SynthesisBMC public health2026
Health of school-age children and adolescents in Saudi Arabia: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIdentifying the leading risk factors and major determinants of morbidity and mortality in school-age children and adolescents is pivotal for health and maintenance of well-being. This review provides an overview of health conditions/risk factors driving morbidity and mortality and identifies gaps in existing data to improve health and development needs in school-age children and adolescents.
methodsPubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and official websites of global databases and national surveys were searched from January 2012 until April 2022 for relevant publications reporting the prevalence of health conditions/risk factors that contribute to morbidity and mortality in children/adolescents (5-19 years of age) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
resultsA total of 21 publications were included in the review. Overall, data on children aged 5-9 and 10-19 years old are very scarce except for health conditions assessed in the national school-based screening programs, and only one nationally representative study in 2011 for 10-19 year olds. Data for those ≥ 15 are more prevalent considering they are included in most nationally representative data (e.g., 2013 Saudi Health Interview, the 2018 Household Health, and the 2019 Sports) surveys. However, gaps remain. Overweight and obesity estimates for children and adolescents varied significantly across different datasets and data collection years, ranging from 37% to 18%, respectively, to 6% and 4% for overweight and obesity across different age groups. Mental health disorders were the leading cause of morbidity among children and adolescents aged 5-14-year-old accounting for 19% of the total burden. Road traffic injuries were the leading cause of death among children and adolescents aged 5-14-year-old at 25%.
conclusionsThis review provides a snapshot of the health status of school-age children and adolescents in KSA and highlights the major data gaps especially for those < 10 year old where no nationally representative datasets exist. Many of the data sources for other age groups are not nationally representative or are too old to be useful for recommendations today. There is an urgent need to collect updated and robust data for school aged-children and adolescents in KSA to inform evidence-based policies and priorities. This study was not pre-registered in a publicly accessible registry.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.