Relationship of thyroid dysfunction and its manifestations in diabetes mellitus patients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE: Both diabetes mellitus (DM) and thyroid dysfunction (TD) are endocrinopathies that are frequently inclined to coexist in patients. Most studies avoid explicitly supporting or opposing testing thyroid function for diabetic patients as a baseline. The association between hypothyroidism and diabetes is considerable when assessing thyroid functions in diabetic individuals based on clinical suspicion. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the relationship between thyroid dysfunction and its manifestations in DM patients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study included 301 DM subjects. A questionnaire divided into two sections was administered to all participants. The first section involved questions about diabetes control, monitoring, and disease severity. The second section included questions about thyroid disease and the 14-item Hypothyroidism Clinical Prediction (HCP) score we created for our research. The HCP score was obtained by summing up all discrete scores for different symptoms of hypothyroidism. ROC curve analysis was used to assess the predicted hypothyroidism cases based on the most precise cut-off point for the HCP overall score (highest sensitivity and specificity). HCP discriminant ability for detecting hypothyroid cases was assessed considering the Area Under the Curve (AUC) as a measurement. RESULTS: Almost 53 (17.6%) diabetes mellitus subjects were previously diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Comparatively, regarding the given cut-off point, the total number of predicted hypothyroidism cases using the HCP score was 149 (49.5%). The most reported symptoms included tiredness (75%), followed by irritability (72%), and difficulty in losing weight (65%). Hypothyroidism was detected/predicted among 60.1% of female diabetics vs. 44.2% of males with recorded statistical significance (p=.006). CONCLUSIONS: This study further proves a significant association between diabetes and hypothyroidism in Saudi Arabia. We recommend periodic screening for thyroid dysfunction in the diabetic population in specific cases; since some patients with diabetes are more likely to have hypothyroidism based on their clinical presentation.

Hypoglycemia awareness and its associated risk factors, in non-insulin-dependent diabetes in Hail region, Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE: Hypoglycemia is one of the avoidable complications of diabetes mellitus type 1 or 2, which occurs in between 24% to 60% of diabetic patients. It is a state of low plasma glucose concentration, either with or without symptoms, that can expose the patient to risks. Hypoglycemia is associated with impaired brain function, cardiovascular and visual effects, and increased mortality. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge of hypoglycemia as a complication of diabetes mellitus type 2 and the awareness of risk factors among the Hail City population, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study targeting diabetic patients with type 2 in Hail province from April to August 2022. We used an online questionnaire distributed through popular social media, which included questions on age group, gender, BMI, social status, occupation, education, and income. RESULTS: Approximately 48.2% of patients had episodes of hypoglycemia in the previous three months, while 43% did not have hypoglycemic episodes. Among patients, 424 (73.7%) had less than three hypoglycemic episodes during the previous three months, and 121 (21%) had 3-6 episodes. CONCLUSIONS: Hypoglycemic episodes among diabetic patients have critical effects on the patient and may lead them to avoid diabetic drugs, causing hyperglycemia.

The association between hypertension and glucose tolerance among adults with prediabetes in Hail City, Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE: As a worldwide epidemic, the frequency of prediabetes is rapidly increasing. As a result, the present study investigated pre-diabetes synergistic factors in the Saudi population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This descriptive study used samples from 31 Hail-area primary health clinics (PHCs). Participants were chosen at random from December 2021 to June 2022. RESULTS: There were 164 participants in this study, of which 86 males (52.4%) and 78 females (47.6%). The GTT revealed that none of the study participants had diabetes, but an A1C test revealed that all of them had A1C levels above 6.5%. Approximately 16/86 (18.6%) of the 86 men were overweight, whereas 53/86 (61.6%) were obese. CONCLUSIONS: Saudi Arabia's prediabetes rate has increased due to obesity/overweight, family history of diabetes, heart rate variability, and poor sleep quality. HbA1c screening should replace GTT to prevent progression to T2DM.