Knowledge of Complications of Diabetes Mellitus among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in Saudi Arabia: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Background and Aims: The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge of diabetes-related complications among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Saudi Arabia. Methods: In this study, 237 patients with T2D, who visited the diabetic clinic at Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Saudi Arabia, from December 2021 to March 2022, were recruited by adopting the non-probability sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the sociodemographic features of the group in this study and their knowledge regarding T2D-related complications. Results: From the 237 patients with T2D in this study, a higher percentage had hypertension (64.1%), heart disease (67.1%), retinopathy (79.7%), nephropathy (69.7%), diabetic foot (75.9%), and neuropathy (68.4%). Overall, a high number of these patients (121 or 51.3%) expressed inadequate knowledge of complications related to diabetes. Only 40 (16.9%) revealed adequate knowledge of diabetes-related complications, while 75 (31.8%) mentioned genuine ignorance regarding their complications. Patients educational status (p = 0.045), occupation (p = 0.026), and duration of diabetes (p = 0.037) were significantly associated with knowledge of diabetic complications. From the multinomial regression, substantial differences were evident concerning the duration and occupation of the population under study. Conclusion: The knowledge patients with T2D possess concerning diabetes-related complications was generally poor. This study indicates that through improved knowledge of diabetes, the risks of diabetes-related complications among T2D patients can be minimized.