BackgroundMental disorders are considered important public health problems not only to people with mental illness but also their caregivers. As is the case in many countries, the deinstitutionalization of mental health services in Saudi Arabia, has meant that informal caregivers are shouldering responsibilities for which they are not usually prepared; therefore, the current study was aimed at assessment of the burden on caregivers of people with mental illness.MethodsThrough a cross-sectional design, a sample of the caregivers of people with mental illness (n = 377) was selected randomly from a psychiatric hospital in Jeddah. An Arabic version of the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire (IEQ) was used for collection of data. The data were analyzed on the subscale scores and the 27 items in two ways. First, we used the summed scores for the subscales based on the Likert scale (0–4) for univariate and multivariate statistical analyses, as recommended. We also used parametric statistics (t-tests, one-way ANOVA) because the IEQ subscale scores were fairly normally distributed.ResultsMales constituted more than one-half of the participating caregivers (55%), with a mean age of 36.6, SD = 11.4 years. As reported by the caregivers, most of the patients were males (62.7%) with a mean age of 33.8, SD = 13.7 years and a range of 17–90 years old. The total mean IEQ burden score of the caregivers was 38.4, SD = 17.5. “Tension” was significantly prominent among younger caregivers aged ≤30 years. “Worrying” was significantly higher among caregivers living with their spouse and children and those living in families with relatively fewer members (<6 members). “Urging” was significantly higher among caregivers who are living with the patient in the same household and those who had been in close contact with the patient for 28 days in the four weeks prior to the study (13.4, SD = 6.8) p < 0.05. Meanwhile, “Urging” was also significantly higher among caregivers caring for mentally ill females (13.5, SD = 6.6) and those not receiving any kind of professional support (12.8, SD = 6.7). The overall burden and the subscale scores were highest among caregivers caring for a close relative such as a parent (44.1, SD = 17.6), son/daughter (39.1, SD = 12.9), sibling (37.1, SD = 18.6), or spouse (37.1, SD = 18.6) p < 0.05.ConclusionCare for people with mental illness is burdensome for their caregivers, the magnitude of burden is potentially augmented by factors related to the patients and households. These factors should be considered when planning for preparing caregivers to cope with people with mental illness in Saudi Arabia.

We report a high prevalence of hyperprolactinemia among a large sample of psychiatric patients in Saudi Arabia, which was linked to the use of antipsychotic medications. Routine measurement of blood prolactin levels for all patients maintained on antipsychotic agents is recommended, regardless of symptoms.

The prevalence of MetS and its components among patients with psychiatric disorders is alarming irrespective of their diagnoses. Thus, metabolic screening especially among high risk groups is critical.

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has shown a significant impact on the psychological well-being of health care workers. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological health of health care workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. During the months of November and December, 283 health care workers completed a survey containing measures of depression, anxiety and stress (using Depression Anxiety and Stress-21 scale [DASS-21]) and questions regarding potential predictors such as the role of COVID-19 perception, availability of mental health support and work-related factors. Pearson X2 test revealed factors associated with the presence of significant psychiatric symptoms. Result Among the participants, 17.3% screened positive for depression, 26.2% for anxiety and 17.3% for stress. Nurses reported significantly more depression, anxiety and stress than doctors. Those who received mental health support reported significantly lesser depression, anxiety and stress. Those who felt that quality of life was heavily impacted due to COVID-19 reported significantly high depression, anxiety and stress. Conclusions Poor psychological well-being was prevalent in health care workers; however, mental health measures have been shown to significantly reduce the mental health burden in health care workers.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the current patterns of psychiatric diagnoses in inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings in Saudi Arabia. Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted on patients seeking psychiatric advice at six hospitals in the five main regions of Saudi Arabia. The data were primarily obtained by reviewing patient charts. Results: Total of 1,205 patients were recruited. The majority was unemployed (71.4%), had a low level of education (85.5%), and had low income (61.9%). The most common psychiatric diagnoses among inpatients were schizophrenia (55.8%), bipolar disorder (23.3%) and major depressive disorder (7.2%). The most common psychiatric diagnoses among outpatients were major depressive disorder (29.3%), schizophrenia (28.9%), generalized anxiety disorder (15.6%) and bipolar disorder (11.5%). Primary psychotic disorders and secondary psychiatric disorders were significantly more frequent among men whereas primary bipolar disorders and depressive disorders were significantly more frequent among women in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Psychotic and bipolar disorders were significantly more frequent among younger patients whereas depressive disorders were significantly more frequent among older patients; anxiety disorders were of similar frequency in all age groups. Discussion: The most common psychiatric diagnoses among inpatients were schizophrenia and bipolar disorder whereas the most common psychiatric diagnoses among outpatients were major depressive disorder and schizophrenia.Alosaimi FD et al. / Arch Clin Psychiatry. 2017;44(3):77-83