Prevalence, Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Diabetes Mellitus among Jazan Population, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) prevalence is increasing in Arabian Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia is ranked as the 7th country world widely estimated to have the highest numbers of people with diabetes in 2000 and 2030. Objectives: This study intended to estimate the prevalence, risk factors of diabetes among adult population of Jazan region, Saudi Arabia. Methods: Observational cross sectional survey conducted among adult Saudi population aged 15 years of age and over who attended eight Primary Health Care Centers (PHCCs) in Jazan region. Standardized questionnaire as well as diabetic registry was utilized for this research. The questionnaire involved risk factors of DM and sociodemographic variables. Statistical analysis involved: chi-square test (or Fisher exact test where applicable) was used to evaluate the prevalence of DM among different sub-groups. The crude odds ratios (OR) were estimated by univariate analysis to observe the association of each variable with DM. Results: The overall prevalence of DM among study participants was found to be 12.3% (95% CI: 10.9 - 13.8). The prevalence of DM according to gender showed that women are of significantly higher prevalence 19.0% with confidence interval (95% C.I. 15.9 - 22.6), compared with only 9.8% for male (95% CI. 8.4 - 11.4). Participant’s body mass index, age, family history of diabetes and daily exercise and work involved physical activities that showed a significant association with DM. Conclusion: Increased prevalence of diabetes calls for urgent steps towards prevention and health promotion, programs designed to reduce its burden.