Corticosteroids are one of the anti-inflammatory drugs that are used widely by dermatologists. Significant local adverse effects can happen if topical corticosteroids (TCs) are used incorrectly. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of facial TCs misuse and its adverse effects. This was cross-sectional research: a self-reported questionnaire was distributed among a population of Saudi Arabians aged 16 years and above who were using TCs consecutively. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 26. A total of 611 participants were enrolled in the survey: 401 (65.6%) were university graduates, while 187 (30.6%) were below high school level of education. The number of participants using TCs was 279 (45.7%), while 332 (54.3%) did not use steroids topically. The most used TCs were Mometasone furoate 0.1% cream (18.2%), followed by Fusidic acid/Betamethasone cream (16.7%). A total of 46 reported facial TCs’ side effects. Peeling (52.2%) was the most reported side effect, followed by redness (41.3%). In conclusion, the use of facial TCs among the Saudi population is not uncommon (16.5%). A large population are not aware of the side effects of the unsupervised use of TCs. An effort should be made to increase awareness of the adverse effects of TCs.

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM), a chronic metabolic noncommunicable disease (NCD), has assumed epidemic proportions worldwide. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is defined as chronic high blood glucose levels due to the deficiency of insulin or resistance to it. Dyslipidemia is one of the major causes of cardiovascular diseases in patients with T2D. It is characterized by elevated plasma triglyceride (TG), low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which is mostly present in patients with DM. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study at the King Faisal University (KFU) Health Center in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. The data of patients from October 2014 to February 2021 were collected. We collected the patients’ data from the KFU Health Center after obtaining approval from the KFU polyclinic administration. Prior ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Board of Ethics and Research Committee in the College of Medicine, KFU (approval number, 2020-10-62). We collected patients’ data, including their gender, age, nationality, and blood analysis (lipids profile - TGs, HDL, LDL, and hemoglobin A1c [HbA1c] levels). Result: This study included 191 patients with T2D, 137 (71.7%) were from Saudi Arabia, and 54 (28.3%) were from other countries. Patients’ age ranged from 21 to 100 years, with a mean age of 56.2 ± 11.8 years. There were 107 (56%) females. Cholesterol levels ranged from 102 to 300 mg/dl with a mean value of 187.3 mg/dl. Conclusion: In the current study, we assessed the association between HbA1c levels and lipid profiles in patients with T2D at the KFU Health Center in the eastern region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Our results on the adjusted relationship of HbA1c with lipid profile through regression model have demonstrated that HDL alone had significant adjusted relation with HbA1c if other factors are kept constant. We suggest focusing on TC and HDL levels in T2D health management in future studies.