The National Center for the Promotion of Mental Health revealed that the rate of mental illness among Saudis reached 34%, which is lower than the United States and higher than both Iraq and Lebanon, according to the latest survey conducted.
The director of the center, Dr. Abdul Hamid Al-Habib, explained toNews 24“The most prominent psychological disorders that Saudis suffer from is anxiety, with a rate of 23.2%, which is in line with most of the statistics of the World Health Organization, followed by impulse control disorders with 11.2%, mood disorders with 9.2%, then eating disorders 6.1%, and eating disorders by 6.1%, Substance abuse 4%.
He added that the most prevalent single disorders in Saudi Arabia were separation anxiety (11.9%), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (8%), major depressive disorder (6%), social phobia (5.6%), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) 4.1%.
The incidence of two or more disorders was 15%, the incidence of three or more disorders was 7.5%, and the incidence of four or more disorders was 3.9%.
He pointed out that regarding 17% of people with severe mental disorders receive treatment, while 83% do not.
He stressed that the survey recommended the necessity of conducting many interventions and research, and that national studies should include communities that were not covered by the current survey, and focus more on the mental health of Saudi women, and that services that can be accessed to meet the mental health needs of the Saudi community be a major goal on the agenda, and the presence of A strong link between mental and physical health, and for future mental health research in the Kingdom to apply an accurate quality system that takes into account the latest technology.
