Sexual Orientation Change Efforts Among LGBT+ People of Kerala: Prevalence, Correlates, and Mental Health Aspects.

Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE) have been reported worldwide and have adverse psychiatric consequences. However, no data are available for India or Kerala. We assessed the prevalence of SOCE, its characteristics, and mental health aspects among LGBT+ individuals in Kerala. This cross-sectional survey used snowball sampling. An online questionnaire collected sociodemographic information and history and characteristics of SOCE. Religiosity and SOCE-associated distress were evaluated using 6-point Likert scales. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) screened for depressive symptoms; its ninth question assessed death wishes and self-harm thoughts. Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) screened for anxiety symptoms. Participants' (n = 130) mean age was 26.80 ± 7.12 years. Most common biological sex (63.1%) and gender identity (50.8%) were male, and sexual orientation was gay(42.3%). Prevalence of SOCE was 45.4%. In SOCE group, 39% reported very severe distress. SOCE was most commonly self-prompted (47.5%), performed through psychotherapy (28.8%), and performed by doctors (28.8%). SOCE group had significantly higher religiosity scores (t = 2.61, p = .01). Among cisgender men, 48.48% had SOCE history, against 28.57% among cisgender women (χ2 = 3.19, p = .07). SOCE is highly prevalent among the LGBT+ community in Kerala, with high associated distress. Multi-level approaches are necessary to mitigate this problem.

Erectile Dysfunction in Alcohol Use Disorder and the change in erectile function after one month of abstinence.

OBJECTIVE: The association between alcohol use and erectile dysfunction (ED) has not been explored adequately. The aim of this study is (i) to determine the prevalence of ED in patients with Alcohol use disorder (AUD), (ii) the association of ED with sociodemographic and clinical variables, (iii) the association between severity of drinking and sociodemographic and clinical variables, and (iv) the assess the change in ED after one month of abstinence from alcohol. METHODS: 203 consecutive patients were recruited into the study after taking written informed consent. Sociodemographic data was collected using a proforma and ED was assessed using International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5). The patients were also followed up after 1 month of abstinence to assess the change in erectile function. RESULTS: The prevalence of ED was 68.5%. Out of the 203 subjects, 28.1% had mild ED, 24.1% had mild to moderate ED, 9.9% had moderate ED and 6.4% had severe ED. Significant association were seen between ED and age, marital status, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, total duration, and severity of drinking. A significant association was seen between severity of drinking and age, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, alcoholic liver disease, tobacco use and duration of drinking. The improvement in ED after 1 month abstinence was found to be significant. CONCLUSIONS: ED is a common problem in patients with AUD. Routine assessment of sexual functioning is warranted in patients with AUD and the information that ED improves with abstinence can provide an impetus to change.

Palliative Psychiatry for Patients With Severe and Persistent Mental Illness: A Survey on the Attitudes of Psychiatrists in India Compared to Psychiatrists in Switzerland.

Objectives: Palliative psychiatry is a new approach for the care of patients with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) which systematically considers biological, psychological, social, and existential factors of care. To assess the attitudes of psychiatrists in India toward palliative psychiatry for patients with SPMI and to compare these to the attitudes of psychiatrists in Switzerland. Methods: In an online survey, data from 206 psychiatrists in India were collected and compared with data from a previous survey among 457 psychiatrists in Switzerland. Results: Psychiatrists in India generally considered it very important to prevent suicide in SPMI patients (97.6%). At the same time, they considered it very important to reduce suffering (98.1%) and to ensure functionality in everyday life (95.6%). They agreed that palliative psychiatry is important for providing optimal care to SPMI patients without life-limiting illness (79.6%) and considered palliative psychiatry as indicated for patients with SPMI (78.2%). By contrast, curing the illness was considered very important by only 39.8 % of respondents. Relative to psychiatrists in Switzerland, psychiatrists in India were significantly more concerned about preventing suicide and less willing to accept a reduction in life expectancy, even at the expense of quality of life in patients with severe and persistent schizophrenia and recurrent major depressive disorder. At the same time, they were significantly more likely to advocate palliative psychiatry. Conclusion: Most of the participating psychiatrists in India agreed that palliative psychiatry can be indicated for patients with SPMI. The comparison with psychiatrists in Switzerland highlights the need to take account of cultural differences in future studies of this kind. In summary, this study shows the potential of palliative psychiatry as a genuine biopsychosocio-existential approach which systematically integrates biological, psychological, social, and existential factors of care.

Age at Onset of Alcohol Use and Alcohol Use Disorder: Time-trend Study in Patients Seeking De-addiction Services in Kerala.

BACKGROUND: Declining age at onset of alcohol consumption over years has been one of the alarming findings in the epidemiology of alcoholism. The study was done to examine whether there was a decline in the age at onset of alcohol use and use disorder in subjects categorized as birth cohorts over the last 60 years seeking de-addiction services from a teaching hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A time-trend study, based on data collected from records, was done among 700 randomly selected subjects seeking de-addiction services. The study was done in a Government Medical College. Besides birth year, family history of alcohol use disorder and psychiatric comorbidity were the main independent variables studied. Trend was tested by linear regression. RESULTS: There was a significant linear decline in the age at onset of alcohol use and use disorder. The mean age at onset of alcohol use and alcohol use disorder declined from 24 to 17 years and 46 to 21 years, respectively, from the pre-1950 birth cohort to the post-1985 birth cohort. Surprisingly, there was a plateau for mean age at onset of alcohol use during 1960s. The trend was significant even after adjusting for variables related to age at onset of alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: The trend of decreasing age at onset of alcohol use and alcohol use disorder over time has policy implications. Further studies are needed for exploring mediating or causal factors for the decline in the age at onset of alcohol use and use disorder.

Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among cancer patients - hospital-based, cross-sectional survey.

AIM: To study the prevalence of Psychiatric disorders in cancer patients and to find out the factors associated with Psychiatric disorders in Cancer Patients. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Department of Radiotherapy, Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, cross sectional survey design was used. METHODS AND MATERIAL: Adult patients (18 years of age and above), having a diagnosis of carcinoma were selected by consecutive sampling method.A questionnaire which included back ground data, socio economic variables, treatment variables like type of malignancy, exposure to radiation & chemotherapy prior to the evaluation and current treatment, co occurring medical illness & treatment and past & family history of psychiatric illness was used to collect data. Delirium rating scale and MINI International neuropsychiatric interview were used to assess Psychiatric disorders and delirium. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Chi square and logistics regression tests were used for analysis. RESULTS: Of the 384 assessed, 160(41.7%) had psychiatric disorders. Adjustment disorders were seen in 22.6%. 10.9% of subjects had major depressive disorder. Thus a total of 33.5% of patients had a diagnosis of either anxiety or depressive disorder. Proportion of patients having delirium was 6.5%. Hypomania was seen in small (1.6%) of patients. Multivariate analysis for various parameters for psychiatric disorders showed that age, past history of chemotherapy, past history of radiotherapy, & surgical treatment of carcinomas are significant predictors of psychiatric disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatric disorders are seen in a significant proportion of Psychiatric patients.