Prevalence of Psychiatric Morbidity and Alcohol use Disorders Among Adolescent Indigenous Tribals from Three Indian States.

Background: Among the Indian adolescents, the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity and alcohol use disorders (AUD) are 7.3% and 1.3%.

Association between thyroid functions, cognition, and functional connectivity of the brain in early-course schizophrenia: A preliminary study.

Background: The functional outcome of the debilitating mental illness schizophrenia (SZ) has an integral role in cognition. The thyroid hormone has a vital role in the developmental stages and functioning of the human brain.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between thyroid functions, cognition, and functional imaging of the brain in persons with SZ.

Feasibility and acceptability of the Indian Autism Screening Questionnaire in clinical and community settings.

We developed and tested the Indian Autism Screening Questionnaire (IASQ), which was reported to be reliable and valid as compared to the Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism (ISAA) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale -2 (CARS2). The present study describes the feasibility, acceptability, sociodemographic and developmental details of IASQ study participants in 5 settings- a psychiatry outpatients' clinic (n = 145), a specialised paediatric clinic (n = 24), a speciality disability centre (n = 174), a primary school (n = 41) and a government housing colony (n = 255). The IASQ could be easily administered and understood.

Improving mental ill-health with psycho-social group interventions in South Asia-A scoping review using a realist lens.

This scoping review aimed to synthesise current evidence related to psycho-social groups as part of community-based mental health interventions in South Asia. We used a realist lens to pay attention to the contexts and mechanisms supporting positive outcomes. We included studies published from January 2007 to February 2022 that: were based in communities in South Asia, included a group component, reported on interventions with a clear psychosocial component, targeted adults and were implemented by lay community health workers.

Effect of rs1108580 of DBH and rs1006737 of CACNA1C on Cognition and Tardive Dyskinesia in a North Indian Schizophrenia Cohort.

Genetic perturbations in dopamine neurotransmission and calcium signaling pathways are implicated in the etiology of schizophrenia. We aimed to test the association of a functional splice variant each in Dopamine β-Hydroxylase (DBH; rs1108580) and Calcium voltage-gated channel subunit alpha1 C (CACNA1C; rs1006737) genes in these pathways with schizophrenia (506 cases, 443 controls); Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) scores in subjects assessed for tardive dyskinesia (76 TD-positive, 95 TD-negative) and Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery (PennCNB) scores (334 cases, 234 controls). The effect of smoking status and SNP genotypes on AIMS scores were assessed using ANOVA; health status and SNP genotypes on three performance functions of PennCNB cognitive domains were assessed by ANCOVA with age and sex as covariates.

Significance of an altered lncRNA landscape in schizophrenia and cognition: clues from a case-control association study.

Genetic etiology of schizophrenia is poorly understood despite large genome-wide association data. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) with a probable regulatory role are emerging as important players in neuro-psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia. Prioritising important lncRNAs and analyses of their holistic interaction with their target genes may provide insights into disease biology/etiology.

COVID-19 vaccine confidence project for perinatal women (CCPP)-Development of a stepped-care model to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in low and middle-income countries.

Background: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (CVH) is common among perinatal women in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), but it is often unaddressed. This could be due to a lack of feasible, scalable, and acceptable interventions and models for CVH in LMICs. Our study aimed to develop a CVH intervention model that can be implemented in LMICs using existing human healthcare resources.

Subclinical psychotic symptoms in Indian adults: Application of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE).

Background: The study investigated the psychometric properties of the Community, Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE-42), a self-report instrument in Indians.

Method: CAPE-42 was translated in Hindi and tested on 312 Indian adults recruited online and through paper-pencil assessment. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to establish the factor structure of the positive, negative and depressive dimensions of CAPE-42: the bifactor model was tested to evaluate whether items converge into a major single factor defining psychotic-proneness in individuals.

A journey of holistic research and training in mental health.

My early exposure to mental illness in our community, the plight of mentally ill people and their families drove me to seek postgraduate training in psychiatry in India. I realized early on that only research could make an impact on the scale that was needed. My contacts with thoughtful scientists and mentors helped me understand that by training enthusiastic individuals - especially women, multi-focussed research could make a substantial impact and have a multiplier effect.

