Prevalence of diabetes mellitus in a Saudi community

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Quantifying the prevalence of diabetes mellitus is important to allow for rational planning and allocation of resources. Therefore, we designed this study to determine the prevalence of diabetes among Saudi nationals.DESIGN AND SETTING:A cross-sectional study among patients attending a primary care clinic in June 2009.PATIENTS AND METHODS:Patients were interviewed with structured questionnaires to determine the presence of diabetes by questioning for history of the disease, and charts were reviewed to document any diabetic therapies that the patients may have undergone in the past or were undergoing at that time.RESULTS:Of 6024 subjects, diabetes mellitus was present in 1792 (30%) patients. The mean (SD) age of the patients was 55.3 (13.2) years. The prevalence of diabetes was 34.1% in males and 27.6% in females (P<.0001). The mean (SD) age for onset of diabetes in males and females was 57.5 (13.1) and 53.4 (13.1) years, respectively (P<.0001). Females <50 years old had a higher prevalence than males in the corresponding age range—34.1% and 25.1%, respectively (P<.0001). The prevalence of diabetes decreased in patients older than 70 years. The prevalence of body mass index of ≥25 was 72.5%. Among patients with diabetes, the prevalence of body mass index of ≥25 was 85.7% (P<.0001). There was a higher prevalence of obesity (body mass index, ≥25) in females (87.7%) as compared to males (83.1%) (P=.008).CONCLUSION:The prevalence of diabetes is high among the Saudi population and represents a major clinical and public health problem. A national prevention program to prevent diabetes and address the modifiable risk factors at the community level, targeting high-risk groups, should be implemented soon.

Clinicopathological Study on the Effects of &lt;i&gt;Momordica charantia&lt;/i&gt; on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Wistar Rats

“…In the Kingdome of Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus among people is high and represents a major clinical and public health problem [8]. KSA is now classified by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) to be among the top 10 countries globally with the highest projected prevalence of diabetes in 2011 (16.2%) and 2030 (20.8%) [9].…”

Frequency of diabetes, complications and vascular risk factors in male and female population of Al-Jouf, KSA

“…However, no statistical association was observed between type of diabetes and gender. Alqurashi et al [7] results showed the prevalence rates of type 2 diabetes to be higher among males (34.1% vs. 27.6% in females 27.6%, P < 0.0001). In contrast, a recent cross-sectional study conducted in northern Saudi Arabia showed lower prevalence of diabetes in males (42.5%) than females (57.5%) [15].…”

“…Saudi Arabia has a high prevalence of diabetes (raw diabetes prevalence of 17.6%) [6]. Estimate of diabetes prevalence has been published previously [7][8][9]. The amount of healthcare expenditure dedicated to diabetes corresponded on average to 17% of the total health budget spent; the largest share to diabetes was Saudi Arabia who spent 24% of total healthcare expenditure [2].…”

Effectiveness of Levels of Health Education on HbA1c in Al-Qassim Region , Saudi Arabia

“…(1,2) According to a recent study, the prevalence of diabetes in Saudi Arabia is 34.1% in males and 27.6% in females. (3) While the prevalence among adults of the Arabic speaking countries as a whole range between 4%-21%, with the lowest being in Somalia and the highest in Kuwait. (4) The increase in income per capita and the accompanying shift in lifestyle to more sedentary activity with high fat diets and resultant obesity apparently underlie much of the increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus.…”