Abstract
BackgroundDiabetes mellitus is the fastest growing global health emergency of the 21st century. The Middle East and North Africa region have the highest prevalence of diabetes in the world. Since medical students are the pillars of future healthcare systems, their knowledge of the disease must be evaluated, updated, and enhanced appropriately. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted at the Syrian Private University (SPU) in November 2019 on World Diabetes Day in Damascus, during the Syrian war crisis. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25.0 (SPSS Inc., United States). ResultsOf the 275 students, 74 (26.9%) were preclinical students and 201 (73%) were clinical students with a mean age of 21.9 (±3.70) years. 67 (25.0%) are overweight, and 26 (9.7%) are obese. Students revealed a good level of knowledge regarding clinical features, risk factors, and complications; however, a lack of knowledge was noticed in the general information and the diagnostic criteria section. Clinical year students (4th, 5th, 6th) demonstrated higher levels of awareness compared to students in pre-clinical years (1st, 2nd, 3rd). ConclusionsKnowledge and awareness of medical students about diabetes mellitus were found to have some gaps. Health education efforts are required to reinforce its identification and management at all levels, while also encouraging lifestyle modifications among our students.
Highlights
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic disorders that are characterized by persistent hyperglycemia, and categorized into 3 main subtypes: type 1 DM, type 2 DM, and gestational DM [1]
Our study showed higher levels of awareness in comparison with studies conducted in Jordan [14], Saudi Arabia [19], Pakistan [20], and United Arab Emirates (UAE) [21]
This study demonstrates that medical students at the Syrian Private University have good knowledge around DM with the highest level of knowledge being among clinical students and lowest among preclinical students
Summary
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic disorders that are characterized by persistent hyperglycemia, and categorized into 3 main subtypes: type 1 DM, type 2 DM (which constitutes 90% of cases), and gestational DM [1]. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) have set global targets to improve care, reduce premature death from diabetes, achieve universal health coverage, and provide universal access to affordable essential medications by 2030 [2]. These are important steps towards guaranteeing access to affordable high-quality care and alleviating financial catastrophe for the 578 million who will be living with diabetes [1]. Diabetes mellitus is the fastest growing global health emergency of the 21st century. Health education efforts are required to reinforce its identification and management at all levels, while encouraging lifestyle modifications among our students
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