Beyond behaviors: do biological intermediates improve lifestyle scoring for blood pressure?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Hypertension prevalence is high in Saudi Arabia. Both lifestyle behaviors and biological intermediates influence blood pressure (BP); however, there is limited evidence from the Middle East on whether composite lifestyle scores that integrate both domains would capture BP variation better than behavioral metrics alone. This study aimed to examine associations of an overall lifestyle risk score (behavioral + biological) and a behavioral-only score with BP outcomes.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study of Saudi adults (n = 1,041), we constructed (i) an overall lifestyle score (BioBeh score), including waist circumference, total cholesterol, fasting glucose, smoking, sleep, physical activity, perceived stress, and diet quality, and (ii) a behavioral-only score (

SUBMITTER: Aljuraiban GS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12835251 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature