Dietary, Physical Activity, and Sleep Patterns by Occupation Among Adults with Diagnosed Helicobacter Pylori Infection in Saudi Arabia: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Survey

Background: Helicobacter pylori infects about two in five adults worldwide and is the leading cause of peptic ulcer and non-cardia gastric cancer. This study described dietary, physical activity, and sleep patterns among Saudi adults with diagnosed H. pylori infection and examined how these patterns differ by occupation, sociodemographic characteristics, and current treatment status. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional online survey of adults living in Saudi Arabia was conducted from 1 November to 13 November 2025, after ethical approval, using snowball sampling and a pretested, validated questionnaire. Of 2,627 adults screened, 1,563 with a self-reported confirmed diagnosis were analyzed. Associations were tested with Pearson’s chi-square test and effect sizes estimated with Cramér’s V. Results: Overall, 59.5% of respondents reported a confirmed diagnosis. Among those diagnosed (63.6% female; 52.1% aged 18–30 years), 53.5% ate at irregular times, 39.6% often drank caffeinated beverages, 49.5% did no routine weekly exercise, 26.6% slept under 5 hours, 64.2% went to bed after 11:00 PM, and 49.4% reported insomnia. Combined fried, fast, and fresh food was the most common dietary pattern (17.1%). Lifestyle habits differed significantly by education (all 11 habits, p < 0.001; V up to 0.38), sex (10 of 11 habits), and occupation (10 of 11 habits). By occupation, students were over-represented among those with irregular meals, frequent soft drink and caffeine intake, and late bedtimes; non-employed adults among short sleepers and sleep-aid users; and manual, military, and field workers among the most frequent exercisers. Participants on current treatment (42.1%) had more regular meals, less caffeine, and earlier bedtimes, but more short sleep, insomnia, and sleep-aid use (all p < 0.001). Conclusion: Adults with H. pylori infection in Saudi Arabia show a high burden of irregular eating, caffeine use, inactivity, and disturbed sleep that varies by occupation, with irregular eating and caffeine use concentrated among students and sleep problems among non-employed adults. Because the study was descriptive and had no uninfected comparison group, it cannot show that these habits affect infection; occupation-tailored lifestyle counseling, with attention to sleep, may nonetheless be a useful adjunct to eradication therapy. Comparative longitudinal studies are needed to establish causality.