Socioeconomic inequalities in the utilization of dental services among adults in Saudi Arabia

BMC Oral Health

Table 1 Sociodemographic characteristics of survey respondents (n = 8464)

	Number of respondents	Percentage (unweighted)	Percentage (weighted)
Gender
Male	4526	53.5	52.8
Female	3938	46.5	47.2
Age
18–24 years	1278	15.1	16.6
25–34 years	3267	38.6	38.6
35–44 years	2097	24.8	23.6
45–54 years	952	11.3	11.1
55–64 years	505	6.0	6.1
65 + years	365	4.3	3.9
Marital status
Never married	1658	19.6	21.9
Currently married	6200	73.3	70.1
Divorced/separated	290	3.4	4.0
Widowed	316	3.7	4.0
Nationality
Saudi	7428	87.8	87.1
Non-Saudi	1036	12.2	12.9
Education completed
No formal education	574	6.8	5.7
Less than secondary	1143	13.5	12.2
Secondary	2933	34.7	34.2
Diploma or formation	499	5.9	5.3
University	3054	36.1	39.1
Postgraduate	261	3.1	3.6
Employment status
Not employed	3986	47.1	47.1
Employed	4478	52.9	52.9
Household income*
Low income	1941	23.5	23.3
Lower-middle income	2811	34.0	32.1
Upper-middle income	1894	22.9	22.8
High income	1626	19.7	21.7
Household wealth index^†
Lowest quintile	2080	24.6	24.6
Second quintile	1815	21.4	21.8
Middle quintile	1622	19.2	19.1
Fourth quintile	1636	19.3	17.9
Highest quintile	1311	15.5	16.6
Area-based socioeconomic status*
Deprived	115	1.4	1.2
Lower middle class	1067	13.2	10.3
Upper middle class	3994	49.3	41.1
Affluent	2928	36.1	47.5
Place of residence
Rural	1414	16.7	13.9
Urban	7050	83.3	86.1
Transportation (car ownership)
Yes	7664	90.5	90.4
No	800	9.5	9.6
Eligibility for free governmental health care
Yes	7564	89.4	88.0
No	900	10.6	12.0
Health insurance coverage
Yes	1746	20.6	22.9
No	6,718	79.4	77.1

^*Variable has missing data that was managed using multiple imputation
^†Composite measure calculated using data about ownership of consumer material such television and cars, household characteristics such as building material, source of drinking water, toilet facilities and other characteristics relevant to wealth status

ISSN: 1472-6831