Beliefs about illness of patients with schizophrenia

To elicit the beliefs and perception of patients with schizophrenia about their illness by using Short Explanatory Model Interview [SEMI]. This cross sectional study was conducted in the department of psychiatry, Lady Reading Hospital. One hundred and three patients of schizophrenia were included in the study. Short Explanatory Model Interview [SEMI] was used to assess the explanatory model of illness of the sample. Four major areas covered in SEMI were "Concept" i.e., naming the illness, "Cause", "Treatment Choice" i.e., help seeking behaviour, and "Severity" of the illness. Mean age of the sample was 30.52 +/- 9.41 years. Regarding Concept, 34[33%] patients who although couldn't name any but attributed their condition to mental illness. The major response to the cause for the development of schizophrenia was stress of social issues by 22[23.30%] patients. A total of 56[54.3%] patients reported a combination of medication and spiritual healer to be the help seeking/ treatment choice. Only 44 [42.7%] patients considered the illness to be very serious. Our study suggests that patients suffering from schizophrenia believe that they have some form of mental illness but mostly attribute it to stress and other social factors. They prefer visiting spiritual healers along with medication for seeking help regarding their illness

Pre-treatment anxiety and interferon induced depression in hepatitis C patients

Objective: to study the effect of pre-treatment anxiety on interferon induced depression in hepatitis C patients undergoing interferon treatment

Methodology: interrupted time series design was used for this study to assess at pre, in 2 follow up visits [after 24th and 48th week] and after completion of the treatment. The depression and anxiety of two groups of women [showing high and low pre-treatment anxiety score on the IPAT anxiety scale [PTAS]] was measured by the Siddiqui Shah Depression Scale [SSDS] and the IPAT Anxiety Scale. Female patients [n=57] being diagnosed for Hepatitis C and prescribed for interferon therapy were selected from three main hospitals of Peshawar, through convenience sampling technique

Results: the age range of the sample was from 35 to 65 years [54.51+5.11 years]. Compared to 25% of the patients having low pre-treatment anxiety scores, 32% of the patients with higher pre-treatment anxiety score expe-rienced significant level of depression at week 24 and 48 during and after completion of the interferon treatment

Conclusion: pre-treatment anxiety has significant effect on the levels of depression, hepatitis C patients experience during and after completion of the treatment

Serial order in short-term memory: a comparative study between dementia patients and normal individuals

The present study is designed to investigate the impact of three different types of short term memory models on serial recall. It also aims to see the impact of these different memory models on different levels of neurological functioning. Fifty .four demented patients were selected from Khyber Teaching Hospital, Lady Reading Hospital and Mental hospital Peshawar, Pakistan. Mini Mental State Examination was used for screening as well as for measuring the intensity of dementia. On the basis of these scores, patients were bifurcated into two experimental groups of an equal number portraying severe dementia and moderate dementia. The control group [n=27] was selected from the normal population having no neurological dysfunction, and was matched on the basis of age, education and socioeconomic status. In order to explore the difference among the groups t-test was used. Results indicated a significant difference among the groups, which subsequently supports the hypothesis framed for this study

comparison of life events in depressive illness and dissociative [conversion] disorders

To compare the nature, number and timings of the stressful life events prior to dissociative [conversion] disorders and depressive illness. Comparative study. Place and duration of the study: Psychiatry Unit, Government Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar from December 2003 to December 2004. We recruited dissociative [conversion], depressed and normal control subjects [N=225] divided into three groups, details regarding life events over one year period by using Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale was obtained. Statistical analyses yielded support for the hypotheses that stressful life events are associated with dissociative [conversion] disorders and depressive illness. No significant difference was found in scores on PSLES for dissociative [conversion] [n=75, M=114.51+28.67] and depressive groups [n=75, M=113.75+30.09] [t [148] =-.158, p< .874]. The nature and number of life events reported by dissociative [conversion] [n=75 M=2.09] and depression groups [n=75; M=2.21] and the time that preceded the onset of illness also did not differ significantly. It was accomplished by the findings of the current research that stressful life events preceding depressive illness and dissociative [conversion] disorders were almost of similar nature, type and intensity and temporal relationship was also alike

