Professor Elizabeth GoyderFahad Mubarak B Almutairi2022-05-262022-05-26https://drepo.sdl.edu.sa/handle/20.500.14154/30477Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is an endemic disease in Saudi Arabia affecting more than 10% of the population. However, there is limited evidence examining the association between diet and T2D among the Saudi population, particularly from the perspective of dietary patterns. Aims: To identify dietary patterns among the Saudi population and to examine their association with T2D, HbA1c and Body Mass Index (BMI) levels. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 2013 Saudi Health Interview Survey (SHIS) and data collected from primary health patients were analysed. Factor analysis identified the dietary patterns for each data set and the relationships between diet, T2D, HbA1c and BMI levels were explored. Results: Four dietary patterns were identified from the SHIS data: Traditional, Dairy Products, Seafood and Fast Food. After adjusting for age and sex, the Fast Food dietary pattern was associated with lower odds of a T2D diagnosis (OR=0.50, CI=0.44-0.57) and negatively associated with HbA1c level (b=-0.085, p=<0.001), whilst the Traditional dietary pattern was associated with higher odds of having undiagnosed diabetes (OR=1.062, CI=1.022-1.104) and was positively associated with HbA1c level (b=0.032, p=0.049). Five dietary patterns were identified from the primary data: Comprehensive, Traditional, Fast Food, Snacking and Low Processed Food. After adjusting for age and sex, both Fast Food and Snacking were positively associated with HbA1c (b=0.182, p=0.007 and b=0.205, p=0.002 respectively) and after also adjusting for physical activity, Snacking was associated with higher BMI (b=0.142, p=0.044). Conclusion: Dietary patterns that were more common in younger Saudis and included more fast food and calorie-dense snack foods are associated with higher HbA1c and BMI levels. A diagnosis of T2D was not associated with consistent differences in dietary patterns. This suggests there is scope to both reduce diabetes risk and improve management through dietary interventions. Development and evaluation of dietary interventions are now needed.en