Smoking among male psychiatric outpatients in Saudi Arabia

Background: The prevalence rate of smoking among psychiatric patients has been shown to be higher than that among the general population, and this may have several neuropsychiatric implications. This cross-sectional study examines the prevalence, sociodemographic variables and pattern of smoking among psychiatric outpatients in Saudi Arabia. Patients and Methods: Over a period of 18 months (January 1996 to June 1997), 505 outpatients from five different hospitals were randomly selected to participate in the study. Results: It was observed that 292 patients (57.83%) were current smokers, 199 (39.4%) were nonsmokers and 14 patients (2.77%) were ex-smokers. Besides revealing certain attitudes towards smoking and religious antismoking notions, it was observed that unemployment, low education status, rural background, and drugs abuse were significantly associated with smoking. Conclusion: The prevalence rate of smoking revealed in this study is consistent with international data, and probably has implications similar to those reported in other studies. This study also found certain patterns of tobacco use in psychiatric outpatients characterized by certain sociodemographic Variables and drug abuse.