Salivary and serum estrogen level assessment in oral lichen planus patients and its correlative analysis with OLP and stress.

Background: Lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin and mucous membrane with higher predilection seen in the female population. Oral lichen planus (OLP) has been associated with various etiological factors, such as stress, hormonal imbalance, and immunological variation. The purpose of this study was to assess serum and salivary estrogen (E2) levels in OLP patients and correlate them with stress levels. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate serum and salivary estrogen levels in female patients with OLP, along with the assessment of stress and its correlation with estrogen levels. Methods: A total of 78 females, 39 clinically diagnosed with OLP and 39 healthy females, were included in the study as the case and control groups, respectively. 2 ml each of salivary and serum samples was obtained from each participant to measure the estrogen levels. Stress levels in the study group patients were assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used for intergroup comparisons. Results: Significantly higher serum estrogen levels with higher DASS-21 and PSS scores were noted in patients with OLP. Overall, significant positive correlations were observed between salivary E2 and serum E2 (r = 0.361, P = 0.001). There was a positive correlation between salivary and serum E2 and DASS score (r = 0.410, P < 0.001, and r = 0.768, P < 0.001, respectively), serum/salivary E2 and PSS score (r = 0.745, P < 0.001, and r = 0.410, P < 0.001, respectively), and DASS score and PSS score (r = 0.878, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Estrogen can be used as a useful biomarker for OLP in the future. Salivary samples can prove to be an accurate and feasible alternative to serum estrogen level determination. We also suggest that OLP patients must be given supportive psychological treatment for improved life quality and disease management.

Transcranial direct current stimulation as early augmentation in adolescent obsessive compulsive disorder: A pilot proof-of-concept randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is proven to be safe in treating various neurological conditions in children and adolescents. It is also an effective method in the treatment of OCD in adults. AIM: To assess the safety and efficacy of tDCS as an add-on therapy in drug-naive adolescents with OCD. METHODS: We studied drug-naïve adolescents with OCD, using a Children's Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (CY-BOCS) scale to assess their condition. Both active and sham groups were given fluoxetine, and we applied cathode and anode over the supplementary motor area and deltoid for 20 min in 10 sessions. Reassessment occurred at 2, 6, and 12 wk using CY-BOCS. RESULTS: Eighteen adolescents completed the study (10-active, 8-sham group). CY-BOCS scores from baseline to 12 wk reduced significantly in both groups but change at baseline to 2 wk was significant in the active group only. The mean change at 2 wk was more in the active group (11.8 ± 7.77 vs 5.25 ± 2.22, P = 0.056). Adverse effects between the groups were comparable. CONCLUSION: tDCS is safe and well tolerated for the treatment of OCD in adolescents. However, there is a need for further studies with a larger sample population to confirm the effectiveness of tDCS as early augmentation in OCD in this population.

Corrigendum: Measuring the Use of End-of-Life Symptom Relief Medications in Long-Term Care Homes-a Qualitative Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.5770/cgj.27.712.].

Enablers and Barriers for End-of-Life Symptom Management Medications in Long-Term Care Homes: A Qualitative Study.

OBJECTIVES: Long-term care (LTC) homes provide personal and medical care 24/7 to individuals unable to live at home due to illness or disability and are often the final place of care and death for their residents. Therefore, LTC homes are tasked with providing quality end-of-life care, often requiring injectable symptom management medications to relieve distressing symptoms (eg, pain). In this study, we aimed to understand the enablers and barriers to prescribing and administering end-of-life symptom management medications in LTC homes. DESIGN: Qualitative study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: From February 2021 to December 2022, we conducted virtual semi-structured interviews with health care providers (physicians and nurses) who worked in Ontario LTC homes and family caregivers of residents who died in LTC. METHODS: We analyzed interview transcripts using thematic analysis. RESULTS: We identified 4 themes related to factors that may impact the prescribing and administering of medications for end-of-life symptom management: (1) identifying the end-of-life period and symptoms, (2) communication among health care providers and between health care providers and family caregivers, (3) health care provider competency with end-of-life medications, and (4) resources for LTC staff to support medication prescribing and administrating. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: In LTC, there are distinct challenges in the prescribing and administrating of end-of-life symptom management medications. Our findings can be used to inform interventions aimed at improving end-of-life care for LTC residents. However, these interventions require buy-in and investment from the provincial government and the LTC sector.

Changes in End-of-Life Symptom Management Prescribing among Long-Term Care Residents during COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: To examine changes in the prescribing of end-of-life symptom management medications in long-term care (LTC) homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study using routinely collected health administrative data in Ontario, Canada. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: We included all individuals who died in LTC homes between January 1, 2017, and March 31, 2021. We separated the study into 2 periods: before COVID-19 (January 1, 2017, to March 17, 2020) and during COVID-19 (March 18, 2020, to March 31, 2021). METHODS: For each LTC home, we measured the percentage of residents who died before and during COVID-19 who had a subcutaneous symptom management medication prescription in their last 14 days of life. We grouped LTC homes into quintiles based on their mean prescribing rates before COVID-19, and examined changes in prescribing during COVID-19 and COVID-19 outcomes across quintiles. RESULTS: We captured 75,438 LTC residents who died in Ontario's 626 LTC homes during the entire study period, with 19,522 (25.9%) dying during COVID-19. The mean prescribing rate during COVID-19 ranged from 46.9% to 79.4% between the lowest and highest prescribing quintiles. During COVID-19, the mean prescribing rate in the lowest prescribing quintile increased by 9.6% compared to before COVID-19. Compared to LTC homes in the highest prescribing quintile, homes in the lowest prescribing quintile experienced the highest proportion of COVID-19 outbreaks (73.4% vs 50.0%), the largest mean outbreak intensity (0.27 vs 0.09 cases/bed), the highest mean total days with a COVID-19 outbreak (72.7 vs 24.2 days), and the greatest proportion of decedents who were transferred and died outside of LTC (22.1% vs 8.6%). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: LTC homes in Ontario had wide variations in the prescribing rates of end-of-life symptom management medications before and during COVID-19. Homes in the lower prescribing quintiles had more COVID-19 cases per bed and days spent in an outbreak.

Experience of patients on methadone maintenance treatment receiving take-home methadone doses during COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-site study from India.

BACKGROUND: Methadone take-home doses for opioid dependence treatment are strictly regulated due to diversion and overdose concerns, so patients must visit the clinic daily for dispensing. This was also done in India until the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdown restriction compelled take- home dispensing of methadone. This study examined experience of patients who received take- home methadone during COVID-19 pandemic in India. METHODS: Observational, cross-sectional design. We contacted all consenting methadone centres in India during the lockdown and selected those that provided take-home doses for the study. Patients who received daily methadone before the lockdown and take-home doses after were interviewed using a study-specific questionnaire. RESULTS: The study had 210 participants. Take-home methadone was dispensed for 2.5 days on average in each dispensing. When taking methadone at home, 3.3% split their dose 25% took less than the prescribed dose to save it for a rainy days, and 3.3% reported an overdose episode. Adherence improved in 58.6% participants after take-home methadone. Participants perceived many benefits from take-home methadone such as reduced hospital visits and travel time to collect methadone, improvement in work, and financial savings. About 54.3% participants reported storing their take-home doses safely, and 1.9% reported that their family consumed methadone by mistake. CONCLUSIONS: Take-home methadone was found to be beneficial to most participants in terms of time saved and improved productivity. Preconceived concerns of providing take-home methadone in terms of its overdose, diversion, or accidental ingestion by others are not commonly seen when individuals are provided take-home doses of methadone.

Measuring the Use of End-of-Life Symptom Relief Medications in Long-Term Care Homes-a Qualitative Study.

