Exploring psychotic symptoms among substance-naïve individuals and recent abstainers without a psychosis diagnosis: A cross-country study across Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

Journal: Psychiatry research

Volume: 342

Issue: 

Year of Publication: 

Affiliated Institutions:  Department of Mental Health, Bungoma County Referral Hospital, Kenya; Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya. Electronic address: drbabu@gmail.com. Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya; Department of Mental Health, Wajir County Referral Hospital, Garissa, Kenya. Department of Health Information Management, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret, Kenya. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Academic Model Providing Access to Health Care, Eldoret, Kenya. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and The Chester M. Pierce MD, Division of Global Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. Department of Medicine, Medical College East Africa, The Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya; Academic Model Providing Access to Health Care, Eldoret, Kenya. Neurosciences Unit, Clinical Department, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme-Coast, Kilifi, Kenya; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. Department of Mental Health, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret, Kenya. Neurosciences Unit, Clinical Department, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme-Coast, Kilifi, Kenya. Centre for Clinical Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya. Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; SA MRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, University of Cape Town and Neuroscience Institute, Cape Town, South Africa. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA. Executive Dean's Office, Faculty of Health Sciences, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa. Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya; Brain and Mind Institute, The Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya; Department of Medicine, Medical College East Africa, The Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya.

Abstract summary 

Psychotic symptoms are of increasing interest in mental health due to their predictive value for future psychotic disorders. While these symptoms are prevalent in the general population, their occurrence varies globally. This study aimed to explore the prevalence and factors associated with psychotic symptoms among individuals identified as substance-naïve and recent abstainers without a history of psychosis. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on 11,686 participants who reported no lifetime substance use, no substance use in the previous three months, and did not have a diagnosis of psychosis. The study utilized the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire to estimate the one-year prevalence of psychotic symptoms and their associations with demographic and clinical attributes. Results revealed a 3.5 % overall prevalence of psychotic symptoms with 2.9 % prevalence among substance naïve and 4.3 % among recent abstainers. Factors associated with psychotic symptoms were age, being female, having chronic medical conditions, encountering traumatic life events being divorced or separated and lower education levels which positively correlated with symptom scores. There is a need for future investigations and longitudinal studies to uncover the underlying mechanisms and impacts of psychotic symptoms.

Authors & Co-authors:  Kisiang'ani Isaac Babu IB Aden Mohammed M Mwangi Henry R HR Akena Dickens D Alemayehu Melkam M Barasa Julius J Gelaye Bizu B Gichuru Stella S Kariuki Symon M SM Kwobah Edith Kamaru EK Kyebuzibwa Joseph J Mwema Rehema M RM Newton Charles R J C CRJC Ongeri Linnet L Pretorius Adele A Stein Dan J DJ Stevenson Anne A Stroud Rocky E RE Teferra Solomon S Zingela Zukiswa Z Atwoli Lukoye L

Study Outcome 

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Statistics
Citations : 
Authors :  21
Identifiers
Doi : 10.1016/j.psychres.2024.116253
SSN : 1872-7123
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Other Terms
Current substance users;PSQ, Psychosis, Africa;Recent abstainers
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study,Longitudinal Study
Study Approach
Country of Study
South Africa
Publication Country
Ireland