Abstract

Background and Objectives: Although  drug abuse is a major  public health  problem worldwide ,there  are a lot of  cases ,data reported  in rapidly developing  countries  like  Saudi Arabia  and  Gulf states. The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of substance abuse and addiction in Al-Baha region   and to know the type of substances commonly abused by the patients.

Design and settings: Cross sectional study was conducted.

Patients and methods: Patients who attended in Baljurashi Psychiatric Hospital Out-patient department over three months were interviewed using structured questionnaire and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) for diagnosis.

Results: We were able to collect data from 303 psychiatric patients. Most of studied patients were single, unemployed, Saudi nationals, males of young age, with low educational level. The total prevalence of substance abuse or dependence was 20.1%. Amphetamine was the most common substance   abused by the patients followed by cannabis and benzodiazepines. Psychotic symptoms were prominent in majority of the cases. Conclusion : We were able to know the magnitude  of substance abuse  problems  in Al-Baha Region ,  certain clinical  and socio-demographic patterns were observed  in drug abuser .This  can help in establishing a good services  and preventive measures for substance abuser.