Alibrahim Mohammed Shaab, Said Mohamed Ahmed, Bursais Abdulmalek K, Atta Ibrahim I, Abdelrahman Mohamed Abdelmoniem, Mohamed Hasnaa Hamdi, Hassan Ahmad K, Alaqil Abdulrahman I, Almudaires Norah S, Alamer Narjis M A, Aljuhani Osama Eid, Alshaghdali Hind Omer Salem, ALjahani Amani Hamzah, Al Salim Zuhair A, Hadadi Atyh Abdullah, Aldarushi Najeeb Abbas, Alkuraieef Amal Nassir, Alshuwaier Ghareeb O
Department of Physical Education, College of Education, King Faisal University Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.
College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia.
PLoS One. 2025 May 8;20(5):e0321206. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0321206. eCollection 2025.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, including poor diet, lack of physical activity (PA), smoking, and obesity, are associated with unhealthy lifestyle choices and contribute significantly to the global disease burden. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of behavioral risk factors associated with overweight/obesity, PA, smoking, and eating habits among Saudi students and explores how these vary by region, age, gender, relationship status, and income. A total of 968 participants (285 males and 681 females), aged 18-50, were recruited from bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and other university programs across the Eastern, Riyadh, and Western provinces. Each participant completed the Saudi Food Frequency Questionnaire (SFFQ). The risk of CVD was assessed by summing individual risk factors related to BMI, tobacco use, PA level, glycemic load (GL) of ingested foods, and consumption of saturated fats (SF), processed meats, oily fish, nuts, and cereal fiber (CF). Participants were classified into minimal, medium, or high-risk categories based on their total scores. A high prevalence of CVD risk factors was observed, with 93.6% of participants having three or more risk factors. After adjusting for demographic variables, living in Riyadh was associated with a 12% lower probability of CVD risk. Conversely, students aged 46-50 showed a five- to nine-fold increase in CVD risk. Significant factors influencing CVD risk included BMI (Exp(β) = 11.70), smoking status (Exp(β) = 6.54), PA (Exp(β) = 7.61), SF intake (Exp(β) = 4.79), GL (Exp(β) = 7.00), CF intake (Exp(β) = 24.58), and oily fish consumption (Exp(β) = 2.99). Low CF intake and high BMI were the most prominent risk factors. Lifestyle interventions targeting overweight/obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, high GL and SF intake, and promoting CF and oily fish consumption could improve CV health among participants. Addressing these modifiable risk factors is essential for effective prevention.
心血管疾病（CVD）风险因素，包括不良饮食、缺乏体育活动（PA）、吸烟和肥胖，与不健康的生活方式选择相关，并对全球疾病负担有重大影响。本研究旨在调查沙特学生中超重/肥胖、体育活动、吸烟和饮食习惯相关行为风险因素的流行情况，并探讨这些因素如何因地区、年龄、性别、恋爱状况和收入而有所不同。总共招募了968名年龄在18至50岁之间的参与者（285名男性和681名女性），他们来自东部、利雅得和西部省份的学士、硕士、博士及其他大学课程。每位参与者都完成了沙特食物频率问卷（SFFQ）。通过汇总与体重指数（BMI）、烟草使用、体育活动水平、摄入食物的血糖负荷（GL）以及饱和脂肪（SF）、加工肉类、油性鱼类、坚果和谷物纤维（CF）的摄入量相关的个体风险因素来评估心血管疾病风险。根据参与者的总分将其分为低风险、中风险或高风险类别。观察到心血管疾病风险因素的高流行率，93.6%的参与者有三个或更多风险因素。在调整人口统计学变量后，居住在利雅得与心血管疾病风险降低12%相关。相反，46至50岁的学生心血管疾病风险增加了五至九倍。影响心血管疾病风险的重要因素包括BMI（Exp(β)=11.70）、吸烟状况（Exp(β)=6.54）、体育活动（Exp(β)=7.61）、SF摄入量（Exp(β)=4.79）、GL（Exp(β)=7.00）、CF摄入量（Exp(β)=24.58）和油性鱼类消费量（Exp(β)=2.99）。低CF摄入量和高BMI是最突出的风险因素。针对超重/肥胖、缺乏体育活动、吸烟、高GL和SF摄入量的生活方式干预措施，以及促进CF和油性鱼类消费，可能会改善参与者的心血管健康。解决这些可改变的风险因素对于有效预防至关重要。
