Al-Hazmi Ahmad
Al Jouf University, Saudi Arabia
Title: Prevalence of Diabetes in Saudi Arabia over the past four decades: a country facing one of the highest ever reported percentages of diabetes on global scale
Biography
Biography: Al-Hazmi Ahmad
Abstract
Saudi community is a population that is characterized by sudden economic and social changes, leading to a sharp increase in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and abnormal glucose metabolism. Thus, the present research review had the objective to evaluate epidemiology of DM among Saudi community since 1980. Materials and Methods: Having extensively explored Saudi and International databases (SDL, PubMed, Google Scholar, Medline, web of science, Science Direct, Scopus, and WHO) with broad keywords, we looked for relevant papers about frequency of diabetes mellitus among Saudi population since 1980. We recruited only those primary papers with required information and acceptable methodology by reviewing their titles, abstracts, and full-texts. Pertinent was identified by searching databases, the main data about the prevalence of diabetes, age and sex distribution of subjects, sample size, date, and location of studies were extracted from the full-text of eligible papers. Results: A total of 20 valid articles were identified and selected for analysis. All those articles were cross-sectional descriptive studies. Out of the total, only 7 (35 %) were nationwide. Among the findings of these studies, the lowest diabetes prevalence was 2.5 % amongst 1387 males surveyed in Al-Kharj area in 1982, and highest prevalence was 30 % was present in 1792 (30%) patients surveyed attending a primary care clinic in June 2009. The vast majority of studies reviewed indicate that the prevalence of diabetes was increasing with age among Saudi community and it was more prevalent among males in comparison with females. The research findings indicate that the prevalence of diabetes has increased by 10 to 12-folds over the past four decades among Saudi community. Conclusion: The prevalence of diabetes appears higher among Saudi community than in other developing countries. This condition is a major public health significance in Saudi Arabia causing a considerable challenge for all health care providers and the foundation of health care system in the country. Efforts should be concerted to combat the increasing incidence of DM.