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Background and objective Depression and anxiety are among the most common mental health conditions globally, and, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), roughly 25% of people worldwide suffer from them. Serious mental diseases can cause a great deal of suffering and incapacity, lowering people's quality of life. Stigma and unfavorable attitudes toward mental illness often discourage people from seeking psychological assistance and achieving recovery from mental problems. This observational cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the attitudes of the general population of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, toward seeking psychological help, and to determine the degree to which stigma prevents individuals from seeking help. Methods An online, self-administered survey was distributed via social media platforms among the general population of Makkah between September and December 2023. Males and females over the age of 18 years living in Makkah were included. The exclusion criteria were participants who declined to participate in the study or those who were below 18 years of age. Results A total of 495 eligible participants completed the study survey. Of them, 378 (76.4%) were female, and most (390, 78.8%) were Saudi Arabian nationals. A total of 341 (68.9%) participants had symptoms of anxiety, and 319 (64.4%) had symptoms of depression. Regarding unfavorable attitudes, the scores were significantly higher among participants over 40 years of age (1.81 ± 0.46; p<0.05) and those with relatively low levels of education (1.93 ± 0.65; p<0.05). As for stigma, the scores were significantly higher among male participants (2.38 ± 0.83; p<0.05) and those with low levels of education (2.54 ± 0.8; p<0.05). Conclusion A significant negative correlation between participants' attitudes toward seeking psychological help and stigma was observed. However, in contrast, the psychological symptom scores did not significantly correlate with the participants' attitudes. Stigma scores showed significant positive correlations with depression and overall symptom scores. This research showed that stigma has a significant impact on attitudes toward help-seeking.
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BACKGROUND: Medication overuse headache (MOH) is a secondary headache condition caused by consistently using more medication than necessary to treat headache symptoms. MOH is defined as a headache that occurs for 15 or more days per month in a patient with a pre-existing primary headache, and it develops as a result of regular overuse of symptomatic headache medication for more than three months. Patients with headaches often use simple pain medication for 15 or more days per month (e.g., non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and paracetamol) and 10 or more days per month of opioids, triptans, and combination analgesics, but when there is no relief from these medications, the headache progression can lead to a cycle of consuming more medication with increased pain, which can lead to MOH. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the prevalence and awareness of MOH among the general population of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2022 and March 2023 using a self-administered online questionnaire disseminated through social media. Data were collected from females and males 18 years of age and older living in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: Overall, 715 individuals completed the questionnaire, 497 of whom were female (69.5%). The average age of the participants was 32.9 years (±13.3 years). The prevalence of MOH among those who reported having experienced headaches throughout their lifetimes was estimated to be 4.5%. Only 134 people (18.7%) were determined to be aware of MOH. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the general population of Makkah has a high prevalence of MOH and low levels of MOH awareness.