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Volume 27, Issue 131, January 2023

A cross-sectional study among Saudi population's: Knowledge and awareness of thyroid disease

Abdulrahman Alamri¹, Raneem Alqurashi², Najah Alyami³, Moayad Shehata⁴, Ghadah Aljohani⁵, Mazen Althowab⁶, Raghad Alanzi⁷, Ali Alsquor⁴, Khames Alzahrani⁸

¹Clinical Associate Professor and Consultant, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia
²Medical Student, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
³Medical Student, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia
⁴Medical Student, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
⁵Medical Student, Al-Rayan Colleges, Medina, Saudi Arabia
⁶Medical Intern, Almaarefa University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
⁷Medical Student, King Faisal University, Alahsa, Saudi Arabia
⁸BDS, PGD in Endo, Saudi Board of Endodontic SR, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: In the world, one among the most popular widely widespread medical illnesses is thyroid-disorder. People may suffer due to poor knowledge they have about symptoms and risk-factors. This article intends to evaluate the general population's awareness and knowledge of thyroiddisorders in KSA. Methodology: A cross-sectional online survey with different sections based on 'yes', 'no' and 'I don't know' questions was conducted amongst Saudi Arabia's general public, using a pre-designed online questionnaire. Statistical Packages for Software Sciences (SPSS) version 21 was used for all statistical analyses. Results: The research involved 2362 participants, with 53% being female and 47% being male. 40.7% of the participants were between the ages of 21 and 30. Most participants (97.7%) heard of thyroid gland before. 30.9% of study contributors had goodknowledge scores of thyroid-glands while 50.8% had moderate knowledge scores and 18.9% had low knowledge score. A significant association was noted between understanding of thyroid illness with both gender and age. Conclusion: The Saudi general population showed generally a poor level of understanding of thyroid-illness disorders compared to international Figures. Health authorities should arrange more effective health education events to promote the general public's and caregivers' comprehension of the different facets of thyroid problems, as well as the need of early detection and adequate control.

Keywords: Thyroid, Disorders, Knowledge, Awareness, Saudi Arabia