A Regional Survey of Awareness of Inflammatory Bowel Disease among the Saudi Population

Abstract

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is common worldwide, including the gulf region. Early diagnosis of IBD can improve patients' outcomes. However, early diagnosis is dependent on patients' awareness of the disease to seek medical advice. This study aims to survey the awareness of IBD in the the general population of the western region of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A questionnaire about Crohn's disease (CD) and Ulcerative colitis (UC) was distributed to the general public. A score of 1 was given for the right response and 0 for an incorrect response giving a maximum of 3 and a miminum of 0 for the three questions in the questionnaire. Results: 1304 participants responded. 29% had not heard or read about CD, while 19% had not heard or read about UC. The mean awareness level score was 1.72±1.19. Females showed a significantly higher score compared to males (p < 0.001). Age group 31 to 40 had the highest score (p =0.002). Moreover, responders, who had a Ph.D., showed significantly higher scores than other educational degrees (p <0.001). Responders who dealt with CD or UC patients, showed significantly higher scores than their peers (p < 0.001) for both. Conclusion: The general population in Saudi Arabia has an unacceptable level of awareness of IBD. Females, young adults (age group 31-40 years), educated individuals (with a PhD) and those who had dealt with IBD patients previously had better awareness compared to the rest of the population. National acts are essential to improve public awareness towards the disease.

Awareness of inflammatory bowel disease among the general population of Al-Baha region, Saudi Arabia

“…However, there was no association between the level of knowledge and other demographic characteristics such as age, marital status, educational level, occupation, and monthly income. In a number of earlier studies, there was a considerable difference between sexes, with women achieving significantly higher average scores than men [ 17 , 24 ], which is consistent with our results. A previous study showed that a higher level of education has a strong association with better knowledge about IBD [ 18 ], in contrast with our results, which showed no significant differences between the participants’ educational levels.…”

“…Our results show that less than 20% of the participants possessed adequate knowledge, which is much lower than the 58% reported in a previous study conducted in Saudi Arabia [ 11 ]. Similar outcomes were found in a study conducted in the western part of Saudi Arabia [ 17 ].…”

“…The awareness of the general population of IBD has not been adequately studied [ 17 ]; we found only a few studies that evaluated awareness of IBD in Saudi Arabia. A previous study conducted in different regions of Saudi Arabia reported that individuals from both the eastern (63.1%) and western (65.1%) regions had poor knowledge of IBD [ 18 ].…”

“…A previous study conducted in different regions of Saudi Arabia reported that individuals from both the eastern (63.1%) and western (65.1%) regions had poor knowledge of IBD [ 18 ]. Another study revealed that 40% and 36% of the sample population had never heard of or did not know about CD and UC, respectively, but only about a third did not know what organs are affected by CD and UC [ 17 ]. A study conducted in Al-Baha region reported that 33.8% of the participants responded affirmatively when asked if they had heard of IBD [ 19 ].…”

“…Women, young adults (aged 31–40 years), educated individuals (with a PhD), and those who had previously dealt with patients with IBD had better awareness compared to the rest of the population. National acts are essential to improve public awareness of the disease [ 5 ]. An online survey that examined public knowledge of IBD in Saudi Arabia between February and March 2023 found a low level of IBD awareness among the general population, supporting findings from other countries.…”