Lifestyle factors and quality of life among primary health care physicians in Madinah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background Physicians are considered to be a high-risk population for a poor quality of life (QoL), but few studies of lifestyle factors include the QoL among them. Objectives This study aimed to investigate the relationship between lifestyle factors and a positive QoL among primary health care (PHC) physicians. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at 20 primary healthcare centers in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire was used, including sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle data, and the short version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire. Appropriate statistical analyses were used, including multivariate logistic regression models. Results The response rate was 85.7% (72/84) physicians. The mean score of the total QoL and its four studied domains (physical, psychological, social, and environmental) was relatively high, with no statistically significant difference between the consultants and general practitioners. The positive total QoL in this study was significantly lower among physicians with obesity (OR = 0.55, 95%CI = 0.25–0.97), those using butter and animal fat for cooking (OR = 0.10, 95%CI = 0.02–0.81), and those eating meals out > 3 times per week (OR = 0.30, 95%CI = 0.10–0.90). Although non-significant, vegetable consumption and a high level of physical activity were associated with a positive QoL, with adjusted ORs of 2.5 (95%CI = 0.82–7.58) and 1.5 (95%CI = 0.33–6.65), respectively. Conclusion The findings indicate a relatively good QoL among the participating physicians; however, a lower QoL was associated with unhealthy lifestyle factors. QoL was significantly associated with obesity, cooking practices, and eating meals from restaurants.

Association between lifestyle behaviors and health-related quality of life among primary health care physicians in China: A cross-sectional study

“…The typical primary health care physician works long hours and leads a sedentary lifestyle, thus they are encouraged to shift from being sedentary to doing some physical activity which has the greatest potential health gains (87). However, contrary to expectations, physical activity was not significantly associated with HRQoL based on our regression result and this finding was in line with a research among PHC physician in Saudi Arabia (38). Nonetheless, Mann-Whitney U analysis showed that participants who had a habit of physical activity (90.94%) got significantly better HRQoL.…”

“…In research to date, few studies have examined such relationships in healthcare professional groups (37), especially little is known about that in primary health care physicians. A study investigated the relationship between lifestyle factors (smoking, BMI, cooking oil, meals out per week, total fruit and vegetable intake per day, physical activity level, and hours of TV, laptop, or internet use per day) and quality of life among 72 PHC physicians in Saudi Arabia (38) with limitation of small sample size. However, other important lifestyle behaviors' influence [e.g., alcohol consumption, sleep quality (16,(39)(40)(41)] on HRQoL of PHC physicians has not been properly studied yet.…”

Practicing healthy lifestyle behaviors among physicians in public primary healthcare centers, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

“…A positive quality of life was reported in physicians who eat a healthy diet with more vegetables and physicians with a high level of exercise. In this study, about a quarter of physicians reported unhealthy lifestyles and related chronic diseases (Aljohani & Al-Zalabani, 2021). In a study conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at 3 district hospitals, 34.8% of the physicians were smokers, and the majorities were male (70.4%) physicians.…”

“…We conducted a cross-sectional study on all licensed physicians working at the Ministry of health in primary healthcare centers (public PHC centers) in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia from May 2022 to June 2022. The minimum sample size to achieve a precision of ±7% with a 95% confidence interval was calculated to be 196 using the following formula n =Z 2 x P x Q =(1.96) 2 x 0.5x0.5 = 196 D 2 (0.07) 2 Where n: Calculated sample size, Z: The z-value for the selected level of confidence= 1.96, P: 50%, assumed proportion of participants for maximum sample size calculation, Q: (1 -P) = 50%, D: The margin of error = 0.05.…”

Enhancing the quality of life for physical therapists: insights from a cross-sectional study

“…Multiple factors such as job requirements, work shifts, workload, stress levels, behavior, age, and social issues are known to play a role in this ( 12 ). Several studies in the literature reported that high work demands among healthcare workers led to less engagement in exercise and increased consumption of unhealthy food which contribute to higher rates of obesity and affect their work achievements ( 13 , 14 ). Specifically, the Physical Therapy (PT) profession is known for its demanding physical requirements, including transferring and lifting patients with disabilities.…”