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National and regional prevalence rates of diabetes in Saudi Arabia: analysis of national survey data

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Abstract

Background

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) has grown globally including Saudi Arabia. However, there are no recent national and regional reports about DM in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the national and regional prevalence rates of DM among the Saudi population.

Methods

Data from an ongoing household health survey that was carried out by the General Authority for Statistics in 2017 was utilized in this study. The study sample was selected by including 24,012 households which was representative of the population and distributed according to the 13 administrative regions. A self-reported diagnosis of DM was collected by asking subjects if they have been diagnosed by a doctor.

Results

The proportion of DM was 8.5% among the Saudi Arabia population (≥ 15 years) and was higher in male (10.3%) than female (9.9%). The prevalence of DM among the age group ≥ 60 years was the highest (49.2%), followed by the age group 45–64 years (38.9%) while the lowest prevalence was found among the younger group < 40 years (15.3%). There was a large difference between regions ranging from 7.3% in Najran to 11% in Makkah.

Conclusion

This study showed the recent national and regional prevalence rates of DM among Saudi populations. The high prevalence of DM in Saudi Arabia requires an urgent public health call to improve early detection program and lifestyle interventions. This study urges to minimize the health and economic burden of DM by establishing and implementing a national diabetes prevention program.

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Acknowledgment

We would like to thank the Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University for their support throughout this project. KK is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration East Midlands (ARC EM) and the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, 11942, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Bader Alqahtani, Ragab K. Elnaggar & Aqeel Alenazi

  2. Department of Physical Therapy for Pediatrics, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt

    Ragab K. Elnaggar

  3. Physical Therapy Department, Jazan University, Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Mohammed M. Alshehri

  4. Diabetes Research Center, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK

    Kamlesh Khunti

Authors
  1. Bader Alqahtani
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  2. Ragab K. Elnaggar
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  3. Mohammed M. Alshehri
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  4. Kamlesh Khunti
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  5. Aqeel Alenazi
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Contributions

BA is involved in the study design. AA and BA helped with data analysis and interpretation. BA, AA, MMA RKA, and KK helped in writing and reviewing the final version of this manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bader Alqahtani.

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Conflict of interest

KK has acted as a consultant and speaker or received grants for investigator-initiated studies for Astra Zeneca, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi-Aventis, Lilly and Merck Sharp & Dohme, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, Berlin-Chemie AG/Menarini Group, Janssen, and Napp.

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Alqahtani, B., Elnaggar, R.K., Alshehri, M.M. et al. National and regional prevalence rates of diabetes in Saudi Arabia: analysis of national survey data. Int J Diabetes Dev Ctries 43, 392–397 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13410-022-01092-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13410-022-01092-1

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