Abstract
Introduction: In the past few decades, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes has increased dramatically in many countries. While primary preventive measures can reduce the prevalence of diabetes, knowledge of the risk factors of diabetes mellitus has many benefits for patients with diabetes. The study aimed to assess diabetes mellitus risk factors (DM-RFs) awareness among adults residing in Bisha, Southwestern Saudi Arabia. Awareness of the risk factors of diabetes mellitus was reported to be highest for obesity, sweet intake, and family history of diabetes. Methods: The study participants were 404 adults (225 males and 179 females) with an age range of 18-65 (mean age: 40.83+/-9.3). People with diabetes and those without diabetes were involved in the study. The study was conducted in Bisha city, southwestern Saudi Arabia, using an online random sampling technique and a structured and validated questionnaire, and analysis was by SPSS V 24. Results: This study showed that 168 (41.6%) participants had diabetes and 236 (58.4%) were non-diabetics; 64.9% of the respondents were aware of the DM-RFs. Among the people with diabetes, 128 (76.2%) agreed that obesity is a DM-RF, while 210 (89%) of the non-diabetics were aware that obesity was a DM-RF. Further, 77.7% of the respondents agreed that the risk factors were avoidable, with 50.7% willing to know more about DM-RFs. Conclusion: The study found a high level of awareness of DM-RFs among diabetes and non-diabetics in Bisha, southwestern Saudi Arabia.