Depression among tuberculosis patients attending a DOTS centre in a rural area of Delhi: A cross-sectional study

Background: Studies have shown that the prevalence of psychiatric disorders, particularly depression, is high among tuberculosis (TB) patients, and may adversely affect treatment compliance. A person suffering from TB can develop depression in due course of time owing to a number of factors, namely the long duration of treatment for TB, stigmatization faced by the patient due to the disease and lack of family support to name a few. Objectives: The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression and its correlates among TB patients enrolled at a Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS) center in a rural area of Delhi. Methods: The study was a DOTS center-based, cross-sectional study, among 106 patients of pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB, above 18 years of age. An interviewer-administered questionnaire in Hindi was used to collect basic sociodemographic data and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 was used for detecting depression. Those with a score of 10 or more were considered to be suffering from depression. Data analysis was done using SPSS licensed version 20. Chi-square was used to test for association between qualitative variables, and a P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 106 patients participated in the study, of which 61 (57.5%) were males. The median age was 30 years (inter-quartile range 24� years). Depression was found to be present in 25 (23.6%) participants. A higher proportion of patients with depression were unemployed currently, and also belonged to middle or lower class (P < 0.05). Depression was not found to be associated with religion, gender, marital status, HIV status, presence of diabetes, DOTS category nor with the phase of treatment. Conclusion: Depression among TB patients is common, affecting almost one in four TB patients. Physicians and DOTS providers should have a high index of suspicion for depression when assessing TB patients.

Study on knowledge, experiences and barriers to mammography among working women from Delhi.

INTRODUCTION: Mammography is not a popular screening tool for deducting breast cancer in India although regular screening is associated with reduced mortality from breast cancer. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to find out knowledge, experiences and barriers to mammography among working women of Delhi. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cross‑sectional descriptive study was conducted from October 2012 to March 2013 among working women from Delhi, India. The study was conducted as a part of ongoing training workshops organized for women on early detection of breast cancer. Total of eight such programs were organized and were attended by a total of 439 women. Each participant got a self‑administered questionnaire to fill. Data was entered in Microsoft Excel and analysis was done using Statistical product and service solutions (SPSS) version 21 (IBM). RESULTS: A total of 439 participants were included in the study. 230 (52.4%) of the women were more than 40 years of age. Only four participants (1%) had not heard about the term mammography before. Less than half (45.1%) of the participants knew correctly the purpose of a mammogram. Only 11.8% of the women knew correctly about the age of getting the first baseline mammogram. Knowledge of frequency of getting the mammogram was also low only 95 (21.6%) correctly knew about it. Only 59 (11.9%) correctly responded that one needs to go to an imaging facility located either in a hospital or elsewhere to get mammogram done. Main experience shared by the women regarding mammography was that 42 (95.45%) did not know anything about the procedure when they went for this investigation. Out of a total of 230 women over 40 years of age only 38 (16.5%) had ever got a mammogram carried out. There is a statistically significant association between education status and practice of mammography (P < 0.05). There were 18 women with family history of breast cancer out, of which 10 (55.5%) had got mammography carried out. 192 out of 230 (83.5%) women over 40 years of age had never got a mammogram done. Main reason 74 (38.5%) cited for this was that they did not know/were not aware they were supposed to go for mammography. CONCLUSION: As knowledge and utilization of mammography is low among women, there is a need to have a multipronged strategy to inform women about mammography and bring about a behavioral change along with having a formal national level screening guidelines for breast cancer early detection.

Assessment of knowledge about malaria among patients reported with fever: a hospital-based study.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Knowledge about malaria, attitude and health seeking behaviour of fever patients attending Medicine Out Patient Department at Safdarjang Hospital, New Delhi were studied from June to August 2003. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey comprising 200 fever cases was done with prestructured and pretested questionnaire. Data on sociodemographic profile, history of fever, health seeking behaviour, etc were recorded. RESULTS: About 83% of fever cases did not approach the doctor even after three days of onset of fever symptom, 25.5% tried self medication and 20.5% approached chemists for treatment. Knowledge about causes and prevention of malaria was found to be inadequate in the study subjects. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Knowledge about malaria is poor even in persons residing in urban localities and proper health education is required for successful control of malaria. Information, education and communication activities are indicated to create awareness among the community.

A study of malnutrition among children aged 6 months to 2 years from a resettlement colony of Delhi.

Nutritional status of 1661 children aged 6 months to 2 years who attended the Well Baby Clinic of UHC Gokulpuri, Delhi during the year 2000 was studied. 60.7% of them were malnourished. Undesirable practices of discarding the colostrum, not exclusively breast feeding the child till at least 4 months of age, delayed weaning, dilution of top milk, use of bottle and nipple for feeding the children are still widely prevalent.

A study of pediculosis capitis among primary school children in Delhi.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among primary school children of four of the government run schools of Delhi during July-October 2001. Out of a total of 940 study subjects studied 156 (16.59%) were found to be infested with head louse. Significantly higher proportions of girls (20.42%) were found to be infested as compared to boys (13.86%). 65.38% of those infested were aware of the infestation. Those who shared both bedding and comb showed a statistically higher significance as compare to others. Manual removal of head louse and nits was practiced by 69.60% of those aware of the infestation. Majority had knowledge of transmission of head louse by comb/brush, 66.08% had knowledge about control of head louse infestation spread by manual removal 7.34% mentioned other means like kerosene oil and lime powder. Since head louse infestation is a common problem of school going children both parents and teachers along with the students should be taught how to recognize the infestation. Also school health teams should be responsible for treatment and prevention of louse infestation besides carrying our other school health service functions.

Life style and morbidity profile of geriatric population in an urbans community of Delhi.

A cross-sectional study was carried to find out the lifestyle pattern and morbidity profile of geriatrics residing in urban community of Vikram Nagar, Delhi. Women constituted 56.25% and men 43.75% of a total of 128 study subjects. Hindus were 89.06% and Sikhs 10.93%. Age group of 60-75 years accounted for most of the study population. 85% of the subjects complained of one or more health problems. 90.62% of them suffered from dental problems. A significantly higher proportion of women suffered from problems of locomotion/joints and anemia as compared to men whereas genitourinary problems were higher in men as compared to women. 42.55 of the women and 30.76% of the men were obese. Current smokers constituted 15.62% of the women and 30.76% of the men were obese. Current smokers constituted 15.62% of the population whereas 30.35% of the men were current consumers of alcohol. 12.5% used tobacco. As low as 10.15% of the population engaged in regular physical activity. 55.46% of the subjects were vegetarian. 22.65% suffered from disturbed sleep pattern. Smoking showed statistically significant association with hypertension and respiratory tract diseases. Physical activity showed association with obesity and disorder of locomotion. Behavior and lifestyle modification in the form of primordial prevention and counseling of the high risk groups should be carried to improve the quality of life of the aged.