Lifestyle choices and prevalence of chronic noncommunicable diseases among primary healthcare physicians in the Jazan Region, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: One of the factors that may influence patient adherence to a healthy lifestyle is the adherence of their treating physicians to a healthy lifestyle. This study aimed to measure the lifestyles of primary healthcare center (PHCs) physicians in the Jazan region and to identify the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity among this sample of physicians. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Jazan region which lies in the southwest of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected via a questionnaire completed during personal interviews. The questionnaire included several components related to physicians’ demographics, lifestyles, and history of chronic non-communicable diseases. Descriptive statistics were performed to summarize the overall lifestyle of the physicians and disease prevalence. RESULTS: A total of 234 physicians agreed to participate in this investigation. The age of the participants varied between 25 and 65 years, with a median age of 38. Almost 70% of the physicians reported BMI levels higher than 25, indicating a high prevalence of overweight and obesity. Twenty-seven physicians reported no engagement in any type of exercise while the majority reported engagement with low-intensity exercise. While 56% reported daily consumption of vegetables, only 41.8% of them reported daily consumption of fruits. The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia was 10.3%, 8.5%, and 3.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Poor lifestyle choices of the physicians may indicate limited engagement of the physicians in providing effective lifestyle counseling to patients visiting their clinics in PHC settings of the studied community.