Self-rated health and related drivers that influences on health: A cross-sectional study among adults living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

An individual's health influences the socioeconomic burden at both individual and organizational levels. Therefore, this study aimed to assess self-rated health and its factors that influence health among adults living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the self-rated health of Saudi adults and the factors that affect their health status. Data collection for this study took place between October and November 2024 using predefined self-administered questionnaires consisting of 4 sections with a total of 17 items. Data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 27 (SPSS Inc., Armonk). The Chi-square or Fisher exact test was utilized to assess group differences, with P < .05 considered statistically significant. A response rate of 97.4% was obtained, with 64.5% of respondents being male. The majority of participants (83.4%) were aged between 20 to 30 years, and 88.5% held a bachelor's degree. Most respondents (96.3%) rated their health status as good. However, 16.4% reported experiencing severe to moderate occupation-related stress, and 16.2% revealed depression. Notably, 85.4% of participants did not report occupation-related pain. The results revealed that occupation-related depression levels were significantly associated with educational qualifications (P < .001). Individuals with a graduate degree reported higher levels of severe occupation-related depression compared to those with other educational backgrounds. Moreover, individuals working in the private sector reported the highest frequency of moderate occupation-related depression compared to those employed in the government sector (P = .023). With regard to occupation-related pain, it was more prevalent among young adults aged 20 to 30 years compared to other age groups (P = .019). Similarly, educational qualifications (P < .001) and job sector (P = .004) were significantly associated with occupation-related pain. Finally, self-assessed health was found to be significantly associated with age (P = .020), educational qualifications (P = .002), and job sector (P = .047). The study concluded that the majority of adults were healthy, although some suffered from occupation-related stress and depression. Factors such as age and education were associated with self-rated health. To mitigate the negative health effects on adults' quality of life and in organizations, appropriate surveillance, early recognition, treatment, addressing factors causing poor health and implementing occupation-related stress and depression management techniques are necessary.