Public Awareness, Beliefs, And Attitudes Toward Bipolar Disorder In Saudi Arabia

Figures & data

Table 1 Percentages Of Positive Responses Toward Bipolar Awareness, Including Information And Knowledge (N=416)

Item Number	Statements	Positive Response (%)
	Information
1	Heard about Bipolar Disorder*	49.5
2	Bipolar is a common disorder in Saudi Arabia*	57.0
	Causes of Bipolar
3	Neurophysiologic or neurochemical imbalance*	45.2
4	Certain medical conditions, e.g. Cancer, Diabetes, Heart diseases, hypothyroidism *	26.0
5	Heredity or genetic*	34.1
6	Unhealthy lifestyle*	50.2
7	Weakness of character, e.g. Weak personality	59.9
8	Substance abuse	49.0
9	Medications*	23.1
10	Weak faith	52.2
11	Traumatic event in life, e.g. Death of a close one, physical injury, theft, disaster, etc.*	59.9
	Treatment of Bipolar
12	Psychiatric medications (e.g. antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, sedatives)*	47.6
13	Talk to family or friends	48.1
14	Head bandage by traditional therapist	58.7
15	Smoking	96.6
16	Having an occasional alcoholic drink	96.9
17	Amphetamine or Hash	97.4
18	Electroconvulsive therapy under psychiatrist supervision*	12.7
19	Using brief counselling therapies (e.g. cognitive and/or behavioral therapies)*	44.0
20	Hitting and choking by faith healers	97.8
21	Involve in recreational activities	46.4

Notes: *Indicates positive statements, where positive responses were given for agreement. As the rest of statements were incorrect, positive responses were given for disagreement.

Table 2 Univariate And Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis To Predict Poor Bipolar Awareness Using Sociodemographic Characteristics (N=416)

Variables	Low Awareness(Score ≤12)*		High Awareness(Score >12)		Univariate Analysis		Multivariate Analysis**
	N	(%)	N	(%)	OR	95% CI	OR	95% CI
Age
<25 years	109	(40.1)	70	(48.6)	1.0	0.50–2.17
25–44 years	133	(48.9)	54	(37.5)	1.7	0.78–3.46
≥45 years	30	(11.0)	20	(13.9)	1.0
Gender
Male	112	(41.2)	49	(34.0)	1.4	0.89–2.07
Female	160	(58.9)	95	(65.97)	1.0
Marital Status
Married	142	(52.21)	47	(35.34)	1.5***	1.01–2.31	1.08	0.56–2.06
Single	130	(47.79)	86	(64.66)	1.0		1.0
Nationality
Non-Saudi	60	(22.1)	13	(9.0)	2.6***	1.40–4.87	1.22	0.56–2.66
Saudi	212	(77.9)	131	(90.97)	1.0		1.0
Educational level
High school or less	82	(30.2)	23	(15.97)	2.0***	1.20–3.36	1.93	0.98–3.79
College and above	190	(69.9)	121	(84.0)	1.0		1.0
Monthly income
Less than 5000 SR	119	(43.8)	79	(54.9)	1.8	0.78–2.82	1.89	0.77–4.62
5000–10,000 SR	93	(34.19)	16	(11.1)	2.2***	1.41–6.00	2.08	0.91–4.75
10,000–15,000 SR	30	(11.0)	17	(11.8)	1.5	0.66–3.58	1.52	0.58–3.94
More than 15,000 SR	30	(11.0)	32	(22.2)	1.0		1.0
Career status
Student	68	(25)	75	(52.1)	1.0		1.0
Employed	139	(51.1)	52	(36.1)	2.7***	1.69–1.69	2.44***	1.13–5.27
Unemployed	65	(23.9)	17	(11.8)	3.6***	1.89–6.65	2.80***	1.10–7.11
Healthcare professions status
Yes	35	(48.6)	37	(51.4)	1.0		1.0
No	237	(68.9)	107	(31.1)	2.3***	1.40–3.92	2.15***	1.14–4.04

Notes: *The outcome is low awareness (BP awareness score ≤12). **Multivariate analysis is adjusted for the significant variables in univariate analysis including marital status, nationality, educational level, career, health professional status, and monthly income. ***Significant (p<0.05).

Abbreviations: OR, odds ratio; 95% CI, 95% confidence interval.

Table 3 Socio-Demographic Characteristics (N=416)

Characteristics	Number*	%*
1- Age (Mean ± SD)*	29.5 ± 10.7
2- Gender
Male	161	38.7
Female	255	61.3
3- Marital Status
Single	215	51.7
Married	190	45.7
Divorced	6	1.4
Widowed	5	1.2
4- Nationality
Saudi	343	82.5
Non-Saudi	73	17.5
5- Educational level
No formal education	5	1.2
Elementary school education	3	0.7
Intermediate school education	17	4.1
High school education	81	19.5
Diploma degree	28	6.7
Bachelor degree	250	60.1
Master degree	26	6.3
PhD degree	5	1.2
Other	1	0.2
6- Career
Student	138	33.2
Employed	194	46.6
Unemployed	84	20.2
7- Health professional status
Yes	141	33.9
No	275	66.1
8- Monthly income
Less than 5000 SR	191	45.9
5000–10,000SR	123	29.6
10,000–15,000SR	47	11.3
More than 15,000 SR	55	13.2

Notes: *Number and percentage except otherwise marked; mean ± standard deviation.

Table 4 Attitudes And Beliefs About Bipolar Disorder (N=416)

In Your Opinion:	Agreement Percentage
If someone is suffering from bipolar, he/she has to pull him/herself together for getting over it	46.7
A person with bipolar disorder can work effectively	85.8
It is a shame to mention that someone in a family has bipolar disorder	31.8
You would not be willing to maintain a friendship with someone with bipolar disorder	21.9
You would not be willing to marry a person who was previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder	39.3
You would not be willing to marry a person who has family members diagnosed with bipolar disorder	19
You would not tell your future spouse if you were diagnosed with bipolar disorder	16.8