Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the awareness level of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and examined its sociodemographic determinants among patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) in Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in all regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, over 6 months. Using a stratified sampling technique, diabetic patients were recruited from the five main regions of the Kingdom. Eligible participants were adults (≥18 years) of both genders with a confirmed diagnosis of DM. Data were collected through a pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire. Awareness was assessed using 10 key knowledge items, with correct responses scored as 1 and incorrect or “I don’t know” as 0. Total scores ranged from 0 to 10, with higher scores reflecting greater awareness.
Results: A total of 674 participants were included, with a slight female predominance (50.9%) and the largest age group being 18-24 years (24.3%). Just over half (52.4%) had type 1 diabetes. Overall, 74.8% demonstrated inadequate knowledge of DKA, while only 25.2% showed good knowledge. No significant associations were observed between knowledge levels and sociodemographic or clinical characteristics (all p-values > 0.05).
Conclusion: The findings indicated that awareness of DKA among diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia was remarkably lacking. Furthermore, these knowledge gaps were observed uniformly across all demographic and clinical subgroups, with no notable differences by sociodemographic or clinical characteristics. This underlines the need for broad educational initiatives targeting all diabetic patients, with emphasis on DKA causes, symptoms, and management.

Key words: Awareness, knowledge, diabetes, diabetic ketoacidosis, Saudi Arabia