Depression and Quality of Life of Parkinson’s disease patients – A hospital-based cross-sectional study

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the levels of depression among patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD), the factors influencing their levels, and determine their influence on their Quality of Life (QoL). Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at the movement disorders outpatient department, Rajiv Gandhi Government General hospital, where 50 patients with diagnosed PD were enrolled. They were interviewed for their levels of depression and QoL using respective standardized depression and QoL assessment questionnaires. Results: Patients with PD were mostly above the age of 50 and were male. Their levels of depression ranged between normal to mild and borderline depression and their QoL scores were also moderate. Among their QoL domains, the emotional well-being, and cognition of patients were found to be more affected when compared to other domains. Conclusion: The prevalence and severity of depression among patients with PD were mild, but they play an important role in determining their QoL, especially the emotional well-being and cognitive performance of patients.

Attitudes of medical and nursing students towards blood donation.

BACKGROUND: Data on the attitudes of medical and nursing students towards blood donation are scanty. Since this group is a potential but under-utilized source of blood donors, studying their attitudes could provide insights into donor-related behaviour and, hence have implications for donor recruitment programmes. METHODS: The attitudes towards blood donation and frequency of donation of 307 medical and nursing students were studied using a scale to measure affect, behaviour and cognition. RESULTS: The attitudes were found to be positive in all three scales. While the behaviour scale significantly discriminated donors from non-donors, no significant differences were observed in the affect and cognition scales. CONCLUSION: In a medically-oriented population, donors and non-donors do not differ significantly in their sentiments towards blood donation. Other social variables may account for donor behaviour which need to be studied further.

Psychiatric morbidity among dermatology inpatients.

BACKGROUND: Research on psychiatric morbidity among patients with dermatological diseases generally focuses on outpatients and questionnaire-based surveys. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and nature of psychiatric morbidity among dermatological inpatients with diagnosis being made by psychiatric interview, and ascertain whether demographic and clinical details in dermatological inpatients with psychiatric morbidity differed from those without it. METHODS: Charts of all inpatients admitted by the dermatology department between 1 January 1991 and 31 July 1995 were analysed for socio-demographic data, clinical features, treatment and course in hospital. For those patients who were referred to a psychiatrist, all records of the psychiatric consultation were obtained and analysed. RESULTS: A total of 1073 patients were admitted during the study period. Ninety-eight patients (9%) were diagnosed to have a psychiatric illness. Patients with psychiatric illness were likely to have had more admissions and longer duration of hospital stay. The most common psychiatric diagnoses were depressive episodes (34%) and adjustment disorders (29%). The highest rates of psychiatric morbidity were found among patients with chronic urticaria, exfoliative dermatitis and sexually transmitted diseases, including human immunodeficiency virus infection. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was significantly higher in those who had received long term (more than six weeks) treatment with high-dose steroids (more than 1 mg/kg body weight of prednisolone). CONCLUSION: Some dermatology inpatients have psychiatric morbidity, which affects the course of the dermatological condition as well as the duration of hospitalization. The availability of psychiatric consultation at dermatology clinics and regular liaison between psychiatrists and dermatologists are essential for appropriate management.

Sub clinical infection and the relative risk of developing leprosy: a statistical approach.

Subclinical infection in contacts of leprosy patients was identified by FLA-ABS test and Serum Antibody Competition Test (SACT). The risk of developing leprosy and the confidence intervals were worked out. The importance of expressing the risk ratio and confidence interval of the tests is brought out. This method is a useful adjunct to the routine statistical methods in epidemiological studies.