Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms and Its Association with Religiosity and Spiritual Intelligence Among Adults in Rural Puducherry, India: A Community-Based Study.

Depression is a serious mental health problem globally, and its multifactorial origin and interconnections with spiritual intelligence are yet to be explored. Spiritual intelligence and religiosity are distinct concepts but share a collective goal of connecting to the divine force. This cross-sectional study (March 2021-September 2022) in rural Puducherry, India, aimed to find out the prevalence of depression and its association with spiritual intelligence and religiosity. Out of the 381 participants, 14.4% reported signs of depression, and individuals without depressive symptoms showed high levels of religious engagement and subjective religiosity. Those with low spiritual intelligence reported more depressive symptoms (15.4%) compared to those with moderate levels (3.4%). The findings highlight a significant depression burden in rural areas, emphasising the potential roles of spiritual intelligence and religiosity in mental health among diverse populations, especially the elderly.

Distribution and reference values of peripheral perfusion index in neonates from population-wide screening.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral perfusion index (PPI) is useful in a variety of neonatal settings. Currently, available reference values are from small numbers and highly variable. METHODS: We sought to generate reference values of PPI by analysing previously collected data from newborns who underwent mandated universal pulse oximetry and PPI screening from 2018 to 2021 using uniform protocol and equipment. Q-Q plots and boxplots were used to visualise distributions. Kernel density estimation for heaped and rounded data was used to estimate percentiles of the distributions. RESULTS: Data from 388 205 newborns who underwent universal pulse oximetry screening in the first week of life were used for this analysis. Pre and postductal values showed a non-normal distribution and skewed to the left, the former had a thicker tail with more extreme values. Minor, but statistically significant differences were seen in the PPI values from day 1 to 7. Median preductal PPI (2.77, IQR:1.83-3.93) was significantly higher than postductal (2.38 IQR: 1.41-3.55) (p<0.01). PPI values increased with weight and boys had higher PPI. Kernel estimates of the percentiles in the overall sample and subgroups for gender and weight have been provided for preductal and post-ductal values. CONCLUSION: This study, based on the largest available dataset, provides reference values for PPI in newborns. A significant influence of gender and birth weight on PPI values in newborns has been identified. Future research on understanding the influence of age, sex, birth weight, gestational age, ambient temperature and genetic factors on PPI is recommended.