ABSTRACT Background: Diabetes prevalence in Saudi Arabia remains concerning, with prevalence rates reaching 11.20% among adults. Aims: This study aimed to assess parental awareness of prediabetes in children across Saudi Arabia, focusing on knowledge of risk factors, symptoms, and complications. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted across the Saudi population. Subjects and Methods: Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, validated through a pilot study with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.848. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26.0. Nonnormally distributed continuous variables were presented as mean, standard deviation, median, interquartile range, and range. Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used, with significance at P < 0.05. Results: Among 580 parents, most were Saudi (97.8%), married (95%), and aged 41–50 (33.4%). About 64.3% held a bachelor’s degree. While 67.8% knew untreated prediabetes could progress to type 2 diabetes, only 22.4% and 31.2% correctly identified fasting glucose and HbA1c ranges. Just 18.3% were aware of screening high-risk children at age 10, and 34.5% recognized the need for monthly follow-ups. The median knowledge score was 4.81/11, indicating poor overall knowledge. Age and gender significantly influenced awareness. Conclusions: Many Saudi parents lack adequate knowledge about childhood prediabetes. Older parents, especially mothers, were better informed than younger fathers. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted public health initiatives to educate parents about pediatric prediabetes.
AlShehri et al. (Thu,) studied this question.