BackgroundCollege is a critical time where students are more prone to engage in risky health behaviors known to negatively affect well-being, such as physical inactivity, stress, and poor dietary habits. A health promoting lifestyle is an important determinant of health status and is recognized as a major factor for the maintenance and improvement of health. This study was designed to assess the health-promoting lifestyle of students in health colleges and non-health colleges in Saudi Arabia.MethodsA total of 1656 students participated in this descriptive cross-sectional study. Data gathering was conducted from November 2016 to February 2017 at King Saud University. Participating students completed a self-reported questionnaire that included questions regarding their demographic characteristics and their health-promoting behaviors.ResultsThe majority of participants were females (70.4%), 20% of the participants were overweight and 11.3%, were obese. The analysis showed that there was a significant difference between health colleges and non-health colleges with regards to the factor of health responsibility. Students at both schools were found to have an inadequate level of adherence to recommendations regarding physical activity and healthy eating habits. The analysis also found that majority of the students in both colleges do not attend educational programs on health care. The model shows that gender, type of college, year in school, and family structure were significant predictors of the health lifestyle of students in Saudi Arabia.ConclusionThe results of the current study indicate that university students are leading unhealthy lives, where the majority of them have unhealthy eating habits and poor physical activity level. Universities are ideal settings for implementing health promotion programs. Therefore, planning and implementing programs to motivate students to be more responsible for their own health, to engage more in physical activity, and to practice healthy eating habits and other forms of wellness are of paramount importance.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the major cause of death in Saudi Arabia. We aimed to assess associated demographic, behavioral, and CVD risk factors as part of the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. Methods: PURE is a global cohort study of adults ages 35-70 years in 20 countries. PURE-Saudi study participants were recruited from 19 urban and 6 rural communities randomly selected from the Central province (Riyadh and Alkharj) between February 2012 and January 2015. Data were stratified by age, sex, and urban vs rural and summarized as means and standard deviations for continuous variables and as numbers and percentages for categorical variables. Proportions and means were compared between men and women, among age groups, and between urban and rural areas, using Chi-square test and t-tests, respectively. Results: The PURE-Saudi study enrolled 2047 participants (mean age, 46.5 ± 9.12 years; 43.1% women; 24.5% rural). Overall, 69.4% had low physical activity, 49.6% obesity, 34.4% unhealthy diet, 32.1% dyslipidemia, 30.3% hypertension, and 25.1% diabetes. In addition, 12.2% were current smokers, 15.4% self-reported feeling sad, 16.9% had a history of periods of stress, 6.8% had permanent stress, 1% had a history of stroke, 0.6% had heart failure, and 2.5% had coronary heart disease (CHD). Compared to women, men were more likely to be current smokers and have diabetes and a history of CHD. Women were more likely to be obese, have central obesity, self-report sadness, experience stress, feel permanent stress, and have low education. Compared to participants in urban areas, those in rural areas had higher rates of diabetes, obesity, and hypertension, and lower rates of unhealthy diet, self-reported sadness, stress (several periods), and permanent stress. Compared to middle-aged and older individuals, younger participants more commonly reported an unhealthy diet, permanent stress, and feeling sad.

No abstract

Objectives:To investigate the relationship between the learning style preferences of Saudi medical students and their academic achievements.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted among 600 medical students at King Saud University in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from October 2012 to July 2013. The Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic questionnaire (VARK) questionnaire was used to categorize learning style preferences. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used to identify the learning style preferences of medical students and their relationship to academic achievement, gender, marital status, residency, different teaching curricula, and study resources (for example, teachers’ PowerPoint slides, textbooks, and journals).Results:The results indicated that 261 students (43%) preferred to learn using all VARK modalities. There was a significant difference in learning style preferences between genders (p=0.028). The relationship between learning style preferences and students in different teaching curricula was also statistically significant (p=0.047). However, learning style preferences are not related to a student’s academic achievements, marital status, residency, or study resources (for example, teachers’ PowerPoint slides, textbooks, and journals). Also, after being adjusted to other studies’ variables, the learning style preferences were not related to GPA.Conclusion:Our findings can be used to improve the quality of teaching in Saudi Arabia; students would be advantaged if teachers understood the factors that can be related to students’ learning styles.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to assess inadequate glycaemic control and its associated factors among people with type 2 diabetes in Saudi Arabia.MethodsA cross-sectional study design was used. Adults with type 2 diabetes attending diabetes centres in Riyadh, Hofuf and Jeddah cities were interviewed and their anthropometrics were measured. Their medical records were also reviewed to collect information related to recent lab tests, medications, and documented comorbidities. Multivariable logistic regression were used for data analysis.ResultsA total of 1111 participants were recruited in the study. Mean age was 57.6 (±11.1) years, 65.2% of the participants were females, and mean HbA1c was 8.5 ± 1.9%. About three-fourths of participants had inadequate glycaemic control (≥ 7%). Multivariable analysis showed that age ≤ 60 years, longer duration of diabetes, living in a remote location, low household income, low intake of fruits and vegetable, low level of physical activity, lack of knowledge about haemoglobin A1c, high waist-hip ratio, low adherence to medication, and using injectable medications were independent risk factors for inadequate glycaemic control.ConclusionsInadequate glycaemic control is prevalent among people with type 2 diabetes in Saudi Arabia. In order to improve glycaemic control diabetes management plan should aim at controlling the modifiable risk factors which include low intake of fruits and vegetable, low level of physical activity, lack of knowledge about haemoglobin A1c, high waist-hip ratio, and low adherence to medications.

