Knowledge of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Its Primary Prevention Practices Among the Saudi Public – A Questionnaire-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background and Objectives In response to the aging population and rapid rise of chronic diseases, it is important to understand the knowledge about primary prevention. We aim to explore Saudi adults’ knowledge of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and its primary prevention practices among the Saudi public. Methods This is a cross-sectional community-based study, conducted among people living in Saudi Arabia to assess the knowledge of CVD risk factors using a total of 24-item questionnaires divided into two sections using the Likert scale, true /False/I do not know. The data were analyzed using the statistical software SPSS v. 26.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results In this study, the 81.8% of participants (n=296) agreed that high blood pressure was a risk factor for CVD, while more than two-thirds (68.8%; n=249) believed that diabetes was a risk factor for CVD. Furthermore, about the same proportion of respondents ((79.8%; n=289) and (78.7%; n=285)) agreed that physical inactivity and smoking were risk factors for CVD. In addition, the vast majority of them (n=324; 89.5%) believed that regular exercise aids in the prevention of CVD. In contrast, 74.9% (n=271) of individuals agreed that quitting smoking helps prevent CVD. This study indicated that 55.8% (n=202) of respondents had strong knowledge of CVD, while 44.2% (n=160) had inadequate awareness of CVD risk factors and prevention methods. In terms of the association between socio-demographic factors and overall participants’ knowledge of CVD risk factors and preventative measures, we discovered that age (p=0.000), gender (p=0.011), educational status (p=0.000), and the presence of chronic disease (p=0.000) were all significantly associated with CVD knowledge score levels. Conclusion Saudi adults have adequate knowledge of CVD risk factors and prevention interventions, but more effort is needed to raise continuous awareness to reduce the prevalence of CVD.

Navigating the Knowledge of Risk Factors, Warning Signs, of Stroke - A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study Among Saudi Adults in Riyadh Saudi Arabia

“…Similar to many studies [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] the sample size was calculated using the Raosoft sample size calculator by considering the 2023 Riyadh population (n= 7,682,430) 27 of Saudi Arabia, at a 5% margin of error (ME) and 95% confidence interval (CI), the required sample size for this study was calculated to be 385. To account for nonresponse and reduce any data collection error, the projected sample size was further raised to 500.…”