{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T16:57:03Z","timestamp":1790873823043,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785196800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Endocrinol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Currently, 28% of Saudi Arabian adults have type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), projected to exceed 50% by 2030. University students remain largely unscreened despite evidence of substantial T2DM risk during this critical lifestyle transition period.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Aim<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This multi-regional study investigated the relationship between modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors and elevated AUSDRISK-defined T2DM risk among Saudi university students.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A sample of 564 students from three regions of Saudi Arabia was selected using systematic random sampling across academic disciplines and levels. T2DM risk was assessed using a modified eight-item Australian Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment Tool (AUSDRISK; low \u22645, intermediate 6\u201311, high \u226512). Variables examined included sociodemographic characteristics, BMI (WHO classification), tobacco use, physical activity (IPAQ-adapted), sedentary behavior, and dietary intake (food frequency questionnaire). Binary logistic regression provided adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for factors independently associated with elevated AUSDRISK classification (score \u22656).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Around a third (32.4%) of participants (N\u00a0=\u00a0564; 75.9% female; mean BMI 22.2 \u00b1 4.0 kg\/m\u00b2) had elevated AUSDRISK-defined T2DM risk (mean score 4.68 \u00b1 2.70). Males had significantly higher risk than females (75.7% vs. 18.7%; p &amp;lt; 0.001). All overweight and obese participants (100%) were at elevated risk versus 16.0% of normal-weight peers. Bivariate analysis (n = 564) identified sex, BMI, smoking, physical activity, academic level, and dietary intake as significantly associated with elevated AUSDRISK classification (all p &amp;lt; 0.05). In the logistic regression restricted to non-AUSDRISK predictors (n = 558), income (aOR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.78\u20130.99, p = 0.033), smoking (aOR = 2.62, 95% CI 1.38\u20134.97, p = 0.003), sedentary behavior (aOR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.62\u20130.99, p = 0.041; interpreted cautiously due to potential residual confounding by sex), and academic level (aOR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.69\u20130.99, p = 0.039) were all independently significant. Sex, BMI, and physical activity are structural AUSDRISK components presented descriptively only.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Nearly one in three Saudi university students had elevated T2DM risk. The findings underline the urgent need for university-based, sex-specific, socioeconomically targeted interventions incorporating BMI screening, physical activity promotion, and dietary education.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fendo.2026.1904706","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T05:37:12Z","timestamp":1785217032000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus among university students in Saudi Arabia: a multi-regional cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Abdulrahman I.","family":"Alaqil","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Education, Department of Physical Education, King Faisal University","place":["Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fahad","family":"Bin Radhyan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of General Studies, Department of Physical Education, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals","place":["Dhahran, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10389-025-02448-7","article-title":"Burden of diabetes mellitus on health and economy of the Arab world: current situation and perspectives","author":"Almalki","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Public Health"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph20032269","article-title":"Prevalence and associations of type 2 diabetes risk and sociodemographic factors in Saudi Arabia: a web-based cross-sectional survey study","volume":"20","author":"Bamogaddam","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public 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