Endocrine and Metabolic Science · Published 2026-07-22 · DOI 10.1016/j.endmts.2026.100321
Mohamad Fleifel, Andrew El Alam, Cindy Zotti
Introduction: The number of patients living with diabetes in Lebanon is likely an underestimate. Obesity (OBS) can be one of the precursors for cardiometabolic diseases like prediabetes (PT2DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the young population. Our aim was to describe OBS, overweight (OWT), PT2DM, and T2DM in 10–55 years old Lebanese outpatients. We also aimed to assess how many of these patients did not seek out glycemic and weight management plus the reasons behind that. In addition, we attempted to evaluate these aims with respect to religious sects. Methods: This was an observational retrospective study based on outpatients' medical record forms who presented to Ain Wazein Medical Village (AWMV) and to our private outpatient clinic over a near course of 9 months. Results: 56.9% of OWT and 52.1% of OBS CI were Druze. 75.0% of OBS CIII and 66.7% of OBS CII were non-Druze (p-value < 0.05). 57.4% of PT2DM cases were non-Druze while 58.8% of T2DM patients were Druze (p-value < 0.05). 39.6% did not have OWT/OBS as a primary complaint but clinically had it. 22.7% did not consider themselves having OWT/OBS while clinically they did. 13.0% of patients were not aware of their impaired glycemia, and 100% of them had PT2DM. 12.6% regarded their glycemic status as normal while all of them had PT2DM. Conclusion: There is a Druze prominence of T2DM, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, along with the considerable percentages of OWT and OBS CI. Efficient medical education is key in developing awareness among patients.
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Fleifel, M., Alam, A., Zotti, C. (2026). Type 2 diabetes mellitus, prediabetes, and obesity among Lebanese individuals aged 10 to 55 years. Endocrine and Metabolic Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endmts.2026.100321