Development and validation of a Multidimensional Religiosity Scale for Muslims

The main objective of the present research was to develop a Multidimensional Religiosity Scale [MDRS] to measure the religious orientations of Muslims. Initially a list of 280 items was generated from three different sources, namely, the Holy Quran, Mazamin-ul-Quran operational definitions of religiosity by the experts. After item analysis, the number of items was reduced to 175. The first draft of MDRS was administered on 671 adults. The data was subjected to principal factor analysis. As a result, seven factors were extracted called subscales. Psychometric properties and percentile norms were determined for the final scale, i.e. Multidimensional Religiosity Scale. It is a 5-point Likert type rating scale. Our findings demonstrate that MDRS is a reliable and valid instrument to be used for religious orientation of Pakistani Muslims

Family functioning among depressive and dissociative [conversion] patients

To campare the family functioning, level of depression, anxiety and histrionic personality traits among depressive and dissociative [conversion] patients. A cross-sectional study. The Psychiatry Unit of Government Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, on depressive anddissociative [conversion] patients admitted from January to May 2004. Purposive sampling technique was used for the assignment of 75 patients [n=75] with depressive illness and 75 patients [n=75] with dissociative [conversion] disorders groups who fulfilled International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision [ICD 10], criteria. Test package was administered individually to all the patients and scores compared for the groups. On family APGAR scale, no significant difference [t=-2.472, p=0.16] was found between the scores of the two groups. Patients with depressive illness scored high on Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression with mean score of 26.92 and on Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety with mean score of 23.45, while dissociative group scored high on Hysteria [Hy] sub-scale of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory [MMPI] with mean score of 13.17. Dysfunctional family pattern is one of the contributing factor in developing and maintaining mental illnesses like depression and dissociative [conversion] disorders

Depression: a causal factor of dementia

The present study was designed to identify the link between depression and dementia. It was hypothesized that: [1] The depressive patients are more vulnerable to dementia as compared to other mental diseases. [2] There would be a negative correlation between the long history of depression and scores on MMSE. Fifty-four dementia patients, willing to participate in the study, were selected from Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar. In-depth interview, DSM-IV and Mini Mental State Examination [MMSE] were used as instruments. Frequency distribution and Pearson Product Moment Coefficient of Correlation were applied. The results show that high percentage [66%] of the sample was suffering from depression. Further, inverse relationship between history of depression and the scores obtained on Mini Mental State Examination was found

Demographic profile of patients with epilepsy in a community clinic

To study the Demographic profile of patients with Epilepsy. A descriptive study of five hundred patients with Epilepsy was counducted in, Ahbab Hospital, [Psychiatric Epilepsy clinic] Ravi Road, Lahore. All patients presented with seizures during that period were included in the study. Their detailed history and appropriate investigations were recorded on a study proforma. Epilepsy was classified according to EEG findings. Out of a total Five hundred patients with Epilepsy who visited Ahbab Hospital majority [62.9%] were of low socio-economic status and belong to rural areas of Pakistan. Males had Epilepsy [58%] more often compared to females [42%]. The most common type was Generalized Tonic Clonic Seizure.70% of the patients came with Epilepsy only, 13.0%were having Depression and 10.1%were Mental Retardation and 4.1%had a problem of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. The results of the study conclude that Epilepsy is more common among population with low socioeconomic status in the rural areas and dominantly involves the males.43% of the subjects were suffering from Generalized Tonic Clonic Seizures. The risk factors for developing Epilepsy include a positive family history of Epilepsy. Epilepsy is an important health problem. Identification of Demographic profile in a hospital setting will lead to more opportunities to improve preventive measures and quality of life in rural areas. It will also improve knowledge among rural backgrounds and health officials on the problems associated with this disease

Errors in short-term memory: a comparison among three positional models in patients with dementia and normal subjects

The present study was meant to investigate the types of error committed by dementia patients and normal subjects during recall under three different models. For this purpose three groups of subjects [N=81] were selected. Demented patients were referred from neurological and psychiatric wards of different hospitals of Peshawar. Mini Mental State Examination [MMSE] was used to determine the intensity of dementia. The score obtained on MMSE helped in the bifurcation of the patients into two groups i.e. severe and moderate dementia. Third group [control group] was matched on age, gender, education, and socio-economic status from normal population. Indigenous lists of visual clips based on relative, absolute and temporal coding of position were used to measure the types of error. One-way ANOVA was applied and the differences in types of errors among three positional models by patients with severe and moderate dementia and normal subjects were discussed. The present research highlights four types of error which are omission, intrusion, transposition and confusion