Public Knowledge and Awareness of Gallstone Disease and Its Association With Self-Reported Metabolic and Lifestyle Risk Factors Among Adults in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
4 affiliations
- 1Surgery, Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies, Jeddah, SAU.
- 2Surgery, Ain Shams University, Cairo, EGY.
- 3Endocrine Surgery, Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies, Jeddah, SAU.
- 4Endocrine Surgery, Ain Shams University, Cairo, EGY.
Abstract
Background
Metabolic syndrome is a major, increasing global public health concern, including in Saudi Arabia, and is a well-established, significant modifiable risk factor for the development of cholesterol-based gallstone disease. Given the high prevalence of metabolic syndrome and gallstones in the Kingdom, assessing public knowledge and awareness of this specific link is crucial for effective prevention strategies.Objective
This study aimed to assess public knowledge and awareness of gallstone disease among adults in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and to explore self-reported associations between gallstone history and selected metabolic and lifestyle risk factors, namely, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and physical activity. Metabolic syndrome itself was not objectively diagnosed in this study.Methods
A cross-sectional survey method was utilised, distributing a self-administered, structured electronic questionnaire built on Google Forms (Google LLC, Mountain View, CA, USA) to a convenience sample of adults living in Jeddah. The questionnaire included sections on demographics, general awareness of gallstones, knowledge of risk factors, and participants' self-reported metabolic and lifestyle characteristics. Data analysis included descriptive statistics to evaluate the overall level of awareness and knowledge and bivariate inferential statistics to identify factors associated with higher knowledge scores and with self-reported gallstone history.Results
Among 333 Jeddah residents analysed, 34 (10.2%) reported a prior diagnosis of gallstones on direct questioning; this rose to 37 (11.1%) when the small number of participants who were "not sure" of a formal diagnosis but reported having received specific gallstone treatment were included, as pre-specified. Of the 333 participants, 155 (46.5%) had a fair knowledge level, 73 (21.9%) had good knowledge, and 105 (31.5%) had a poor knowledge score (mean score 6.93±2.90 out of 12). A statistically significant association was observed between family history of gallstones and self-reported gallstone status (p<0.001), with 27 (73.0%) of gallstone-positive participants reporting a positive family history. Statistically significant associations were also observed between gallstone status and diabetes mellitus (p<0.0001), self-reported high cholesterol or triglycerides (p<0.001), and physical activity level (p=0.010). A statistically significant relation was observed between knowledge level and participants' age (p=0.0021), nationality (p=0.020), employment status (p=0.0042), marital status (p=0.0093), and body weight (p=0.040).Conclusion
The adult population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, shows measurable knowledge gaps regarding gallstone disease, and self-reported gallstone history was associated with several self-reported metabolic and lifestyle factors, most notably family history, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia. Targeted health education initiatives, particularly for the population subgroups identified here as having lower knowledge, may help address this gap; because this was a self-reported, cross-sectional convenience sample, these findings should be regarded as hypothesis-generating rather than as a basis for population-level prevalence estimates or causal claims.
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BibTeX
@article{mohammed2026public,
title = {{Public Knowledge and Awareness of Gallstone Disease and Its Association With Self-Reported Metabolic and Lifestyle Risk Factors Among Adults in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.}},
author = {Sameh S Mohammed and Waleed Alrashidi and Ammar Ayash and Ammar Aldaadi and Fahad Baabdullah and Malik Alzahrani and Mansour Allhyani and Mohamed Seifalyazal},
journal = {Cureus},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.7759/cureus.116851},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42927127},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Public Knowledge and Awareness of Gallstone Disease and Its Association With Self-Reported Metabolic and Lifestyle Risk Factors Among Adults in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
AU - Sameh S Mohammed
AU - Waleed Alrashidi
AU - Ammar Ayash
AU - Ammar Aldaadi
AU - Fahad Baabdullah
AU - Malik Alzahrani
AU - Mansour Allhyani
AU - Mohamed Seifalyazal
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
JO - Cureus
DO - 10.7759/cureus.116851
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42927127
AB - Background Metabolic syndrome is a major, increasing global public health concern, including in Saudi Arabia, and is a well-established, significant modifiable risk factor for the development of cholesterol-based gallstone disease. Given the high prevalence of metabolic syndrome and gallstones in the Kingdom, assessing public knowledge and awareness of this specific link is crucial for effective prevention strategies.Objective This study aimed to assess public knowledge and awareness of gallstone disease among adults in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and to explore self-reported associations between gallstone history and selected metabolic and lifestyle risk factors, namely, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and physical activity. Metabolic syndrome itself was not objectively diagnosed in this study.Methods A cross-sectional survey method was utilised, distributing a self-administered, structured electronic questionnaire built on Google Forms (Google LLC, Mountain View, CA, USA) to a convenience sample of adults living in Jeddah. The questionnaire included sections on demographics, general awareness of gallstones, knowledge of risk factors, and participants' self-reported metabolic and lifestyle characteristics. Data analysis included descriptive statistics to evaluate the overall level of awareness and knowledge and bivariate inferential statistics to identify factors associated with higher knowledge scores and with self-reported gallstone history.Results Among 333 Jeddah residents analysed, 34 (10.2%) reported a prior diagnosis of gallstones on direct questioning; this rose to 37 (11.1%) when the small number of participants who were "not sure" of a formal diagnosis but reported having received specific gallstone treatment were included, as pre-specified. Of the 333 participants, 155 (46.5%) had a fair knowledge level, 73 (21.9%) had good knowledge, and 105 (31.5%) had a poor knowledge score (mean score 6.93±2.90 out of 12). A statistically significant association was observed between family history of gallstones and self-reported gallstone status (p<0.001), with 27 (73.0%) of gallstone-positive participants reporting a positive family history. Statistically significant associations were also observed between gallstone status and diabetes mellitus (p<0.0001), self-reported high cholesterol or triglycerides (p<0.001), and physical activity level (p=0.010). A statistically significant relation was observed between knowledge level and participants' age (p=0.0021), nationality (p=0.020), employment status (p=0.0042), marital status (p=0.0093), and body weight (p=0.040).Conclusion The adult population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, shows measurable knowledge gaps regarding gallstone disease, and self-reported gallstone history was associated with several self-reported metabolic and lifestyle factors, most notably family history, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia. Targeted health education initiatives, particularly for the population subgroups identified here as having lower knowledge, may help address this gap; because this was a self-reported, cross-sectional convenience sample, these findings should be regarded as hypothesis-generating rather than as a basis for population-level prevalence estimates or causal claims.
SN - 2168-8184
ER -