Perception of Health and Its Predictors Among Saudis at Primary Healthcare Settings in Riyadh: Insights from a...

Background/Objectives: Despite a link between self-perception of health and morbidity and mortality, data are scarce on factors that can predict one's health perception, particularly in nations like Saudi Arabia. We conducted a needs assessment to evaluate health perception and identify sociodemographic, behavioural, and comorbidity-related factors influencing health perception among Saudi individuals. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey utilizing an electronic questionnaire that was distributed to 14,239 people who visited primary healthcare centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We used multiple logistic regression to identify predictors of good health. Data was analyzed using SPSS software. Results: About one-third of the individuals (33.7%) perceived to have excellent health and 35.6% perceived to have very good health. Only 2.1% of the study participants perceived to have poor health. Compared to participants younger than 50 years, those aged 50-75 years were 10% less likely to perceive their health as good (AOR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.82, 0.97). Males were 1.09 times more likely to perceive their health as good than females (AOR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.18). Smokers were 74% less likely than non-smokers to perceive their health as good (AOR: 0.26; 95% CI: 0.24, 0.29). Obese individuals were 20% less likely to perceive their health in good condition than non-obese individuals (AOR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.65, 0.98) Individuals with heart disease were about 50% less likely to perceive their health as good condition than those without heart disease (AOR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.40, 0.76). Conclusions: Despite the high frequency of risk factors, we discovered that Saudis perceive their health to be good on average. However, an independent association between older age, females, smoking, obesity, and heart disease with poor health calls for future epidemiological studies incorporating qualitative dimensions to explore why these individuals with specific risk profiles perceive their health as worse than others.