Abstract
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is an independent risk factor for osteoporosis. Data regarding dietary calcium intake (DCI) among T2DM patients in South India are limited. Thus, a cross-sectional study was conducted among 205 T2DM patients from 5 randomly chosen diabetes clinics across Erode city, Tamil Nadu. The mean DCI was 583.72 +/- 32.23 mg per day, with 78.5% of patients consuming less than the recommended daily allowance. Low physical activity was noted in 45% of the participants. Other variables, low knowledge scores (adjusted odds ratio; 95% confidence interval) (4.65; 1.43-12.16), unemployment (2.76; 1.57-4.62), being elderly (2.05; 1.23-5.27), and female (1.59; 1.09-4.27), were significantly associated with low DCI.