Chronic Diseases in the Age Group between 18 and 25 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

A Medical Geography Study

Abstract

The study intended to identify the types of chronic diseases that are prevalent in the age group between 18 and 25 and their geographical distribution in Saudi Arabia, to determine the extent of their prevalence and spatial variation in the regions of Saudi Arabia, and to analyze the relationship between the types of chronic diseases in this age group and some of their population characteristics in the study areas. The study relied on a field survey of a sample of (384) male and female students of Saudi university students in various regions. The study concluded that more than a third of the study sample (34.4%) suffered from chronic diseases, and that there was a spatial variation in the incidence of chronic diseases between the regions of Saudi Arabia. For example, more than half of the sample (57.3%) was in the central region, and (15.7%) was in the eastern region. As for the types of diseases, it was concluded that the most prevalent disease is asthma (24.2%), followed by diabetes (12.9%), obesity (12.1%), high blood pressure (7.6%), sickle cell anemia (7.6%), and (10.6%) for other diseases whose incidence rates for each type do not exceed more than 3 cases. The results also showed that the proportion of females suffering from chronic disease was (38%) of the female sample which was higher than that of males (30.7%), and that (38.5%) were residents of cities, (38.1%) were singles, and (54.3%) were from high-income families. Consequently, the study recommended the need to focus on and pay attention to chronic diseases of this age group, and to raise the awareness of disease prevention to reduce the increasing rates of chronic diseases among them.