Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraidah, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraidah, Saudi Arabia.
JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2022 May 23;8(5):e37451. doi: 10.2196/37451.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) ranks third globally in smartphone use. Smartphones have made many aspects of life easier. However, the overuse of smartphones is associated with physical and psychosocial problems.
The aim of this paper is to estimate the prevalence and associated factors of problematic use of smartphones among adults in the Qassim region of KSA.
We enrolled 715 participants using cluster random sampling for this cross-sectional survey. We assessed the problematic use of smartphones using the short version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale.
We estimated the prevalence of problematic smartphone use among adults at 64% (453/708). Multivariable logistic regression analysis suggested that students are 3 times more likely to demonstrate problematic use compared with unemployed individuals (P=.03); adults using more than five apps are 2 times more likely to demonstrate problematic use compared to those using a maximum of three apps (P=.007). Protective factors against problematic smartphone use include using apps for academic (odds ratio [OR] 0.66; P=.04) or religious needs (OR 0.55; P=.007) and having a monthly family income of 5001-10,000 SAR (Saudi Riyal; US $1300-$2700; OR 0.46; P=.01) or 10,001-20,000 SAR (US $2700-$5400; OR 0.51; P=.03) compared to the <1501 SAR (US $400) income group.
We reported a very high prevalence of problematic use of smartphones in KSA. Considering its negative impact on physical and psychosocial health, public health programs should develop preventive strategies.
沙特阿拉伯王国（KSA）在智能手机使用方面全球排名第三。智能手机使生活的许多方面变得更加便捷。然而，过度使用智能手机与身体和心理社会问题有关。
本文旨在估计沙特阿拉伯盖西姆地区成年人智能手机使用问题的流行率及相关因素。
我们使用整群随机抽样方法招募了 715 名参与者进行这项横断面调查。我们使用智能手机成瘾量表的简短版本评估了智能手机使用问题。
我们估计成年人中智能手机使用问题的流行率为 64%（453/708）。多变量逻辑回归分析表明，与失业者相比，学生表现出使用问题的可能性是其 3 倍（P=.03）；与使用最多三个应用程序的人相比，使用超过五个应用程序的成年人表现出使用问题的可能性是其 2 倍（P=.007）。预防智能手机使用问题的保护因素包括将应用程序用于学术（比值比[OR]0.66；P=.04）或宗教需求（OR0.55；P=.007），以及每月家庭收入为 5001-10,000 沙特里亚尔（沙特阿拉伯货币单位，约合 1300-2700 美元）或 10,001-20,000 沙特里亚尔（约合 2700-5400 美元），而不是 <1501 沙特里亚尔（约合 400 美元）的收入群体（OR0.46；P=.01）或 10,001-20,000 沙特里亚尔（约合 2700-5400 美元）（OR0.51；P=.03）。
我们报告了沙特阿拉伯智能手机使用问题的极高流行率。鉴于其对身心健康的负面影响，公共卫生计划应制定预防策略。
