The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the development of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and its correlation with the level of perceived stress among the Saudi population. METHODS: In July 2020, a cross-sectional survey of 2909 participants in Saudi Arabia during the outbreak was conducted to collect data related to sociodemographic characteristics and scores on the Brief Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (BOCS) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). RESULTS: Most participants were female (73.9%) with a university level of education or higher (81%). The prevalence of new-onset obsessions was 57.8%, compulsions 45.9%, and moderate/high perceived stress 72.4%. New-onset dirt, germs, and virus obsessions were significantly higher among 40-49 age group, employees, housewives, students, quarantine discipliners, and those who spent 20 or more days in quarantine. New-onset hand-washing compulsions were significantly higher among the 30-49 age group. A significantly higher level of perceived stress was reported among those in the 18-29 age group, females, singles, participants with no children, students, non-smokers, those who were unemployed, living with families, diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, living in the northern region, quarantine discipliners, and those who spent 60 or more days in quarantine. CONCLUSION: This study revealed a significantly higher prevalence of high perceived stress in respondents with new-onset OCD contamination symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. This implies that a biodisaster is associated with high psychological morbidity.

Mental health among healthcare providers during coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was recently declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). The first confirmed case in Saudi Arabia was announced on March 2, 2020. Several psychiatric manifestations may appear during pandemics, especially among frontline healthcare providers. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to explore depression and anxiety levels among healthcare providers during the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of 502 healthcare providers in the Ministry of Health. Depression and anxiety were assessed via the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) questionnaires, respectively. RESULTS: The respondents represented various healthcare occupations: administrators (28.49%), nurses (26.29%), physicians (22.11%), non-physician specialists (13.94%), technicians (6.77%), and pharmacists (2.30%). The majority of them were male (68.1%). More than half of them had depressive disorder (55.2%), which ranged from mild (24.9%), moderate (14.5%), and moderately severe (10%) to severe (5.8%). Half of the sample had generalized anxiety disorder (51.4%), which ranged from mild (25.1%) and moderate (11%) to severe (15.3%). Multivariate analysis showed that males were significantly less predicted to have anxiety (Beta=-0.22, P-value <0.04), 30-39 years age group were significantly more predicted to have depression and anxiety group (Beta=0.204, P-value <0.001 and beta=0.521, P-value <0.003 respectively), and nurses had significantly higher mean score of anxiety (Beta=0.445, P-value <0.026). CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that depression and anxiety are prevailing conditions among healthcare providers. Although efforts were accelerated to support their psychological well-being, more attention should be paid to the mental health of female, 30-39 age group and nursing staff. Promoting healthcare service as a humanitarian and national duty may contribute to making it a more meaningful experience in addition to advocating for solidarity, altruism, and social inclusion. Longitudinal research studies need to be conducted to follow up on healthcare providers' mental health symptoms and develop evidence-based interventions.

Perceived stress among students in virtual classrooms during the COVID-19 outbreak in KSA.

OBJECTIVES: COVID-19 is a newly discovered infectious Coronavirus that became pandemic. Since disease outbreaks can have mental health consequences, this study explored the perceived stress level among students during the Coronavirus Disease Outbreak and suspension of in-person teaching in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of a sample consisting of 367 students living in Saudi Arabia assessed socio-demographic characteristics, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and their emotions and concerns during the outbreak. RESULTS: Most participants were female (74.7%) and secondary school (79.8%) students. More than half of the participants showed moderate levels of stress (55%), while 30.2% registered high levels. Females and university students showed a significant association with stress level (p-value = 0.003 and 0.049, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: There was a moderate to high level of stress among students in KSA at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. This study found a significant correlation between a high level of stress and female university students. The integration of online counselling and stress management programs would help mitigate the stress of students during distance learning.

Public Awareness, Beliefs, And Attitudes Toward Bipolar Disorder In Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: To examine public's knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes toward bipolar disorder (BP) in Saudi Arabia (SA). METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was performed in 2016 in Riyadh, SA. The survey included sociodemographic characteristics and BP awareness scale. RESULTS: Of 416 participants, 49.5% had prior knowledge of BP, mainly from internet and social media, and 57% considered it to be common in SA. About half believed BP is caused by a neurophysiological or neurochemical imbalance and that it can be treated with psychiatric medications. Supernatural causes, weak faith, and weakness of character were considered causes of BP by 55%, 48%, and 40% of participants, respectively. Recreational activities and head bandaging by traditional therapists were considered viable treatment options by 55% and 41% of participants, respectively. Students and healthcare professionals scored significantly higher on awareness scale. Regarding attitude, a majority believed that persons with BP can work effectively (86%) , have to pull themselves together to get over it (47%), and consider it a shame to mention that someone in a family is affected by BP (32%). Regarding relationships, 22% were not willing to maintain a friendship and 39.3% were not willing to marry someone with BP. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed suboptimal public awareness towards BP in SA. It identified several misconceptions and negative attitudes toward patients with BP. Further studies are needed to investigate potential public interventions to improve literacy of BP.

An arabic translation, reliability, and validation of Patient Health Questionnaire in a Saudi sample.

BACKGROUND: Psychological disorders including depression and anxiety are not rare in primary care clinics. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is a clinical diagnostic tool that is widely utilized by primary health care physicians worldwide because it provides a practical in-clinic tool to screen for psychological disorders. This study evaluated the validity of the Arabic version of the PHQ in all six modules including depression, anxiety, somatic, panic, eating, and alcohol abuse disorders. METHODS: This is a quantitative observational cross-sectional study that was conducted by administrating the translated Arabic version of PHQ to a sample of King Saud University students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: The sample was 731 university students who participated in this study including 376 (51.6%) females and 354 (48.4%) males with a mean age of 21.30 years. Eight mental health experts carried out the face validation process of the PHQ Arabic version. The internal consistency reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha for the PHQ9, GAD7, PHQ15, and panic disorder modules. The results were 0.857, 0.763, 0.826, and 0.696, respectively. In comparison, the eating disorders and alcohol abuse modules demonstrated poor internal consistency due to small number of participants in these modules. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that the Arabic version of the PHQ is a valid and reliable tool to screen for depression, anxiety, somatic, and panic disorders in a Saudi sample.