ABSTRACT
Introduction: Physical and mental issues related with loss ofsemen or "dhat" results in a disorder called as Dhat syndrome.It is a culture-bound disorder portrayed by unseemly and overthe top pain of losing semen from one's body. Aim: The aimof the study was to find the socio-demographic determinantsassociated with this disorder along with finding out variousphysical complaints and co-morbid psychiatric disorders. Thestudy also focused on evaluating the quality of life of patients.Material and Methods: 100 patients were included in thisstudy with selective sampling technique. Diagnosis of Dhatsyndrome was made according to ICD-10 DCR criteria.Socio-demographic determinants, physical complaints werenoted down. HAM-A, BDI II inventory and SF36 scales wereapplied.Results: Age less than 24 years, illiteracy, marriage andpeople living in rural area were strong factors associated withDhat Syndrome. Generalized weakness and body pain weretwo complaints which were present in all the patients. Almostall the patients had moderate to severe score on HAM-A andBECK’s II inventory. SF36 PCS and MCS showed scores lessthan 11.Conclusion: Socio-demographic variables play a pivotal rolein Dhat syndrome. Physical symptoms and mental disorderwere common amongst people suffering from Dhat syndrome.The quality of life of these patients were hampered. It is aserious entity which affects the whole body and mind. It alsodisrupts the quality of life
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Schizophrenia is a chronic severe mental illnesswhich not only affects patients but also causes significantburden and stress to the caregivers. There is definite lack ofstudies in India exploring caregiver burden and psychologicalstress. Study objective was to assess psychological stress andburden on caregivers of schizophrenic patients.Material and methods: The study sample included 52patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and their caregivers,randomly selected from the patients coming to the OPD of twotertiary care centres in Bareilly, as per inclusion and exclusioncriteria. Burden Assessment Schedule and General healthquestionnaire-12 were used for the study.Results: Our study also shows that 42.31% caregiversexperienced severe burden. Caregivers of patients with lowlevels of education reported greater burden. Parents andspouses reported moderately higher level of burden, butsiblings reported highest level of burden. Parents had greaterpsychological stress as compared to spouses and siblings.Caregivers with higher psychological stress found to haveheavier caregiving burden.Conclusion: Caregivers of schizophrenic patients sufferedfrom significant burden. It thus becomes important to planinterventions that would reduce their burden of care and thusimproving their psychological well-being.