Background: At the end of life, individuals may experience physical symptoms such as pain, and guidelines recommend medications to manage these symptoms. Yet, little is known about the symptom management long-term care (LTC) residents receive at the end of life. Our research team developed a metric-whether residents receive one or more prescriptions for an end-of-life symptom management medication in their last two weeks-to explore end-of-life care for LTC residents. This qualitative study aimed to inform the refinement of the end-of-life prescribing metric, including the acceptability and applicability to assess the quality of a resident's symptom management at end-of-life. Methods: We conducted 14 semi-structured interviews with Ontario health-care providers (physicians and nurses) who work in LTC homes and family caregivers of residents who died in LTC. Interviews were conducted virtually between February 2021 and December 2022, and were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: We identified three major themes relating to perceptions of the metric: 1) appropriateness, 2) health-care provider applicability, and 3) caregiver applicability. Participants noted that the metric may be appropriate to assess end-of-life care, but noted important nuances. Regarding applicability, health-care providers found value in the metric and that it could inform their practice. Conversely, caregivers found limited value in the metric. Conclusion: The proposed metric captures a very specific aspect of end-of-life care-whether end-of-life medications were prescribed or not. Participants deemed that the metric may reflect whether LTC homes have processes to manage a resident's end-of-life symptoms with medication. However, participants thought the metric could not provide a complete picture of end-of-life care and its quality.

Counting what counts: assessing quality of life and its social determinants among nursing home residents with dementia.

BACKGROUND: Maximizing quality of life (QoL) is a major goal of care for people with dementia in nursing homes (NHs). Social determinants are critical for residents' QoL. However, similar to the United States and other countries, most Canadian NHs routinely monitor and publicly report quality of care, but not resident QoL and its social determinants. Therefore, we lack robust, quantitative studies evaluating the association of multiple intersecting social determinants with NH residents' QoL. The goal of this study is to address this critical knowledge gap. METHODS: We will recruit a random sample of 80 NHs from 5 Canadian provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario). We will stratify facilities by urban/rural location, for-profit/not-for-profit ownership, and size (above/below median number of beds among urban versus rural facilities in each province). In video-based structured interviews with care staff, we will complete QoL assessments for each of ~ 4,320 residents, using the DEMQOL-CH, a validated, feasible tool for this purpose. We will also assess resident's social determinants of QoL, using items from validated Canadian population surveys. Health and quality of care data will come from routinely collected Resident Assessment Instrument - Minimum Data Set 2.0 records. Knowledge users (health system decision makers, Alzheimer Societies, NH managers, care staff, people with dementia and their family/friend caregivers) have been involved in the design of this study, and we will partner with them throughout the study. We will share and discuss study findings with knowledge users in web-based summits with embedded focus groups. This will provide much needed data on knowledge users' interpretations, usefulness and intended use of data on NH residents' QoL and its health and social determinants. DISCUSSION: This large-scale, robust, quantitative study will address a major knowledge gap by assessing QoL and multiple intersecting social determinants of QoL among NH residents with dementia. We will also generate evidence on clusters of intersecting social determinants of QoL. This study will be a prerequisite for future studies to investigate in depth the mechanisms leading to QoL inequities in LTC, longitudinal studies to identify trajectories in QoL, and robust intervention studies aiming to reduce these inequities.

