Prevalence of mental disorders by sex among Hera General Hospital patients over the past 10 years

Abstract

Mental disorders manifest as social, occupational, or emotional dysfunctions. Many countries struggle to recognize mental disorders and their effects on communities. Mental health awareness in Saudi Arabia has improved in recent years as psychiatric treatment has become more acceptable in Saudi society. The aim of this study was to determine the percentages of mental disorders among a hospital population at Hera General Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia, using the diagnostic criteria of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases. We aimed to determine sex differences and to identify the five most common disorders. We identified clusters of mental disorders seen at Hera General Hospital psychiatric clinic using the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-IV and ICD-10 and it was a cross-sectional study of patients at a psychiatric outpatient department from July 2009 to June 2019 in Hera General Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The most common mental disorders in patients attending the psychiatric clinic of Hera General Hospital were found to be major depressive disorder (41.3%), followed by anxiety disorders (22.1%), substance-induced psychotic disorder (11.4%), schizophrenia (8.9%), and Mental retardation (7.0%). Females were observed to have a higher risk for mood and anxiety disorders, whereas males had a higher risk for substance-induced psychotic disorder and schizophrenia. Major depressive disorder was the most prevalent mental disorder at Hera General Hospital. Most patients with depressive disorder were female.