Life events stress in Saudi peptic ulcer patients of the eastern province

The frequency of stress, as measured by the occurrence of 34 life events in the year preceding evaluation, was compared between 51 Saudis with peptic ulcers, diagnosed endoscopically, and 52 Saudis without peptic ulcer. All subjects were examined at King Fahd Hospital, Al-Khobar, Eastern Saudi Arabia, and were seen between March 1985 and July 1987. The mean number of events, their frequency distribution, and their categorization into areas of activity such as bereavement and other problems relating to health, marital, financial, and undesirable circumstances were similar for both groups. With regard to individual events, the only significant differences between ulcer patients and controls were that more patients had had serious arguments with in-laws or relatives and more controls had had minor personal illness or moderate financial problems. Excessive stress, as measured by life events, does not appear to be evident in Saudi peptic ulcer patients of the Eastern Province. Anxiety and/or depression was significantly more frequent in the group of patients with ulcers

Deliberate self-harm in the migrant population in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

This is a preliminary retrospective investigation of non-fatal deliberate self-harm in 32 non-Saudi migrants who were admitted over 7 years [1982-1988] to a University Hospital in eastern Saudi Arabia. The female to male ratio was 1.9:1. The group comprised 1 5 Arabs [47%], and 1 7 non- Arabs including 16 Asians [50%] and one European [3%]. The majority were below the age of 25 years. The predominant precipitants of the episodes were interpersonal conflicts [56%] which were noted significantly in females, and psychiatric disorders [34%] noted significantly in males. Drug overdose was involved in 50% of cases. About one-third of the group [34%] and especially males significantly resorted to dangerous self-injuring. The commonest psychiatric diagnosis in the series was depression [72%]. Two non-Arab males committed suicide in the hospital

Deliberate self-harm in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia: a hospital-based study

This study comprises all Saudi cases of deliberate self-harm who were admitted to university teaching hospital in the Eastern Province of the Kingdome of Saudi Arabia between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 1986. A total of 40 cases were identified, of whom two were admitted to the surgical departments and the rest to the medical wards. Deliberate self-harm accounted for 0.4% of all Saudi medical admissions during the study period. This low frequency could be attributed to the influence of Islamic teachings. The majority of subjects were single, below the age of 30 years [95%] with most below the age of 20 [52.5%]; female to male ratio was 4:1. Interpersonal conflicts leading to quarrels precipitated the act in over two thirds [72.5%] of the episodes. Drug overdosage was involved in 80% of the cases. Psychotropic, analgesic, and miscellaneous drugs were used almost equally. Reactive depression was the commonest diagnosis [60%]. Limited sales of analgesics, discard of unused medications, and discrete prescription of psychotropic, particularly to young females, are among the recommended preventive measures