Prevalence and associated factors of dilated cardiomyopathy among patients admitted to Wolaita Sodo university comprehensive specialized hospital, South Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), which is the most common type of cardiomyopathy, is a condition of the heart muscle in which the ventricles get enlarged and the systolic function decreases. In adulthood, it is a significant health issue and the associated mortality and morbidity is substantial, with regular hospital admissions. It is also quite common. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and associated factors of dilated cardiomyopathy among patients visited to Wolaita Sodo University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, 2024. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The facility-based prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from 1st June to 30th November, 2024 on cardiac patients who visited at Wolaita Sodo university comprehensive specialized hospital. Study participants were selected by using a random systematic sampling method. The collected data were coded, cleaned, and entered into Epi data version 4.6 and exported to the statistical package for social science version 27 for analysis.Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to see the association between outcome and explanatory variables. Using tolerance and the variance inflation factor (VIF), the degree of multicollinearity in the final multivariate models was examined and fitted, and it was determined to be within a reasonable range. RESULT: A total of 412 (99%) individuals participated in this study. The prevalence of dilated cardiomyopathy was 32.28% (95% CI 28.23–37.65). Cardiac patients who had 41–60 years old [AOR 3.19, 95% CI (1.52–6.11)], being male [AOR 1.98, 95% CI (1.30–5.17)], rural residency [AOR 2.54, 95% CI (1.63–9.19)], hypertension [AOR 6.97, 95% CI (3.18–10.83)], obesity [AOR 3.34, 95% CI (1.86–8.71) and smoking [AOR 7.66, 95% CI (3.51–10.73)] were significantly associated with dilated cardiomyopathy. CONCLUSION: Dilated cardiomyopathy was a common condition that was more common in patients with heart problems. Age, gender, residence, hypertension, obesity, and smoking were all significantly associated with dilated cardiomyopathy. Patients should be physically active regularly and refrain from smoking. Further research is recommended to ascertain the exact cause and pathophysiology.