AUTHOR=Al-Hanawi Mohammed Khaled , Keetile Mpho 

TITLE=Socio-Economic and Demographic Correlates of Non-communicable Disease Risk Factors Among Adults in Saudi Arabia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.605912

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2021.605912

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=Background: Over the past two decades, Saudi Arabia has made significant improvements in its population’s health standards. These improvements have been coupled with an increase in risk factors related to non-communicable diseases (NCD) and a dramatic shift in the burden of disease profile. This study aims to provide empirical evidence on the socio-economic and demographic correlates of NCD risk factors among adults in Saudi Arabia.
Methods: The data used for this study is secondary data derived from the Saudi Health Interview Survey (SHIS). The SHIS used a cross-sectional survey design to derive a multistage representative sample of adults to estimate the prevalence of NCD risk factors. Risk factors considered for analyses in this study were; current tobacco use, low fruit and vegetable consumption, low physical activity, overweight/obesity and hypertension. The survey covered all regions in Saudi Arabia using probability proportional to size measures. A total of 10735 adults aged 15 years and above completed the survey. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the socio-economic and demographic correlates of NCD risk factors in Saudi Arabia.
Results: The prevalence of NCD risk factors were as follows: current tobacco use, 25.3%; low fruit and vegetable consumption, 87%; low physical activity, 94.9%; overweight/obesity 65.1%; and hypertension, 37.5%. The multivariate analysis results indicate that significant correlates of overweight/obesity and hypertension were being female, a government employee, income level, and education levels. On the other hand, current tobacco use and low fruit and vegetable consumption were generally associated with age, self-employment and being a student. For lifestyle factors, overweight/obesity was high among individuals who reported low fruit and vegetable consumption, while hypertension was high among current tobacco users and overweight/obese adults. All comparisons were statistically significant at p<0.05.
Conclusions: The findings indicate a high prevalence of NCD risk factors in Saudi Arabia’s adult population. This implied that there is a need for a reduction in life-damaging behaviours among the adults through the adoption of healthy lifestyles such as physical activity and nutritious diets. Moreover a reduction in the prevalence of NCD risk factors among different socio-economic groups through healthy lifestyles will have far-reaching results.