Abstract
Background: Diabetes mellitus is one of the prevalent diseases in the Saudi community and exploring perception of skin manifestation in diabetes mellitus among the patients is important to improve the prognosis and quality of life for the patients. However, this part of knowledge among diabetics is under-researched.
Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the perception on skin manifestation in diabetes mellitus among attendees of a primary care center in Al-Majmaah City, Riyadh region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a pre-tested and pre-coded self-administered questionnaire. The study targeted all attendees of the Primary Care Centers in Al-Majmaah city, using multi-stage systemic sampling. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 21, using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test.
Results:
346 participants participated in the study, 235 (67.9%) females and 111 (32.1%) males, who were mostly young and middle-aged and of no or low formal education. Most of the participants were not diabetic 300 (86.7%) but have diabetic close relative 238 (68.80%). The main sources of information for the most known skin manifestations of DM were health care providers, internet & social media, and relatives and friends, the average of each was 88 (25.57%), 84 (24.37%) and 81 (23.30%), respectively. The most known skin manifestations of DM were delayed healing 324 (93.6%), xerosis (dry skin) 274 (79.2%) and Diabetic foot 264 (76.3%).
Conclusion: Overall, there was a lack of knowledge about these manifestations. The authorities need to take the necessary actions to address these gaps in knowledge through more efficient utilization of the sources commonly used by the attendees of the PHCs.