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Diabetes Mellitus in Saudi Arabia

Challenges and Possible Solutions

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Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World

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Abstract

According to the World Health Organization rankings, Saudi Arabia stands second among the Middle East countries, and seventh globally, for the prevalence of diabetes mellitus. An estimated seven million of the population are diabetic, with a further three million being prediabetic. Of even greater concern perhaps is the alarming increase in diabetes in Saudi Arabia in recent years. In fact, diabetes has increased by tenfold during the past three decades in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the management of diabetes faces many challenges in Saudi Arabia, including the rising prevalence (principally among children and young adults), micro- and macrovascular complications, lifestyle alterations, delayed diagnosis, low degree of awareness, and expensive treatment costs. There has been a huge acceleration (more than 500%) in the expenses incurred for healthcare and treatment of diabetes during the last two decades. The healthcare budget of Saudi Arabia in 2014 was 180 billion (Saudi Riyal), of which roughly 25 billion used exclusively for the management of diabetes. Therefore, a comprehensive program/multidisciplinary approach on a national level is urgently required before the treatment of diabetes mellitus becomes an even greater burden on the health of the population and also the health budget. In this chapter we discuss the significant and chief threats due to diabetes mellitus in the Saudi population and propose solutions to delay/prevent this further increase in diabetes in Saudi Arabia.

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Author notes

  1. Mohamed Abdulaziz Al Dawish and Asirvatham Alwin Robert contributed equally with all other contributors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Diabetes Treatment Center, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Mohamed Abdulaziz Al Dawish & Asirvatham Alwin Robert

Authors
  1. Mohamed Abdulaziz Al Dawish
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  2. Asirvatham Alwin Robert
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohamed Abdulaziz Al Dawish .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Pharmacology Therapeutics, University of British Colombia Dept. Pharmacology Therapeutics, VANCOUVER, BC, Canada

    Ismail Laher

Section Editor information

  1. Health Promotion, University of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg, Jutland, Denmark

    Anastasia Samara

  2. Faculty of Health Science, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden

    Atika Khalaf

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Al Dawish, M.A., Robert, A.A. (2020). Diabetes Mellitus in Saudi Arabia. In: Laher, I. (eds) Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74365-3_45-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74365-3_45-1

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