Key result
Only ~30% of adults in Saudi Arabia's Aseer region report awareness of COPD.
Why the study?
Epidemiological studies were needed to assess COPD prevalence, establish a baseline to track risk factor trends, and help plan preventive health strategies in the region.
What is the level of awareness of COPD and its risk factors among the adult population in the Aseer region, Saudi Arabia?
Cross-Sectional (n=385)
What is the level of awareness of COPD and its risk factors among the adult population in the Aseer region, Saudi Arabia?
There is a low level of awareness regarding COPD and its risk factors among the general adult population in the Aseer region of Saudi Arabia, highlighting an urgent need for educational campaigns.
This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.
Introduction: Epidemiological studies are urgently needed to assess the prevalence of COPD in the region to determine the baseline, against which the future trends in the risk factor levels can be assessed and preventive strategies be planned to promote health among the population. Therefore, this study was undertaken to assess the awareness of COPD and its risk factors in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted among the general adult population aged 18 years and above living in the Aseer region. A minimum sample of 385 was targeted, using the Raosoft sample size calculator. An online questionnaire was prepared in both English and Arabic language using Google forms and distributed among participants through social media. Results: It was observed that less than one-third (116, 30.12%) of the study population had ever heard about COPD. Nearly one-third spent time with smokers. Among all, 223 (57.3%) respondents had never heard and 46 (11.9%) respondents did not know anything about COPD. The majority correctly knew that the lungs are the primary organ affected by COPD (92, 79.3%). Age, sex, marital status, income, and occupation showed a significant association with COPD awareness. Nearly 41.4% knew that COPD progresses exclusively with age, COPD is more expensive for society than lung cancer (49.0%), cigarette smoking affects COPD (34.5%), COPD is fully recoverable with short-term antibiotics (35.0%), COPD lasts more than 18 months (48.1%), COPD can worsen with smoke exposure (37.4%), lead to disability (46.7%) and quitting smoking has an important role in preventing COPD (34.0%). Conclusion: The awareness regarding the disease was low among the respondents. Only one-third correctly knew that quitting smoking has an important role in preventing COPD. This study projects an urgent need of improving awareness of COPD and its risk factors in the general population.
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Low awareness of COPD in Saudi adults supports targeted education; leaves open effects on incidence and outcomes.
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Mahmood et al. (2023) conducted a cross-sectional in COPD awareness (n=385). Among the adult population in the Aseer region of Saudi Arabia, awareness of COPD was low, with only 30.12% having ever heard of the disease.
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