BACKGROUND: Saudi Arabia is considered to be one of the highest countries in the Middle East for the incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM). Data are lacking regarding knowledge and awareness about DM among school students in Saudi Arabia. AIM: The study aimed to assess the level of knowledge and awareness of DM among high school students within the military city, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A descriptive type of cross-sectional study was conducted among 278 high school students applying a convenience sampling technique. The sample size was calculated using OpenEpi, Version 3. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the high school students (male and female) after official communication with the school’s dean. The level of knowledge and awareness was categorized into “adequate” and “inadequate” as per each topic/question, and also as per each response/answer. Data entry and analysis were carried out using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Pearson’s Chi-square tests were performed to explore if there is any significant association between the knowledge and awareness level of the high school students and their (i) gender, (ii) age, and (iii) level of education. RESULTS: More than half of the high school students had adequate level of knowledge and awareness about DM in terms of symptoms (67.3%), complications (56.5%), monitoring method (62.6%), lifestyle modifications (63.7%), frequency of routine eye check-up (63.3%), important factors for blood sugar control (79.1%), treatment (56.5%), and management of hypoglycemia symptoms (57.6%). On the contrary, a large number of the students showed inadequate level of knowledge and awareness about the disease in terms of definition (80.6%), major causes (57.9%), effect of high blood pressure (51.8%), frequency of routine blood pressure check-up (55%), rationale of a regular urine test (58.3%), medication for DM (66.9%), and duration of medication (69.8%). However, no significant associations were found between the knowledge and awareness level of the high school students about the definition or major causes of DM and the (i) gender, (ii) age group, and (iii) level of education of the students. CONCLUSION: The level of knowledge and awareness of a considerable number of high school students regarding DM was inadequate, and some of them possessed various misconceptions about this particular chronic disease. Health authorities and school authorities in the region should offer special efforts to improve the level of knowledge and awareness of the students through regular health education campaigns.

Males with diabetes mellitus have been reported to have low serum testosterone levels relative to the general population. This study aimed to explore the impact of glycemic control, duration of diabetes (in years), comorbidities, and diabetes complications on serum testosterone levels in different age groups. Using a cross-sectional study design, data were collected from the files and lab results of 350 diabetic male patients at King Salman Armed Forces Hospital in Saudi Arabia. We obtained data about their age, serum testosterone levels, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), the duration of diabetes (in years), coexisting comorbidities (if present), and diabetes mellitus complications. Patients in this study were found to have significantly lower serum testosterone levels than the average population and by looking at each factor independently, we come to find that glycemic control was the only factor found to substantially impact testosterone levels in diabetic males. Moreover, poor glycemic control (HbA1c ≥7%) Alone was associated with lower serum testosterone levels regardless of the presence of other factors such as the duration of diabetes (in years), age, comorbidities, and micro/macrovascular complications. In conclusion, the presence of the other factors was not found to have significant effect on serum testosterone levels unless accompanied with poor glycemic control. Along with this finding, further studies are required to better understand the exact mechanism of glycemic control’s impact on testosterone levels.

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