BackgroundDespite its strong hereditary and genetic connections, there are other factors reported to be linked to schizophrenia, but not well studied in eastern Ethiopia.ObjectiveThis study was aimed to investigating the potential profiles and factors associated with schizophrenia in eastern Ethiopia.Materials and methodsA matched case-control study was conducted in two public hospitals from December 1, 2021, to January 30, 2022. Cases were patients with schizophrenia who visited the hospitals, and controls were healthy individuals without any mental illness who visited the same hospitals. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. Cases and controls were matched using age and sex. STATA-14 was used for analysis. A conditional logistic regression with an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and a 95% confidence interval (CI) was applied to identify the determinants. P-values of <0.05 were used to build the final model as a measure of statistical significance.ResultsThe mean age of the study participants group was 28.6 (±8.44) years, mean age for cases was 28.7(±8.5) ranging from 18 to 56 years and the mean age for the controls was 28.4 (±8.5), ranging from 18 to 60 years. About 181 (83.03%) of the participants were male. The odds of having schizophrenia was about 12.2 times higher among participants with family history of mental illness (AOR: 12.21; 95% CI: 4.83–30.00). The odds of having schizophrenia was 4.5 times higher among polysubstance users (AOR: 4.45; 95% CI: 1.28–5.45) and 2.8 times higher among khat consumers (AOR: 2.82; 95% CI: 1.23–6.45) compared to their counterparts.ConclusionOur findings show that genetic risk factors as well as some modifiable behaviors are associated to schizophrenia in eastern Ethiopia. At all levels, special attention should be given to those who are at risk.

Schizophrenia is one of the most troublesome psychiatric problems requiring long-term antipsychotic treatments. There is a scarcity of data regarding its overtime trend in Ethiopia. Objective: To explore the 5-year trend of schizophrenia at Hiwot Fana Specialized University Referral Hospital, Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: A hospital-based retrospective record review was conducted at Hiwot Fana Specialized University Referral Hospital, Eastern Ethiopia. Data were obtained from medical records of all registered psychiatric patients in the psychiatric follow-up clinic over 5 years from 2016 to 2020. An Extended Mantel-Haenszel chi-square test for the linear trend was used to examine the trend over the 5-year period. Results: Over the 5-year period stated (2016–2020), a total of 29,184 psychiatric patients were registered at the Hospital from which 18,598 (63.73 % (95% confidence interval: 0.63–0.64) were schizophrenia confirmed cases. Of the 18,598 patients, 15,362 (82.60%) were males and 7,625 (41%) were in 25–34 years of age category. It was revealed that the trend of newly diagnosed patients with schizophrenia increased from (0.44 (95% CI (0.39–0.47) in 2016 to 0.47(95% confidence interval: (0.44–0.49) in 2020 (χ2 = 3.87; p = 0.049). Those chewing Khat were disproportionately affected accounting for about half of the schizophrenia total cases reported. Conclusion: The magnitude of patients with schizophrenia being treated at the hospital increased over the 5 years studied. Tailored preventive and treatment interventions are needed to mitigate the problem. Community and institution-based customized interventions can be designed using the existing health system platforms.