Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to analyze if there was a link be-tween chronic diseases, like cardiovascular dis-ease (CVD) and osteoarthritis (OA), and obesity in the population of Saudi Arabia's Hail region.MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted over 12 months using an obser-vational cross-sectional survey on 172 patients from five clinics in Hail, Saudi Arabia. A total of 172 individuals with obesity (BMI >= 30) finally participated in this research. The study evaluat-ed sociodemographic variables via an electron-ic questionnaire with voluntary participation.RESULTS: The study found a 76% preva-lence of joint pain and 77.9% prevalence of car-diovascular abnormalities. Patients with CVD were older (58 +/- 23 vs. 56 +/- 12 years) than those with OA. CVD cases were found in 42 (31.3%) males and 92 (68.7%) females, whereas OA cas-es were recognized in 24 (18.5%) males and 106 (81.5%) females. The occurrence of various CVDs among our participants was 43 (32%) for high cholesterol, 64 (48%) for hypertension, and 27 for both high cholesterol and hyperten-sion (20%). Definite osteophytes were found in 28 of 24 male knees (14 right and 14 left knees) and 175 of 106 female knees (88 right knees and 87 left knees).CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of obesity in the Hail region has continued to be a risk fac-tor for CVD and OA in 2019 and 2020. The Saudi population has shown a higher prevalence of ra-diographic evidence of OA of the knee and asso-ciated symptoms than western civilizations, and preventive interventions are desperately needed in order to minimize overweight and obesity.