BackgroundThe scarcity of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) cases reported in Saudi Arabia might be indicative of a lack of awareness of this common genetic disease among physicians.ObjectiveTo assess physicians’ awareness, practice, and knowledge of FH in Saudi Arabia.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study conducted among physicians at four tertiary hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between March 2016 and May 2016 using a self-administered questionnaire.ResultsA total of 294 physicians completed the survey (response rate 90.1%). Overall, 92.9% of the participants have poor knowledge of FH while only 7.1% have acceptable knowledge. The majority (68.7%) of physicians rated their familiarity with FH as average or above average, and these had higher mean knowledge scores than participants with self-reported below average familiarity (mean 3.4 versus 2.6) (P < 0.001). Consultant physicians were 4.2 times more likely to be familiar with FH than residents or registrars (OR = 4.2, 95% CI = 1.9–9.1, P < 0.001). Physicians who currently managed FH patients had higher mean knowledge scores compared to those without FH patients in their care (3.5 versus 2.9) (P = 0.006). In addition, there were statistically significant differences between physicians’ mean knowledge scores and their ages, levels of training, and years in practice. Moreover, a substantial deficit was identified in the awareness of various clinical algorithms to diagnose patients with FH, cascade screening, specialist lipid services, and the existence of statin alternatives, such as proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors.ConclusionA substantial deficit was found in the awareness, knowledge, practice, and detection of FH among physicians in Saudi Arabia. Extensive educational programs are required to raise physician awareness and implement best practices; only then can the impact of these interventions on FH management and patient outcome be assessed.

The aim of this systematic review is to assess patient-related factors affecting glycaemic control among people with type 2 diabetes in the Arabian Gulf Council countries. MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Cochrane CENTRAL databases were searched from their date of inception to May 2016. Two researchers independently identified eligible studies and assessed the risk of bias. A total of 13 studies met the inclusion criteria. One study was population based, six recruited participants from multiple centres, and the remaining were single centred. The majority of the studies were of low to moderate quality. Factors associated with poor glycaemic control include longer duration of diabetes, low level of education, poor compliance to diet and medication, poor attitude towards the disease, poor self-management behaviour, anxiety, depression, renal impairment, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia. Healthcare providers should be aware of these factors and provide appropriate education and care especially for those who have poor glycaemic control. Innovative educational programs should be implemented in the healthcare systems to improve patient compliance and practices. A variation in the results of the included studies was observed, and some potentially important risk factors such as dietary habits, physical activity, family support, and cognitive function were not adequately addressed. Further research is needed in this area.

There is a growing body of research that shows a significant association between mindfulness and mental health. However, studies on Saudi populations are still in their infancy. Mindfulness is a personal tendency to focus on the present time in a non-judgmental manner, including the interior and exterior experience of feelings and events. The first aim of this study is to examine the relationship between mindfulness, stress, depression, and academic performance in a sample of medical students from King Saud University. The second aim is to explore the potential moderation effects of mindfulness on the impact of stress on academic performance and depression in the study population. This cross-sectional study examined 289 medical students who were selected by a stratified random sampling technique and completed validated online questionnaires measuring mindfulness, stress, and depression. The data were analyzed using SAS version 9.2, and R software was used for graphs. Correlation analysis showed that mindfulness is inversely associated with depression and stress, but not with academic performance. Furthermore, multiple logistic regression showed that mindfulness can predict both depression and stress. We also found that two subscales of mindfulness can moderate the relation between stress and depression: non-judging of inner experience and describing. The findings suggest that a higher mindfulness score is associated with lower depression and stress levels and could buffer against depression in a stressful environment. There is a need for further research to investigate the relation of mindfulness with positive psychological outcomes, as well as experimental trials to examine the efficacy of mindfulness training on improving mental wellbeing in our community.