Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41499684›Full record

ArticleJMIR infodemiology2026

Review of the Quality and Reliability of Online Arabic Content on Diabetic Retinopathy: Infodemiological Study.

Abdullah Ahmed Alabdrabulridha, Dalal Mahmoud Alabdulmohsen, Maryam Abdullah AlNajjar, Ibtisam Ahmed Algouf, Abdullah Mohammed Al-Omair, Omaima Muneer Alyahya, Mesa Ahmed Almahmudi, Abdulaziz Ahmed Al Taisan

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In one paragraph

Article in JMIR infodemiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Abdullah Ahmed AlabdrabulridhaDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. 380 Ahsaa, Hofuf, 31982, Saudi Arabia, 966 564678882.ORCID 0009-0006-1362-1764
Dalal Mahmoud AlabdulmohsenDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. 380 Ahsaa, Hofuf, 31982, Saudi Arabia, 966 564678882.ORCID 0009-0003-4721-2481
Maryam Abdullah AlNajjarDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. 380 Ahsaa, Hofuf, 31982, Saudi Arabia, 966 564678882.ORCID 0009-0003-1280-1745
Ibtisam Ahmed AlgoufDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. 380 Ahsaa, Hofuf, 31982, Saudi Arabia, 966 564678882.ORCID 0009-0008-5099-0985
Abdullah Mohammed Al-OmairDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. 380 Ahsaa, Hofuf, 31982, Saudi Arabia, 966 564678882.ORCID 0009-0005-6761-0924
Omaima Muneer AlyahyaDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. 380 Ahsaa, Hofuf, 31982, Saudi Arabia, 966 564678882.ORCID 0009-0004-6698-8119
Mesa Ahmed AlmahmudiDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. 380 Ahsaa, Hofuf, 31982, Saudi Arabia, 966 564678882.ORCID 0009-0009-7464-2042
Abdulaziz Ahmed Al TaisanDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, P.O. 380 Ahsaa, Hofuf, 31982, Saudi Arabia, 966 564678882.ORCID 0000-0002-1277-5247

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of vision loss, particularly in the Middle East. With the rise of online health information, many patients turn to the internet for knowledge about health conditions. However, the accuracy and quality of this information can be questionable, particularly in languages other than English. Objective: We sought to evaluate the quality and reliability of Arabic websites on DR to address this knowledge gap and improve patient care. Methods: The first 100 Arabic search results for DR were examined on Google, focusing on patient education websites in Arabic. Content was assessed using a 20-question model, quality was evaluated with the DISCERN instrument, and reliability was measured using the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark. Two independent raters conducted evaluations, and data were analyzed with SPSS (IBM Corp). Descriptive statistics were used for website characteristics, and the first 10 Google web pages were compared to others using bivariate analysis with a significance level of P<.05. Results: A Google search yielded 178,000 websites, and the first 100 were examined, with 29 meeting inclusion criteria. Most were hospital or medical center sites (n=20, 69%). The DISCERN assessment showed a low mean score of 36.59(SD 9.32) out of 80 points, with most rated "poor" or "very poor." The JAMA benchmarks indicated low reliability, with 62% (18/29) failing to meet any criteria. Conclusions: This study identified significant failings in the content, quality, and reliability of Arabic websites on diabetic retinopathy, highlighting the need for stronger evidence-based online resources focused on early disease prevention.

Indexed as

Consumer Health InformationDiabetic RetinopathyInternetDigital MediaHumansMiddle EastPatient Education as TopicReproducibility of Resultsarabic contentdiabetesdiabetic retinopathyDISCERNhealth educationinternetonlineonline health informationqualityreliabilityretinopathywebsite

Identifiers

PMID41499684
PMCPMC12779100

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.