The clinical & economic burden of treatment-resistant depression in the Gulf-Cooperation Council: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

OBJECTIVE: The current analysis assessed the economic and clinical burden of treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD) imposed on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Kuwait and United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the societal perspective. METHODS: A Microsoft Excel® based Markov model was developed to estimate the overall burden of disease imposed by TRD across KSA, Kuwait and UAE. Data for the models' adaptation were retrieved from literature and validated by country-specific key opinion leaders. The cycle length and time horizon used in the model were 4 weeks and 1 year, respectively. RESULTS: The study results estimated that at the end of 1-year time horizon, overall burden imposed by TRD was 3994, 982 and 670 million USD in KSA, Kuwait, and UAE, respectively. This can be attributed to the high cost incurred due to non-responsive health state (ranging from 44% to 47%). The productivity loss was either the greatest or second greatest component of TRD's burden in the countries of interest (ranging from 32% to 43%). CONCLUSIONS: TRD represents a large clinical and economic burden on both individual patients and society. Hence, noval and innovative treatments are especially required for the management of TRD patients.

Prevalence of hepatitis C viral infection among injecting drug users in a Saudi Arabian hospital: A point cross sectional survey.

Hepatitis C Virus is an important cause of preventable morbidity and mortality among Injecting Drug Users worldwide. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and correlations of HCV infection among IDUs in Saudi Arabia. A point cross-sectional survey was conducted between May 2012 and Nov 2012 to determine hepatitis C viral antibodies serological status using venous blood among IDUs (N=300) accessing care at Al-Amal Hospital in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as to determine clinical correlates of hepatitis C infection among the Injecting Drug Users. There was an overall HCV prevalence of 42.7% among IDUs studied. Low level primary education, single marital status, being unemployed and commencing Injecting Drugs beyond the age of 15 years have higher specific prevalence of HCV among IDUs population. There was statistically significant association between clinical assessments of the participants who were abusing drugs generally, dependent on drugs, specifically abusing cocaine, amphetamines, opioids, cannabinoids and alcohol with HCV antibodies seropositivity. There was no statistical significant relationship between drug induced sleep/sexual disorder and psychosis/delusion with HCV seropositivity. This study demonstrated a relatively high prevalence of HCV among IDUs in KSA. Targeted public health preventive strategies are necessary to halt the spread of HCV among IDUs in KSA. The resultant benefits of these will include reduction in morbidity and mortality as well as improved socioeconomic wellbeing of the IDU's population.

Drug Dependence and Psychotic Symptoms: A Retrospective Study of Adolescents Who Abuse Drugs at Al-Amal Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Drug abuse is reported to be on the increase among young persons using illicit substances but little is known about the frequency with which they occur, the symptoms on presentation to health institutions, and the different substances abused. To establish this, we reviewed patient data collected at Al-Amal Hospital in Jeddah Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on young persons who are refered to the hospital for problems related to drug abuse. Data on 69 adolescent drug users were reviewed and analyzed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview - Substance Abuse Model (CIDI-SAM) to assess dependence on substances including amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, and opioids. Furthermore, we assessed the adolescents' data on history of delusions and hallucinations in the context of use of, or withdrawal from, these specific substances. Our analysis shows that 10 to 79.6% of users of amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, and opiates met DSM-III-R dependence criteria for each specific substance. The prevalence of psychotic symptoms associated with each specific substance ranged from users with no diagnosis to users with severe dependence as follows: amphetamines (3-100%), cannabis (7-60.0%), cocaine (5-70.7%), and opiates (4-88%). The risk of psychotic symptoms increased for respondents who abused (OR=7.2) or had mild (OR=8.1), moderate (OR=20.0), or severe dependence (OR=14.0) on cocaine when compared to those who were users with no diagnosis. A similar pattern was evident in cannabis, opiate, and amphetamine users. In conclusion, most adolescent drug users in Saudi Arabia who are dependent on illicit substances experience psychotic symptoms in the context of use of, or withdrawal from, these substances. Psychotic symptoms increased with the severity of the disorders associated with use of all four substances. These findings underscore the importance of developing services to target this population; a population at risk of developing psychotic symptoms.

Gender and risk of depression in Saudi Arabia, a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Depression is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. In the year 2000 depression accounted for 4.4% of the global disability adjusted life years (DALYs). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has a population of 28 million people and is one of the countries experiencing demographic transition in its population structure. Improvements in socioeconomic status have been shown to be associated with increased chronic diseases including chronic mental diseases like depression, but still there is no comprehensive review summarizing the various reports currently existing in the literature. Although individual studies within Saudi Arabia have reported prevalence rates and risks, the quality of such studies need to be subjected to rigorous assessment and their findings pooled to give combined weighted evidence that will provide basis for targeted intervention. Pooled risks have the advantage of adjusting inherent variations within sampled populations and therefore providing more reliable estimates even though there are concerns about possible magnification of smaller individual risks.