A Regional Survey of Awareness of Inflammatory Bowel Disease among the Saudi Population.

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is common worldwide, including the gulf region. Early diagnosis of IBD can improve patients' outcomes. However, early diagnosis is dependent on patients' awareness of the disease to seek medical advice. This study aimed to survey the awareness of IBD in the general population of the western region of Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A questionnaire about Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) was distributed to the general public. A score of 1 was given for the right response and 0 for an incorrect response, giving a maximum of 3 and a minimum of 0 for the three questions in the questionnaire.

Results: 1,304 participants responded. Twenty nine percentage had not heard or read about CD, while 19% had not heard or read about UC. The mean awareness level score was 1.72 ± 1.19. Females showed a significantly higher score compared to males (p < 0.001). The age-group 31 to 40 had the highest score (p = 0.002). Moreover, responders who had a PhD. showed significantly higher scores than those with other educational degrees (p < 0.001). Responders who dealt with CD or UC patients showed significantly higher scores than their peers (p < 0.001) for both.

Conclusion: The general population in Saudi Arabia has an unacceptable level of awareness of IBD. Females, young adults (age-group: 31-40 years), educated individuals (with a PhD), and those who had dealt with IBD patients previously had better awareness compared to the rest of the population. National acts are essential to improve public awareness toward the disease.