Comparing the Indian Autism Screening Questionnaire (IASQ) and the Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism (ISAA) with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale-Second Edition (CARS2) in Indian settings.

Unlabelled: The Indian Autism Screening Questionnaire (IASQ), derived from the Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism ISAA (the mandated tool for autism in India), is an autism screening instrument for use in the general population by minimally trained workers. While ISAA has 40 items with four anchor points, the IASQ is a 10-item questionnaire with yes/no answers. It was initially validated using the ISAA.

Genetic variations in evolutionary accelerated regions disrupt cognition in schizophrenia.

Cognition is believed to be a product of human evolution, while schizophrenia is ascribed as the by-product with cognitive impairment as it's genetically mediated endophenotype. Genomic loci associated with these traits are enriched with recent evolutionary markers such as Human accelerated regions (HARs). HARs are markedly different in humans since their divergence with chimpanzees and mostly regulate gene expression by binding to transcription factors and/or modulating chromatin interactions.

Feasibility, acceptability and evaluation of meditation to augment yoga practice among persons diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Objective: To design a meditation protocol and test its feasibility, acceptability and efficacy in conjunction with yoga training (YT) for persons with schizophrenia (SZ).

Methods: The meditation protocol consisted of Anapana (observing normal respiration) and Yoga Nidra (supine, restful awareness). In a single-blind randomised controlled trial, medicated and clinically stable outpatients diagnosed with SZ were randomised to receive treatment as usual (TAU), TAU augmented with YT or TAU augmented with meditation and yoga training (MYT) for 3 weeks (N = 145).

Stepped Care Model for Developing Pathways of Screening, Referral, and Brief Intervention for Depression in Pregnancy: A Mixed-Method Study from Development Phase.

Background: Depression in pregnancy affects nearly one in five women in low- and middle-income countries and is associated with adverse obstetric and neonatal outcome. Burden of morbidity is high, but specialized mental health resources are meager. Effective low intensity psychosocial interventions hold promise to fill the treatment gap for maternal depression.

A pilot study on effect of adjunctive transcranial direct current stimulation on symptom domains of depression in patients with depressive disorder.

Background: Depression is a highly prevalent condition and includes clusters of symptoms, namely, depressive cognition, anxiety, and visceral symptoms. Depressive symptoms often respond sub-optimally to pharmacotherapy. Adjunctive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a noninvasive brain stimulation modality, may improve depressive symptomatology.

A brief psycho-social intervention for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among perinatal women in low-and middle-income countries: Need of the hour.

COVID-19 vaccines are one of the most effective strategies for preventing COVID-19 infection, as well as the associated mortality and morbidity. Despite the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine acceptance among perinatal women is challenging in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Further, the vaccine hesitancy among perinatal women may have an impact on their children's vaccinations.

Measurement invariance of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) across six countries.

The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) is a simple and inexpensive tool for Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessments, with evidenced psychometric data from different countries. However, it is still unclear whether ASD symptoms are measured the same way across different societies and world regions with this tool, since data on its cross-cultural validity are lacking. This study evaluated the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the CARS among children with ASD from six countries, for whom data were aggregated from previous studies in India (n = 101), Jamaica (n = 139), Mexico (n = 72), Spain (n = 99), Turkey (n = 150), and the United States of America (n = 186).

Genome wide study of tardive dyskinesia in schizophrenia.

Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a severe condition characterized by repetitive involuntary movement of orofacial regions and extremities. Patients treated with antipsychotics typically present with TD symptomatology. Here, we conducted the largest GWAS of TD to date, by meta-analyzing samples of East-Asian, European, and African American ancestry, followed by analyses of biological pathways and polygenic risk with related phenotypes.

Psychometric properties of a screening tool for autism in the community-The Indian Autism Screening Questionnaire (IASQ).

Introduction: Currently available screening questionnaires for Autism spectrum disorders were tested in developed countries, but many require additional training and many are unsuitable for older individuals, thus reducing their utility in lower/ middle- income countries. We aimed to derive a simplified questionnaire that could be used to screen persons in India.

Methods: We have previously validated Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism (ISAA), that is now mandated for disability assessment by the Government of India.