ABU DHABI // Schizophrenia can go undiagnosed in the region because of a lack of education on mental illnesses and the stigma they carry, professionals say.
This means sufferers can miss out on treatment, without which the disorder can be debilitating.
Local professionals believe the prevalence of the severe brain disorder is about 0.7 per cent of the adult population in the UAE, in line with global statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“Incidences of schizophrenia are probably under-reported and undiagnosed in the region,” said Dr Deema Sihweil, clinical director at the Carbone Clinic in Dubai.
“Due to the lack of psychoeducation in the region, stigma and cultural and religious ideologies, psychiatric illnesses are often misunderstood and under-diagnosed and many people are probably living without treatment.”
Untreated, schizophrenia can have dire effects, Dr Sihweil said.
“Those who suffer from schizophrenia are often quite aware that something is wrong with their brains, and experience great levels of distress in knowing that they cannot control their thoughts, behaviours and emotions,” she said.
“Living with schizophrenia, especially when untreated, has often been described to me as ‘a living nightmare’ or ‘like being on drugs without ever getting back to reality’.
“It rarely is a disorder that can go untreated without profoundly affecting the lives of those afflicted.”
Symptoms of schizophrenia, which are quite distinct, most commonly appear in late adolescence and early adulthood.
Dr Sihweil has treated 10 patients with the disorder at the Dubai clinic in recent years. It is characterised by delusions, hallucinations, severe confusion as to what is real in one’s mind, disordered speech and sometimes paranoia. The disease can be widely misunderstood, she said.
“It is classified as a psychotic disorder, which is often wrongly associated with aggression and violence, making it a disease that is feared by those who do not fully understand the nature and symptoms.”
A small percentage may be violent but this is typically due to substance abuse as a form of self-medication.
“Substance abuse or dependence is the most common disease that befriends schizophrenia because people often attempt to self-medicate to numb or dampen the symptoms,” Dr Sihweil said.
Depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and obsessive compulsive disorder can also be part of it.
Among the patients Dr Sihweil has treated, “about half were men and most expressed having traumatic histories, substance abuse issues and family psychiatric histories”.
Dr Veena Luthra, a consultant psychiatrist at Abu Dhabi’s American Centre for Psychiatry and Neurology, agrees that the disorder is under-reported.
An Al Ain study questioning 1,394 Emiratis found a prevalence of about 0.7 per cent, Dr Luthra said.
“These numbers are likely an underestimate given the stigma related to mental illness and lack of epidemiological studies at a national level in UAE,” she said.
“It is one of the most severe mental illnesses but also the most fear-ed and misunderstood.
“Widespread cultural beliefs are that severe mental illnesses are due to demon possessions, bewitchment by evil spirits, ancestors’ spirits, or the evil eyes. Affected people or their families often seek help from religious and traditional healers rather than health facilities.”
This stigma can affect self-esteem, recovery from the illness, social relationships, treatment adherence and willingness to seek help.
As the onset of schizophrenia often coincides with adolescence, it can be mistaken as a phase, said Dr Luthra, leading to a delay in diagnosis of up to nine years.
“This leads to a missed opportunity of early treatment that has a better outcome,” she said. “I have treated some cases of young adults with their first psychotic breakdown.
“Schizophrenia can often have a profoundly negative effect on a person’s life, on their families and communities if not addressed.”
“It prevents young people from attaining their full potential. That includes work, marriage and raising a family. Individuals with schizophrenia are more likely to be unmarried, jobless, homeless or incarcerated.”
jbell@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
How to tell if your child is being bullied at school
Sudden change in behaviour or displays higher levels of stress or anxiety
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Ability to sleep well diminishes
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Changes in eating habits
Struggles to concentrate
Refuses to go to school
Behaviour changes and is aggressive towards siblings
Begins to use language they do not normally use
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Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
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- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
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CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
