Risky health behaviors among students in Majmaah University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
BACKGROUND
Risky behaviors are those that potentially expose people to harm, or significant risk of harm, which prevent them from reaching their potential in life and which can cause significant morbidity or mortality.


OBJECTIVE
The objectives of the study were to determine the overall prevalence of risky behaviors among university students; to determine the prevalence of smoking, drifting, fast driving and physical inactivity among university students; and to determine the associations between such behavior and demographic characteristics.


METHODS
An observational cross-sectional study conducted in three colleges. The data were randomly collected from 340 students aged 18-30 years from February to March 2015 using a self-administered questionnaire in Arabic. The data were entered using SPSS v 22.0. Mean and standard deviation were calculated for quantitative variables, and frequency and percentages were computed for categorical variables. Chi-square or Fisher's Exact test, as appropriate, were used to test for statistical significance.


RESULTS
The overall prevalence of risky behaviors (smoking, drifting, fast driving, and physical inactivity) among students was 47.35%. Overall, 28% of the students were smokers, 25.2% were involved in drifting, 60.9% reported driving fast, and 66.4% were physically inactive. The age between 18-20 years was significantly associated with higher rates of drifting, fast driving, and physical inactivity.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of risky behaviors among university students was high. Physical inactivity and fast driving were the most common identified risky behaviors. Increasing awareness of these risks in the youth may significantly decrease related morbidities, complications, and even mortalities.
Department of Family Medicine, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Tahir
T
Ansari
Department of Family Medicine, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Talal
T
Alghamdi
Department of Family Medicine, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Mansour
M
Alzahrani
Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Fahad
F
Alfhaid
Medical Students, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Waqas
W
Sami
College of Medicine, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Bader A
BA
Aldahash
College of Medicine, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Dukhayel S
DS
Aldukhayel
College of Medicine, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Fahad S
FS
Alshanbah
College of Medicine, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Naif M
NM
Almutairi
Drifting; physical inactivity; risky behaviors; smoking; students