Abstract

Background: Diabetes is a chronic metabolic condition characterized by a lack of insulin-producing cells, impaired insulin activity, or a combination of the two. Today, Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of diabetes, with 23.7% of the population suffering from the disease. Many people with diabetes do not realize they have the disease until one of its life-threatening complications occurs.
Objectives: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of knowledge and awareness about diabetes mellitus (DM) among the non-diabetic population and its association with sociodemographic variables in the Jazan Region of Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on non-diabetic community members from January 2022 to April 2022 in the Jazan Region. Participants were selected through a random sampling method and completed self-administered questionnaires that included demographic variables. Microsoft Excel was used for data entry, and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 23 was used for data processing and analysis.
Result: A total of 475 subjects participated in this study. Moreover, 86.7% (412) of the study participants defined diabetes as the presence of high blood sugar levels in the body, but nearly half (44.6%) thought that DM was a curable disease. Regarding the complications of DM, 81.3% mentioned that DM could lead to amputations, followed by causing eye problems or even blindness (79.8%).
Conclusion: The population in the Jazan Region has enough general knowledge of diabetes regarding symptoms, complications, and so on; however, most of the population has the misconception that diabetes can be cured. Therefore, our study suggests that more efforts should be made to increase knowledge of diabetes, especially among the less educated elderly population.

Key words: Diabetes mellitus (DM), Middle East and North African (MENA), pre-diabetes, non-diabetic.