Municipal Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria

Introduction: The global prevalence of diabetes is rising, posing a major public health challenge. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, and civil servants are not left out of this group. One's understanding of the perceived risk factors for developing diabetes influences their decisions on engaging in preventive behaviours. Methodology: The study utilised a cross sectional survey design. A multistage sampling technique was used to the respondents based on them meeting the inclusion criteria. A structured questionnaire was administered for data collection. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 26. Results 64.3% of the respondents had high perceived personal risk factors for developing diabetes. 65.9% of the respondents had a high perceived workplace environmental risk factor. 68.2% of the respondents had high perceived psychosocial risk factors. 57.4% of the respondents had high perceived behavioural risk factors and 50.4% of the respondents had low perceived sociocultural risk factors. A significant relationship was reported between perceived workplace environmental, psychosocial, behavioural, and sociocultural risk factors and diabetes. Conclusion The relationships between the perceived risk factors and diabetes were statistically significant, but were characterised as weak. This indicates that while these factors play a role, their individual impact may be modest which supports the claim of the multifactorial causation theory which states that diseases are caused by an interplay of different factors. Hence, advocating for policies that address not just one factor but a combination of multiple risk factors is important.