Journal of Psychiatry

Abstract

Characteristics of Mental Illnesses among Psychiatric Patients Admitted to the Alamal Complex for Mental Health in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2013

Jaber Sharaheeli, Fahad Alswaidi and Ahmed Mandil

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the characteristics of psychiatric disorders among psychiatric patients admitted to the AlAmal Complex for Mental Health in Riyadh from 15-11-2012 to 3-11-2013 and develop recommendations for addressing those characteristics.
Methodology: This study collected data through a retrospective chart review. Epi-Info was used for data entry and analysis.
Results: We analyzed 1, 777 patients, primarily aged 12-30 years (43.7%) and 31-40 years (29.5%). Males accounted for 92.1% of patients, 54.9% of patients resided in Riyadh, 98.3% of patients were Saudi, and 63.6% were working. Further, 65.3% of patients were single, 31% were married, 3.5% were divorced and 0.2% was widowed. Finally, 36.6% of patients had a secondary level of education, 29.4% had an intermediate level, 20.8% had a primary level, 11.1% had a university level and 2.1% were illiterate. Admission due to substance abuse, schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorders accounted for 83.5%, 6.9% and 48% of admissions, respectively. These diagnoses represented 95.2% of all included patients. Conclusion: Our results are consistent with the literature. The mental illnesses observed among inpatients are primarily substance abuse, schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder. These illnesses are more common among young individuals and males, and most inpatients were from outside Riyadh.