Publications by authors named "Mohammed Alarabi"

Background: Substance misuse is a global and substantial health concern that includes the inappropriate use of illicit substances or prescription and over-the-counter medications, which subsequently leads to poor outcomes such as a mental health disorder, financial distress, work malfunction, and academic failure.

Aim: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of substance use, identify associated risk factors, explore potential complications within this specific demographic, and investigate the relationship between sociodemographic/lifestyle variables such as age, gender, marital status, family income, smoking, physical activity, and academic variables including grade point averages (GPAs), study hours, and the parental educational level with substance use history among students in health colleges in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: This quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional study employed a questionnaire-based approach to collect data from students in health colleges across the regions of Saudi Arabia in the year 2022.

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Objective: Formal thought disorders (FTDs), a core feature of schizophrenia, have been subdivided into positive and negative types, and are clinically assessed by examining speech (objective) or patient introspection (subjective). Despite being associated with poorer treatment response and worse outcomes, FTDs have been understudied in patients with schizophrenia, in particular treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) or schizoaffective disorder. We aimed to explore the relationship between the severity of positive and negative FTDs and neurocognition as well as social/occupational functioning in this clinical subgroup.

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Objective: Unidentified benign ethnic neutropenia (BEN) has been recognized as a factor contributing to clozapine underutilization and discontinuation. Guidelines were implemented to accommodate BEN in Canada, and our main objective was to evaluate clozapine's safety in a sample of Canadian psychiatric patients with BEN.

Method: A retrospective chart review was conducted at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada.

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Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a multidimensional impact on mental health due to health concerns, social distancing and lockdowns, job loss, and limits in institutional support. Accordingly, COVID-19 may disproportionally impact families with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) due to the already high prevalence of mental health conditions in children with SEND and their parents. Hence, it is essential to determine the short-term impact of the pandemic on the mental health of families with SEND to identify their ongoing health, including psychological wellbeing and support needs.

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Background: With the rapid surge of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, we aimed to assess parents' perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccines and the psychological antecedents of vaccinations during the first month of the Omicron spread.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey in Saudi Arabia was conducted (December 20, 2021-January 7, 2022). Convenience sampling was used to invite participants through several social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Twitter, and email lists.

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: The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron spread fast globally and became the predominant variant in many countries. Resumption of public regular life activities, including in-person schooling, presented parents with new sources of worry. Thus, it is important to study parental worry about the Omicron variant, willingness to vaccinate their children, and knowledge about school-based COVID-19 precautionary measures.

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Background: Despite its superiority over other drugs for psychosis, clozapine remains underused and is associated with many clinical challenges, including difficulties in predicting therapeutic serum levels (350-600 ng/mL). We found no large or recent study that investigated the determinants of serum clozapine levels in Middle Eastern patients. Therefore, we investigated the association between clozapine dose and serum level, and the clinical predictors of the clozapine serum level, in Middle Eastern patients.

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Background: As the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant spreads in several countries, healthcare workers' (HCWs) perceptions and worries regarding vaccine effectiveness and boosters warrant reassessment.

Methods: An online questionnaire among HCWs in Saudi Arabia (KSA) was distributed from Dec 1st-6th 2021 to assess their perceptions, vaccine advocacy to the Omicron variant, and their perception of the effectiveness of infection prevention measures and vaccination to prevent its spread, their Omicron variant related worries in comparison to the other variants, and their agreement with mandatory vaccination in general for adults.

Results: Among the 1,285 HCW participants, two-thirds were female, 49.

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Background: As the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged and spread globally at an alarming speed, healthcare workers' (HCWs) uncertainties, worries, resilience, and coping strategies warranted assessment. The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe psychological impact on HCWs, including the development of Post-Traumatic Stress symptoms. Specific subgroups of HCWs, such as front-line and female workers, were more prone to poor mental health outcomes and difficulties facing stress.

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on people's lives globally. The outbreak in Saudi Arabia worsened when the number of cases and deaths rose in March and April of 2020, leading to a national lockdown. This study aimed to assess the factors associated with mental health symptoms in a sample of people residing in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Objectives: Depression is a common mental disorder, the severity of which is frequently assessed via interview-based clinical scales such as the 7-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-7). The current study aimed to translate and examine the validity of an Arabic version of the HAMD-7 scale.

Methods: This study took place between February and March 2016 in the Psychiatry Department of King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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