Prediabetes and its Relative Risk Factors in Saudi-adult Men

Background: Type2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a global public health problem. Most diabetic people live in developing countries and Saudi Arabia is not an exception, however; the data is limited. Prediabetes is always a prodromal period to T2DM. Objectives: This study was designed to identify the prevalence of prediabetes and its associated risk factors in a group of healthy young men blood donors from the Al-Baha region in Saudi Arabia. Material and methods: A total of 165 Saudi-adult men between the ages of 20 and 57 years old participated in the study. A questionnaire was derived and pre-tested, then given to the participants to obtain appropriate data regarding age, nationality, job, living place, G6PD status, history of blood pressure, lifestyle, family history of diabetes, and smoking status.  A pre-designed pro forma “Diabetes Risk Test” was used to calculate a risk-factor score of each participant for having T2DM. Blood pressure, weight, and height were measured, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was used to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria. Results: This study showed a high prevalence of prediabetes (24.24%) and diabetes (3.03%). Factors that were significantly associated with prediabetes and diabetes included: age, BMI, smoking status, subject’s physical activity, consumption soft drinks and high fat diets, subject’s job, and subject’s blood group. Conclusion and Recommendation: This study found that prediabetes prevalence is high (24.24%) in Al-Baha-adult men between the age of 20 and 57 years old, which highlights the necessity for providing health education programs for Al-Baha-adult men, so they can amend the risk factors of prediabetes before they end up with full onset diabetes. This study also shows which risk factors are associated with prediabetes and diabetes within this cohort.