While the reported annual incidence of venous thrombo-embolism varies widely, ranging from 43.7 to 145 per 100 000, the true incidence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) remains unknown. Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is a term that refers to blood clots inside a deep vein in the body, most commonly in lower extremities (usually calf or thigh); in rare cases, it can be in upper extremities. The main aim of this study was to assess the public knowledge and extent of DVT and to assess the influence of socio-demographic factors. The objectives were:
To test the association between gender and the prevalence of DVT.
To test the association between body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of DVT.
To test whether recent or current pregnancy and DVT are significantly associated.
To test the significance of a family history of DVT and the prevalence of DVT among members of the same family.
To fit binary logistic models that flag the important factors for DVT
Methods
The study was cross-sectional and it involved the adult population in Saudi Arabia. The total enumeration method was used to include male and female that agreed to answer the questionnaire in this study. The questionnaire included demographic information and knowledge and attitudes towards the symptoms, and risk factors measures.
Results
The ages of 317 of the 484 respondents who agreed to fill out the questionnaire were between 19 and 30 years. Males were 35.8% and females 64.2%, while 21.8% of the respondents reported having an incidence of DVT. DVT was statistically significantly associated with gender and pregnancy condition p<.05 in both cases while the highest risk factor was gender where females were 2.205 more times likely to have DVT than males [95%CI;1.85,2.63, p < .000].
Conclusions
There is a general increase in knowledge for DVT and also a general increase in incidences of DVT in Saudi Arabia compared to previous literature. BMI, gender, and pregnancy condition are the main risk factors of DVT.
Keywords: Deep vein thrombosis, risk factors, Surgery, Saudi Arabia
KNOWLEDGE AND PREVALENCE OF RISK FACTORS FOR DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS AMONG ADULT SAUDI POPULATION
