European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Diabetes is a major, non-communicable disease with increasing prevalence globally and
will be the seventh leading cause of death worldwide by 2030 as estimated by the WHO
report in 2011. Saudi Arabia is considered to be one of the highest countries in the Middle
East for the incidence of diabetes mellitus. Type 2 diabetes affects the most productive
midlife period but has also started to appear in younger age groups. Type 2 diabetes is now
increasingly diagnosed among adolescents and young adults, data are lacking regarding
knowledge about diabetes mellitus among school students in Saudi Arabia but it is a
potentially preventable disease through a combination of lifestyle modification and
pharmaceutical treatment.