Reliability of the ICD-10 international personality disorder examination [Urdu translation]: a preliminary study

To test the reliability and applicability of Urdu translation of the International personality disorder examination [IPDE] in a psychiatric outpatient population in Pakistan. This study was conducted at the outpatient department of Fatima Memorial Hospital Lahore from April 2012 to March 2013. Patients considered to have a personality disorder by a psychiatrist were initially screened by the IPDE screening questionnaire. Those who scored positive on screening were evaluated in a detailed interview using IPDE. Two interviewers conducted the interviews simultaneously, to ensure inter-rater reliability. For translation, permission was taken from World Health Organization. Linguistic equivalence was assessed through back- translation and conceptual equivalence through opinion of mental health experts. The final Urdu draft was obtained after incorporating modifications suggested by experts following a feasibility study. The analysis was carried out using SPSS v.20. Out of 30 enrolled patients, 25[83.3%] were females. The mean age of the sample was 28.5 +/- 6.08 years. Majority of patients had more than one personality disorder. Most prevalent personality disorder was emotionally unstable borderline type with a phi correlation of 0.831, followed by emotionally unstable impulsive type and anankastic personality disorder with phi correlations of 0.930 and 0.867, respectively, for definite cases. Correlation coefficient for dimensional scores between the two raters was 0.392 for paranoid personality disorder, 0.842 for anankastic and around 0.9 for the rest of the personality disorders, each. Urdu translation of IPDE is a reliable tool to screen and diagnose personality disorders in population of Pakistan

Study of anxiety and depression during pregnancy

To find out the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms during pregnancy. The sample of one hundred pregnant women was screened while waiting for their prenatal visit in obstetric clinic of FMH [Fatima Memorial Hospital]. They were eligible for the study if they were pregnant and giving consent. Control group [n=100] was taken from non pregnant women matched on age, education, marital status and monthly income. This was cross-sectional study and the convenience sampling [non-probability sampling] technique was used. The study was spread over the period of six months. A brief questionnaire for collecting demographic information was used. DSM-IV criteria for assessing past psychiatric illness were also used by the researcher. HADS [Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale] was used to assess anxiety and depressive symptoms. Of one hundred pregnant women 39% and 18% scored above cut-off on anxiety and depression scale respectively. Among control group the percentage for anxiety and depression was 28% and 12% respectively. Seventeen percent of pregnant women reported receiving psychiatric [pharmacological or psychotherapy] treatment for psychological issues. The T-test results showed significant difference between two groups regarding anxiety and depression. Pregnant women experience more anxiety and depression as compared to their closely matched counterparts and most of them are not being monitored during this time. More work is needed for detection, referral and treatment of anxiety/ depression during pregnancy. Clinical studies for maternal mental health and fetal consequences are also needed