Assessment of supernatural attitude toward mental health among tribal and non-tribal populations.

Background: In India, only about 10% of persons with psychiatric illnesses receive evidence-based treatments. Stigma, mistrust in allopathic medicine, allegiance toward faith healers, cultural and traditional practices, and beliefs are some of the major hindrances to the treatment of mentally ill patients. Aim: To assess supernatural attitudes toward mental health among tribal and non-tribal populations. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 subjects were included in the study after informed consent, 50 of whom were tribal and 50 non-tribal. All were required to fill a self-constructed proforma, the Supernatural Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ), and the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form (ATSPPH-SF). The scales were scored, compiled, and statistically analyzed. Results: The tribal and non-tribal subjects were well-matched on socio-demographic variables. The score of SAQ was significantly higher in the tribal group as compared to the non-tribal group. On the ATSPPH-SF, the scores of the two groups were not significant. Conclusion: Even though the tribal populations of India hold a higher supernatural attitude toward mental illnesses as compared to the non-tribal populations, their treatment-seeking attitude remains unaffected.

Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Prenatal Yoga Among Women with High-Risk Pregnancies.

This study sought to evaluate attitudes and knowledge about prenatal yoga and to investigate barriers and facilitators to yoga participation in high-risk pregnant women receiving prenatal care in an academic tertiary care center. We surveyed a convenience sample of women receiving prenatal care through the Maternal-Fetal Medicine practice at Brigham and Women's Hospital. We classified participants as yoga-experienced or yoga-naive depending on self-report. We compared differences between the two groups using the appropriate nonparametric tests and compared bivariate odds ratios for survey results using logistic regression. Of the 100 respondents, 53% had practiced yoga previously. Women with yoga experience were older (age 34.9 ± 5.6 vs. 31.0 ± 6.0 years, p = 0.004), more likely to be college graduates (94% vs. 68%, p = 0.002), and more likely to be White (77% vs. 47%, p = 0.002) than women without previous yoga experience. Previous yoga experience was associated with participant agreement that yoga was safe during their current pregnancy (odds ratio 5.9, 95% confidence interval 1.9-17.7). Of the women surveyed, 56% agreed that they would like to attend a prenatal yoga class. In a multivariate model including age, race, and education, previous yoga experience was the only significant predictor associated with willingness to participate in prenatal yoga classes during current pregnancy (odds ratio 3.1, 95% confidence interval 1.1-8.6). Prior yoga experience was the strongest predictor of willingness to attend a prenatal yoga class in our population. Our results suggest that women with high-risk pregnancies who may benefit from prenatal yoga interventions but lack prior yoga experience may need additional education to facilitate participation.

Agenesis of internal jugular vein a cause for concern.

Internal jugular vein is one of the major contributors to the venous drainage from the intracranial structures. Neck dissections which necessitates ligation of internal jugular vein leads to significant alteration of cerebrospinal fluid pressures in the range of three times for unilateral ligation to five times in cases of bilateral ligation. Agenesis of internal jugular vein merits concern prior to central venous cannulation and ligation during radical neck dissection for metastatic nodes in head and neck cancers.

Branchio-oculo-facial syndrome.

Branchio-oculo-facial syndrome (BOFS) is a very rare autosomal dominant disorder with incomplete penetrance and variable expression; with phenotypic variation ranging from mild to severe forms, involving eye, ear, oral and craniofacial structure. We report three members of one family, showing great variability in its phenotypic expression and review the recent literature.