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 <50 years old had a higher prevalence than males in the corresponding age range-34.1% and 25.1%, respectively (P