A retrospective analysis of substance use among female psychiatric patients in Saudi Arabia

ObjectiveThis study investigated the prevalence of substance use (SU), and its risk factors, among women attending psychiatric outpatients center in Saudi Arabia.DesignA retrospective cross-sectional design.Materials and methodsWe reviewed outpatients' records of 200 female patients with a history of SU from a psychiatric unit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from December 2018 to February 2019. The researchers developed the pro forma, and 2 psychiatrists and a family medicine physician validated the form.ResultsThe most common and widely used were psychoactive substances (58%), followed by central nervous system (CNS) depressants (22%), and finally cannabinols (9.5%). Overall, the highest substance use was the amphetamine-cannabis-nicotine (ACN) representing nearly half of the illicit items (46.6%), followed by heroine-alcohol-benzodiazepine (16.4%), and with the lowest being benzodiazepine-nicotine (1.7%). There was a significant difference between the single substance and multiple substance use in terms of age (p = 0.001), smoking behavior (p = 0.001), patients past history (p = 0.005), and age of the patient at the start of drug use (p = 0.005).ConclusionAlthough the prevalence of substance use among women is low in Saudi Arabia, screening of substance use disorders risks and building a rehabilitation program to control drug dependence are needed.