Volume 26, Issue 129, November 2022

Evaluating the level of awareness about urolithiasis among the general population of Hail, Saudi Arabia

Akram A Bokhari¹, Hadi A Aldarwish^2♦, Basil B Alshammari², Sulaiman A Alghaslan², Saad Y Aldhaifi², Ali A Alghassab²

¹Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia
²College of Medicine, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
College of Medicine, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: Urolithiasis is one of the most prevalent urinary tract disorders. It concerns stones that form in the urinary tract, usually in the kidneys or ureters. People with renal stone may experience dysuria, fever and flank pain. The risk factors of nephrolithiasis include hypertension, obesity and dehydration. Methodology: A cross sectional study conducted in 2022, over duration of four months. The study was undertaken to Evaluating the level of awareness about urolithiasis among the population of the Hail region in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire contains 27 questions. All data was analyzed using SPSS 22. Results: The study included a total of 1,150 participants, who ranged from the age of 18 to 68 years the mean age is 26.3 ± 12.8 years old. 585 (50.9%) participants were males and 1,100 (95.7%) were Saudi. 683 (59.4%) were found to have a low level of awareness regarding urolithiasis, 448 (39%) were moderately knowledgeable, while only 19 (1.7%) had a high awareness level. Increased age was associated with 12% more likelihood of higher awareness. Female participants also had 36% more likelihood of higher awareness than males. HCWs had doubled the probability of a good awareness level than did the other participants. Moreover, participants with a history of urolithiasis had nearly doubled the probability of a good awareness level than did those without such a history. Conclusion: Study participants have shown low awareness of urolithiasis, especially among non-medical professionals. There was a significant association between age, gender, history of urolithiasis and participants’ level of awareness.

Keywords: Urolithiasis, Calculi, Nephrolithiasis, Awareness, Saudi Arabia

Medical Science, 2022, 26, ms486e2569

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v26i129/ms486e2569

Published: 23 November 2022