Comparative analysis of pulmonary function in school-going adolescents: Examining the impact of depression and anxiety.

Objectives: Given the rising concern over depression and anxiety among adolescents, this study aims to investigate their potential impact on respiratory health by comparing pulmonary function test (PFT) parameters between healthy adolescents and those with either depression or anxiety or those exhibiting symptoms of both depression and anxiety.

Materials And Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a random sample of school-going adolescents aged 13-18 years from various schools in Sikkim, both males and females, were selected. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale-25, and pulmonary function was measured using a computerised spirometer-Spirolab III.

Association in and Related Psychotic Disorders: A Primary Report.

Background: Implication of infection in etiology of psychotic disorders is an area of interest.

Aim: We aimed to explore the relationship between and psychotic disorders in a preliminary study.

Materials And Methods: immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies were measured in a sample of patients with psychotic disorders, first-degree relatives (FDR), and healthy volunteers (HV) and compared.

A non-invasive method for prediction of neurodegenerative diseases using gait signal features.

The steady degeneration of neurons is the hallmark of neurodegenerative illnesses, which are, by definition, incurable. Corticobasal Syndrome (CS), Huntington's Disease (HD), Dementia, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and Parkinson's Disease (PD) are some of the common neurodegenerative diseases which has impacted millions of people, predominantly among the older population. Various computational techniques, including but not limited to machine learning, are emerging as discrimination and detection of neuro-related diseases.

Improving depression and perceived social support enhances overall quality of life among myocardial infarction survivors: necessity for integrating mental health care into cardiac rehabilitation programs.

Background: Depression and low perceived social support (PSS) have been found to deleteriously affect quality of life (QoL) among myocardial infarction (MI) survivors. The complex relationship between these variables has not been assessed. We wanted to assess first the prevalence of depression among MI survivors and whether depression mediates the effect of PSS on QoL and, second, whether the physical and social domains of QoL mediated the effect of depression and PSS on the emotional domain.

Gut microbiota and psychiatric disorders.

The impact of gut microbiota in mental health has been one of the most exciting and probably one of the most discussed topics of psychiatric research in the last decade. The gut microbiota may play an important role in the development of neuropsychiatric diseases, according to a growing body of research. Gut microbiota is a key regulator of gut-brain axis and may shape our brain physiology; thus, any change in its composition may change our behaviour due to altered psychiatric conditions.

Internalized and Perceived Stigma and Depression in Pulmonary Tuberculosis: Do They Explain the Relationship Between Drug Sensitivity Status and Adherence?

Background: Adherence to medication for tuberculosis (TB) has been found to be deleteriously affected by psychosocial issues, including internalized and perceived stigma (IPS) and depression, usually resulting in the emergence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). The objective of the study was to find the prevalence of depression among patients receiving treatment for pulmonary TB, and how stigma and depression affect the relationship between drug sensitivity status (DSS) and treatment adherence.

Method: It was a cross-sectional observational study conducted between January 2019 and July 2020 in two centers in Sikkim, India.

Lived Experiences of Wives of Persons with Alcohol Dependence Syndrome during COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: There have been reports of increasing alcohol use and domestic violence among individuals with alcohol dependence syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study assessed the experiences of domestic violence, psychological distress, and coping mechanisms used by wives of individuals with alcohol dependence syndrome (PWADS) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional institutional-based study collected data from 50 participants using the consecutive sampling method.

Assessing burden and its determinants in caregivers of chronic kidney disease patients undergoing haemodialysis.

Background: Caregivers face a lot of adversities while supporting their near ones undergoing haemodialysis, and their burden is often ignored by health professionals. The paucity of research in the Indian context has kept their needs out of sight.

Aim: To explore the level of burden in the caregivers of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing haemodialysis and to assess whether patient related variable affects the burden.

Mental health professionals as 'silent frontline healthcare workers': perspectives from three South Asian countries.

Mental health professionals across the globe foresaw the mental health impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. They have faced scarcity of trained professionals, rising morbidities, lack of protective gear, shortage of psychotropic drugs, and poor rapport building due to masking and social distancing. Amidst all, they have responded with approaches that focus on continuing mental health services to the patients already in care, education of the vulnerable people to help them cope with these stressors, and provide counselling services to patients and families affected by the pandemic.

Mental and Behavioural Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence: An Observational Study.

Background: There is overlap of symptoms in psychiatric disorders, especially in mental and behavioural disorders of childhood and adolescence. Half of all lifetime psychiatric disorders tend to arise by age 14 years and three fourths of them arise by age 24 years.

Aim: To study the various types of mental and behavioural disorders of childhood and adolescence, and to find out comorbidities within and across the types.

A novel approach to address the novel threat.

The editorial highlights the mental health initiative of the Government of Assam, India through the Monon: Assam Cares programme to deal with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Through this initiative, trained mental health professionals proactively reached to people with COVID-19 to provide psychological aid.

Profile of distress callers and service utilisation of tele-counselling among the population of Assam, India: an exploratory study during COVID-19.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected people globally by causing psychological, social, and economic chaos. The Assam Police, India started telephone helplines to address the psychological issues.

Aims: To evaluate the sociodemographic profile of the distress callers, their psychosocial concerns, the interventions provided by the service provider, and whether the service users were satisfied with the intervention(s) or not.

The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated risk factors during the initial stage among the general population in India.

Background: In the absence of treatment and unclear prognosis, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) itself, and public health measures like lockdown enforced by the government to limit the spread of the virus poses a threat to the psychological health of the general population.

Aim: To assess the psychological status of the Indian population during the initial phase of lockdown.

Method: It was a cross-sectional online survey where the questionnaire was disbursed by snowballing.