Journal Article

Prevalence and correlates of mental disorders among women: results from the Saudi National Mental Health Survey

Al-Saud, Nouf K., Naseem, Mohammad Talal, Alateeq, Deemah A., AlSubaie, Abdullah, Al-Habeeb, AbdulHameed, Bilal, Lisa, Aradati, Maggie, Altwaijri, Yasmin A.

2024

Overview

Background Mental disorders account for a significant proportion of the world’s disease burden and are more significant among females than males. However, most global mental health research is sex neutral, including in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This study, therefore, estimated the prevalence of mental disorders and investigated the sociodemographic correlates, sex disadvantage factors, and treatment-seeking in Saudi women concerning lifetime and 12-month mental disorders. Method The Saudi National Mental Health Survey is a stratified multistage clustered area probability design. Lifetime and 12-month mental disorders were assessed through the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI 3.0). The correlates considered for this study included age-at-interview, education, marital status, employment status, socioeconomic status (SES), any chronic condition and household characteristics (region, urbanicity, and income), as well as domestic violence, age at marriage and in a polygamous marriage. Data was analysed using PROC SURVEYFREQ procedure as well as logistic regression in SAS 9.2. Results Overall, 24.7% and 35.9% of Saudi women experienced at least one of the disorders in the prior 12 months and at least once in their lifetime, respectively. Anxiety disorders were the most frequently reported 12-month and lifetime disorders, followed by mood disorders. The region, urbanicity, chronic conditions, employment status, as well as certain sex disadvantage factors were significantly associated with both 12-month and lifetime disorders. Most women did not seek treatment for 12-month mental disorders (86.2%) and lifetime disorders (73.8%). Conclusion Our study confirms that mental health issues, particularly anxiety and mood disorders, are highly prevalent among Saudi women, influenced by chronic conditions and sex-related factors like domestic violence and polygamy. Future research should focus on improving mental health literacy, using rigorous study designs to explore female-specific variables, and investigating genetic and environmental factors.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Adolescent / Adult / Aged / Aggression / Anxiety depression / Anxiety disorders / Biostatistics / Chronic conditions / Chronic illnesses / Correlation / Emotions / Environmental factors / Environmental Health / Epidemiology / Female / Females / Health aspects / Health Surveys / Households / Humans / Marriage / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Mental depression / Mental disorders / Mental Disorders - epidemiology / Mental health / Mental illness / Middle Aged / Mood disorders / Patient Acceptance of Health Care - statistics & numerical data / Polygamy / Prevalence / Psychological aspects / Public Health / Risk factors / Saudi Arabia - epidemiology / Sex / Sex differences / Socioeconomic Factors / Socioeconomics / Statistical analysis / Statistics / Surveys / The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) / Vaccine / Violence / Women / Womens health / Young Adult