Preference of sweeteners among Saudi diabetes patients from a tertiary health care centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Ibrahim I Gosadi; Ayedh K Alamri; Rana A Saleh; Badr A Almutairi; Mohammed A Batais; Nada K Alamri

doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.01.022

Preference of sweeteners among Saudi diabetes patients from a tertiary health care centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Saudi J Biol Sci. 2020 Mar;27(3):947-952. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.01.022. Epub 2020 Jan 27.

Authors

Ibrahim I Gosadi¹, Ayedh K Alamri², Rana A Saleh², Badr A Almutairi³, Mohammed A Batais⁴, Nada K Alamri⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Family Medicine, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background: Choice of sweetening options can influence glyceamic control among patients with diabetes. This study aims to investigate the preference of added sweeteners for Saudi patients with diabetes, factors associated with the choice of sweeteners and the attitude of the patients towards the use of artificial sweeteners.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at King Saud University Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and targeting Saudi patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Data was collected via personal interviews accessing medical records of interviewed patients. Patients were asked about consumption of sweeteners and types of consumed soft drinks on daily basis. Bi-variate analysis of the associations between choice of sweeteners and patients characteristics was performed and followed by binary logistic regression to adjust for potential confounders such as age, gender, and education level.

Results: A total of 302 Saudi diabetic patients were recruited in this investigation. Among this sample, frequency of patients reporting weekly consumption of white sugar was the highest (57%), followed by honey (26%) and artificial sweeteners (12% for powder form and 10.5% for tablets). Consumption of white sugar was significantly more frequent among patients with higher level of Body Mass Index (BMI) (P value < 0.05). The frequency of using honey was higher among females while consumption of either sugared or low calorie soft drinks was significantly higher among male patients (P values < 0.05). Upon asking the patients about their attitude towards artificial sweeteners, only 25% of the sample agreed that their use can aid in reduction of caloric intake while 35% of the sample agreed that artificial sweeteners can be harmful to the body.

Conclusions: Among this sample of type 2 diabetes patients, the frequency of white sugar and honey use as a sweetening option is high. These findings generate the need for further research to investigate the effectiveness of health education and nutritional advice among diabetes patients attending similar clinical settings in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: Artificial sweeteners; BMI, Body Mass Index; Diabetes; IDF, International Diabetes Federation; Low-calorie sweeteners; MENA, Middle East and North Africa; MoH, Ministry of Health; PHCCs, Primary healthcare Clinics; Saudi; Sweeteners; WHO, World Health Organization.