ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Adolescent mental health is a concern. A high magnitude of deranged mental health conditions among adolescents is prevailing, which often gets extended into adulthood too. Hence, assessment of mental health morbidities like depression, anxiety, and stress is crucial to address them. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among school-going adolescents studying in classes IX-XII and find out its correlates among the subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 812 adolescents studying in classes IX-XII in four randomly selected schools of Haripal block of Hooghly district, West Bengal, in 2022. A complete enumeration of students in each class of the selected schools was done. Data were collected by using a pretested schedule that included standardized depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21). Descriptive statistics and a Chi-square test were applied. Regression analysis was doneto determine associations and compute the adjusted odds ratio. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. RESULTS: Overall prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress were found to be 52.3%, 47.4%, and 33.7% respectively. Subscale scores shows 16.1% and 10.8% suffered from extremely severe depression and anxiety, respectively. It was noted that these were more common among female students, the late adolescent age group (16-19 years), students having social problems in the family, and those reporting using substances. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress being high among school students indicates a significant burden of mental health disease. Effective strategies to alleviate the adverse mental health, along with early identification of disease, can help in along way.
ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: Development is an ongoing process through which an individual acquires competence to function adequately. Developmental delay is said to occur when a child fails to reach the age-appropriate anticipated milestones. This imparts long-term direct as well as indirect effects on the health of a community obviating routine measurement of its prevalence especially in high-risk populations. AIM: To find out the prevalence and correlates of developmental delay among children under two years of age in slums of Burdwan Municipality, West Bengal. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A community-based descriptive cross-sectional study. METHODS AND MATERIALS: This study was conducted between September-November 2019 among 240 study subjects selected by multistage simple random sampling. Data were collected by interviewing the respondents using a predesigned, pretested schedule. Developmental status was assessed by applying Trivandrum Developmental Screening Chart (TDSC). Chi-square test and logistic regression was done to find associations. RESULTS: Prevalence of developmental delay was 6.6%(95%CI 3.6-9.8) and proportion was more among male infants. Chi square test revealed gender (p = 0.03), mothers' education (p = 0.00), socio-economic status (p = 0.00), parity (p = 0.02), birth spacing (p = 0.01) birth weight (p = 0.00) to be significantly associated with developmental delay and multivariable analysis showed all the factors to be significant predictors except gender, parity and birth spacing. Gestational duration, maternal age at delivery, mode of delivery was not found to be significantly associated with developmental delay. CONCLUSION: Developmental delay is considerably high in the study area. A larger study using appropriate tool and follow-up may elicit the burden and associated determinants.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: COVID-19, like every other pandemic, has imposed an unprecedented threat to doctors' physical and mental health. Literature in this area is sparse. The present study has been done to explore the knowledge, attitude, and behavior of doctors regarding this pandemic and how it influences their depression, anxiety, and stress level. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This online survey has been done for 10 days. Data were collected on background characteristics, knowledge, attitude, and behavior of the respondents in a semi-structured pro forma, and psychiatric morbidity was measured by the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21. A total of 152 complete responses have been received. The data were assessed using SPSS software. RESULTS: Out of 152 study participants, 34.9% were depressed and 39.5% and 32.9% were having anxiety and stress, respectively. Significant predictors for psychiatric morbidities were experience in health sector, duty hours, use of protective measures, and altruistic coping. Multivariable logistic regression showed most of the factors to be significantly associated with depression, anxiety, and stress level. DISCUSSION: Doctors who were working during COVID pandemic have a high prevalence of psychiatric morbidity. Age and having multiple comorbidities are significant predictive factors. Adequate protective measures should be warranted. Altruistic coping and a sense of greater goal are significant among the doctor community, in this pressing time. The doctors are pushing themselves to the best of their capacity and also protecting their patients' best interest. A large-scale, multicentric study will probably give a larger picture and will guide us for better service planning and delivery.
ABSTRACT
Psychogenic dystonia is one of the most common problems encountered in movement disorder patients and accounted mostly for misdiagnosis, management confusion and treatment resistance. Psychiatric morbidities often are the culprit, hence proper psychiatric history taking is of utmost importance. Here we report one case where dystonia was the main presenting complaint of an underlying depressive episode and discuss how managing the cause alleviated the symptoms.
