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

Figures & data

Table 1 Participants’ Sociodemographic and Professional Characteristics (n=364)

Variables	Frequency (n)	Percentage (%)
Gender
Male	154	42.5%
Female	208	57.5%
Age
20–25	68	18.8%
26–30	85	23.5%
31–35	72	19.9%
36–40	51	14.1%
>40	86	23.8%
Marital status
Single	115	31.8%
Married	222	61.3%
Divorced	25	6.9%
Occupation
Students	61	16.9%
Housewives	82	22.7%
Employed	189	52.5%
Unemployed	30	8.3%
Educational status
High school/preparatory	101	27.9%
Elementary	44	12.2%
College (Graduates or post graduate)	217	59.9%
Monthly income*
170,000 SR (Excellent)	108	29.8%
Between 6–16,000 SR (Good)	140	38.7%
>5000 SR (Poor)	49	13.5%
I do not have any income	65	18%
Presence of chronic disease
Yes	171	47.2%
No	191	52.8%
Do you physically active
Yes	278	76.8%
No	84	23.2%

Abbreviation: *SR, Saudi Riyals.

Figure 1 Type of Physical Activities.

Table 2 Knowledge About CVD Risk Factors Among the Participants (n=362)

Variables	True n(%)	False n(%)	I Do Not know n(%)
Is high blood pressure a risk factor for CVD	296(81.8%)	20(5.5%)	46(12.7%)
Is overweight a risk factor for CVD	288(79.6%)	40(11%)	34(9.4%)
Is excessive alcohol intake a risk factor for CVD	284(78.5%)	33(9.1%)	445(12.4%)
Do you think Diabetes is a risk factor for CVD	249(68.8%)	44(12.2%)	69(19.1%)
Is physical inactivity a risk factor for CVD	289(79.8%)	28(7.7%)	45(12.4%)
Is cigarette smoking a risk factor for CVD	285(78.7%)	36(9.9%)	41(11.3%)
Is consuming foods rich in fats instead of vegetables and fruit a risk factor for CVD	303(83.7%)	29(8%)	30(8.3%)

Figure 2 Participants responses towards preventative measures(PM) of CVD.

Figure 3 Levels of Knowledge among respondents.

Table 3 Mean Knowledge of CVD Risk Factors and Preventative Measures Scores and Distribution Among the Studied Population (n=331)

Score	n	Min	Max	Mean (Median)	SD
Knowledge About CVD	362	1.00	13.00	9.38 (10.00)	2.826
Knowledge About CVD				Count (n)	Percentage (%)
			1	7	1.9%
			2	4	1.1%
			3	4	1.1%
			4	9	2.5%
			5	11	3.0%
			6	22	6.1%
			7	33	9.1%
			8	35	9.7%
			9	35	9.7%
			10	35	9.7%
			11	32	8.8%
			12	134	37.0%
			13	1	0.3%
			Total	362	100.0%

Table 4 Cross-Tabulation Between Demographic Characteristics and Knowledge of CVD Risk Factors and Preventative Measures Scores Categories

Participants Characters	Number of Respondents	Poor Knowledge	Good Knowledge	p-value
Age
20–25	Respondents	82	66	0.0001
	% within age	55.4%	44.6%
	% within knowledge categories	51.3%	32.7%
26–30	Respondents	25	50
	% within age	33.3%	66.7%
	% within knowledge categories	15.6%	24.8%
31–35	Respondents	5	26
	% within age	16.1%	83.9%
	% within knowledge categories	3.1%	12.9%
36–40	Respondents	3	17
	% within age	15%	85%
	% within knowledge categories	1.9%	8.4%
>40	Respondents	45	43
	% within age	51.1%	48.9%
	% within knowledge categories	28.1%	21.3%
Gender
Male	Respondents	80	74	0.011
	% within age	51.9%	48.1%
	% within knowledge categories	50%	36.6%
Female	Respondents	80	128
	% within age	38.5%	61.5%
	% within knowledge categories	50%	63.4%
Marital status
Single	Respondents	44	71	0.298
	% within age	38.3%	61.7%
	% within knowledge categories	27.5%	35.1%
Married	Respondents	104	118
	% within age	46.8%	53.2%
	% within knowledge categories	65%	58.4%
Divorced	Respondents	12	13
	% within age	48%	52%
	% within knowledge categories	7.5%	6.4%
Occupation
Students	Respondents	21	40	0.220
	% within age	34.4%	65.6%
	% within knowledge categories	13.1%	19.8%
Housewives	Respondents	38	44
	% within age	46.3%	53.7%
	% within knowledge categories	23.8%	21.8%
Employed	Respondents	84	105
	% within age	44.4%	55.6%
	% within knowledge categories	52.5%	52%
Unemployed	Respondents	17	13
	% within age	56.7%	43.3%
	% within knowledge categories	10.6%	6.4%
Educational status
High school/preparatory	Respondents	65	36	0.0001
	% within age	64.4%	35.6%
	% within knowledge categories	40.6%	17.8%
Elementary	Respondents	36	8
	% within age	81.8%	18.2%
	% within knowledge categories	22.5%	4%
College (Graduate/Post graduate)	Respondents	59	158
	% within age	27.2%	72.8%
	% within knowledge categories	36.9%	78.2%
Monthly income
Excellent (>17,000 SR)	Respondents	47	61	0.371
	% within age	43.5%	56.5%
	% within knowledge categories	29.4%	30.2%
Good (Between 6–16,000 SR)	Respondents	58	82
	% within age	41.4%	58.6%
	% within knowledge categories	36.3%	40.6%
Poor (>5000 SR)	Respondents	20	29
	% within age	40.8%	59.2%
	% within knowledge categories	12.5%	14.4%
I do not have any income	Respondents	35	30
	% within age	53.8%	46.2%
	% within knowledge categories	21.9%	14.9%
Presence of chronic disease
Yes	Respondents	92	79	0.0001
	% within age	53.8%	46.2%
	% within knowledge categories	57.5%	39.1%
No	Respondents	68	123
	% within age	35.6%	64.4%
	% within knowledge categories	42.5%	60.9%
Do you physically active
Yes	Respondents	122	156	0.827
	% within age	43.9%	56.1%
	% within knowledge categories	76.3%	77.2%
No	Respondents	38	46
	% within age	45.2%	54.8%
	% within knowledge categories	23.8%	22.8%