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Copyright of Arab Journal of Psychiatry is the property of Arab Federation of Psychiatrists and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract Background Adolescents rarely seek psychiatric help; they even hesitate to disclose their feelings to their parents. However; the adolescents especially the females experience depressive symptoms more frequently than general population. Do they experience classic depressive symptoms? Are there symptoms specific to this subpopulation? Aim of the study Through this study, the authors aimed to estimate the prevalence of depressive disorders in Egyptian adolescent female students. They also expected a characteristic profile of symptoms for the adolescent females. However available literature provides no guidance in the description of this profile of symptoms. Methods A number of 602 adolescent females were interviewed, and subjected to General Health Questionnaire (GHQ); Children Depression Inventory (CDI), Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis-I Disorders (SCID-I), then Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (Ham-D). Results were analyzed by the use of SPSS-15. Results The study revealed the prevalence of depression in the sample of the study to be 15.3% (measured by CDI), and 13.3% (measured by SCID-I). Fatigue was the most common presenting depressive symptom (81.3%), in addition to other emotional, cognitive and physiological symptoms. Suicidal ideations were the most common suicidal symptoms in depressed adolescent females (20%), with 2.5% serious suicidal attempts. Conclusions The somatic symptoms were by far the most common presenting symptom for female adolescents suffering from depressive disorders. Depressive phenomena including unexplained fatigue, decreased energy, psychomotor changes, lack of concentration, weight changes and suicidal ideations may be the presenting complaints instead of the classic sad mood.

Women account for one in every three people who use drugs worldwide and tend to progress to drug use disorders in a shorter time than men. There is limited understanding of the situation of women who use drugs in the Middle East and North Africa. A multi-stakeholder rapid situation assessment (RSA) was conducted which aimed to investigate gendered and contextual vulnerabilities and service level responsiveness to the needs of women who use drugs (WWUD) in Egypt. An updated profile of female service user characteristics was sought via mapping of addiction and harm reduction services in the National Drug Observatory system. In-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of representatives of UN agencies and health professionals providing treatment/harm reduction (government, private, community) (n = 21). Focus groups were facilitated with a convenience sample of women in treatment, accessing HIV services and community harm reduction services (n = 75). Thematic analysis and triangulation across data sources occurred. Eight themes emerged: profile of women who use drugs; access to drugs and settings for female drug use; dimensions of stigma; trauma and drivers of female drug use; networks and intimate partner relationships; high-risk behaviours and harms; barriers to help-seeking and accessing services; and enhancing gender-responsive and gender-transformative evidence-based services. This RSA yields a contemporary insight into the vulnerabilities, traumas, discrimination and stigma-related challenges experienced by WWUD in Egypt. Recommendations are made to enhance harm reduction awareness and uptake and to integrate gender-responsive care within existing maternal, addiction and harm reduction service structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]