Dietary habits and cardiometabolic indicators among adults with type 2 diabetes in Al Ahsa

Abstract

Dietary adherence and meal composition are important aspects of type 2 diabetes management, yet their associations with cardiometabolic indicators remain insufficiently characterized in local clinical populations. This study assessed dietary practices and their associations with obesity and lipid abnormalities among adults with type 2 diabetes attending King Abdulaziz Hospital in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. Questionnaire responses collected between September 2023 and February 2024 were combined with clinical records obtained during the study period for 326 participants. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney U tests with Holm correction, Pearson chi-square tests and crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Obesity affected 54.3%, HbA1c was ≥9% in 54.6%, and 67.5% reported non-strict dietary adherence. Carbohydrate-rich meals were associated with low HDL cholesterol (OR 4.11, 95% CI 2.39–7.09; p<0.001), LDL cholesterol ≥3.4 mmol/L (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.28–3.22; p=0.002), and triglycerides ≥1.7 mmol/L (OR 83.02, 95% CI 11.19–615.74; p<0.001), but not obesity (p=0.696). Non-strict adherence was associated with obesity (OR 5.10, 95% CI 3.07–8.47), low HDL cholesterol (OR 8.93, 95% CI 4.42–18.03), LDL cholesterol ≥3.4 mmol/L (OR 4.86, 95% CI 2.88–8.20), and triglycerides ≥1.7 mmol/L (OR 17.77, 95% CI 6.67–47.38; all p<0.001). Males had higher median BMI after Holm correction (p=0.002). Non-strict dietary adherence was associated with obesity and lipid abnormalities, whereas carbohydrate-rich meals were associated with lipid abnormalities but not obesity. These unadjusted cross-sectional associations support further investigation and do not establish causality