Background: Diabetes is a chronic disease of a genetic and environmental background. If it is not diagnosed and controlled early, it can have devastating complications. Aim: Measure and analyze the prevalence and risks of prediabetes and diabetes among recruits enlisted in the Wadi Al-Dawasir (WD) military zone, central Saudi Arabia. The influence of some demographic criteria, weight, and blood pressure upon blood glucose level would be evaluated. Methods: A cross sectional design was utilized, whereas predesigned questionnaire and clinical interview were used to screen the study population. Results: The participants' median age was 33.7 (IQR 11.9), mean body mass index (BMI) was 27.6 ± 5.4 kg/m 2 . Out of 531 recruits screened, almost two-thirds were either overweight (34.7%) or obese (29.9%). The mean waist circumference (WC) was 94.7 ± 13.3 cm; and 27.9% had central obesity (WC ≥102 cm). Random plasma glucose (RPG) median accounted 106 mg/dl (IQR 21).The participants' RPG levels significantly increased by age (U = 19697.0), by BMI [H(df 5) = 59.6], and by WC (U = 25,670.5), (p < 0.0001, all tests).Likewise, systolic blood pressure and RPG levels were significantly correlated [rho(df 503) = 0.241, p < 0.0001]. Furthermore, 29 (5.6%) subjects had RPG ≥200mg%: 23 (4.3%) known diabetic (uncontrolled) and 6 (1.3%) undiagnosed (pre-diabetes). Known diabetics tended to record higher RPG values than non-diabetics (U 3515, p < 0.0001). Weight did not influence the development of overt diabetes or prediabetes conditions. Yet known diabetics were prone to recording higher BMI (>25 to ≥40 kg/m 13community. An insufficient influence of obesity for developing diabetes symptoms in the study population may well be attributed to time factor separating the two variables. A preventive approach to revert the predisposition of prediabetes in WD recruits population is quite promising.

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