Palliative End-of-Life Medication Prescribing Rates in Long-Term Care: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Medications are often needed to manage distressing end-of-life symptoms (eg, pain, agitation). OBJECTIVES: In this study, we describe the variation in prescribing rates of symptom relief medications at the end of life among long-term care (LTC) decedents. We evaluate the extent these medications are prescribed in LTC homes and whether prescribing rates of end-of-life symptom management can be used as an indicator of quality end-of-life care. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study using administrative health data. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: LTC decedents in all 626 publicly funded LTC homes in Ontario, Canada, between January 1, 2017, and March 17, 2020. METHODS: For each LTC home, we measured the percent of decedents who received 1+ prescription(s) for a subcutaneous end-of-life symptom management medication ("end-of-life medication") in their last 14 days of life. We then ranked LTC homes into quintiles based on prescribing rates. RESULTS: We identified 55,916 LTC residents who died in LTC. On average, two-thirds of decedents (64.7%) in LTC homes were prescribed at least 1 subcutaneous end-of-life medication in the last 2 weeks of life. Opioids were the most common prescribed medication (overall average prescribing rate of 62.7%). LTC homes in the lowest prescribing quintile had a mean of 37.3% of decedents prescribed an end-of-life medication, and the highest quintile mean was 82.5%. In addition, across these quintiles, the lowest prescribing quintile had a high average (30.3%) of LTC residents transferred out of LTC in the 14 days compared with the highest prescribing quintile (12.7%). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Across Ontario's LTC homes, there are large differences in prescribing rates for subcutaneous end-of-life symptom relief medications. Although future work may elucidate why the variability exists, this study provides evidence that administrative data can provide valuable insight into the systemic delivery of end-of-life care.

From Cultural Safety to Anti-Racism: Reflections on Addressing Inequities in Palliative Care.

The purpose of palliative care is to ease the suffering of individuals with a serious and often life-limiting illness throughout the course of their disease by providing holistic care that considers the physical, spiritual, and psychosocial dimensions of health and well-being. Research shows that a palliative approach to care is cost-effective for the healthcare system and results in improved quality of life for patients and their loved ones. However, it is well-documented in the literature that structurally vulnerable populations have greater difficulty accessing equitable and culturally safe palliative care. Several domains are identified as contributing factors to the disparities seen in the literature, including systemic racism, cultural differences around death and suffering, and language barriers. Although Canada has had a national palliative care framework since 2018, ongoing issues of access and equity continue to disproportionately impact certain groups, including racially marginalized, immigrant, and low-income communities. In this commentary, successes and ongoing gaps in providing culturally safe and anti-racist palliative care are explored. In these proposed interventions, we advocate for a palliative approach to care that is grounded in equity, justice, and human rights.

Altered white matter integrity in euthymic children with bipolar disorder: A tract-based spatial statistical analysis of diffusion tensor imaging.

Pediatric Bipolar Disorder (BD) is a serious mental illness that affects children and adolescents, characterized by episodes of mania, depression, and mixed episodes. Recent studies have suggested that abnormalities in the white matter (WM) may be a contributing factor. The neuropathogenesis of BD in children is not well-described, and research in this area is limited. Euthymic phase is a period in which clinical symptoms are present but not severe enough to significantly impact mood and daily behavior. In order to better understand the WM changes associated with BD in children, this study utilized Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), to investigate alterations in WM microstructure. 20 confirmed euthymic BD children (aged 7-16) and 20 typically developing children were included in the study. DTI scans were obtained using a 3 T Magnetom Skyra and were analyzed using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) to examine changes in fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivity (AD), radial diffusivity (RD), and mean diffusivity (MD). Results showed that compared to the healthy control group, the euthymic BD group exhibited increased FA, AD, RD, and MD values in several brain regions, including the thalamus, precentral corticospinal tract, and superior longitudinal fasciculus. Conversely, decreased values were observed in the body of the corpus callosum and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. These findings suggest that alterations in WM microstructure are a hallmark of pediatric bipolar disorder. These findings provide important insights into the brain changes associated with pediatric bipolar disorder and open the door for new avenues of research.

Mental health outcome in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: An observational analysis from North Indian tertiary care hospital.

Aim: The study investigate the severity of perceived stress and wide domains of psychiatric symptoms reported on initial screening in hospitalized patients of COVID-19 with a second aim to determine the role of sociodemographic factors and coping styles in the hospitalized patients of COVID-19. Method: Total 224 patients of COVID-19 infection, hospitalized in various isolation facilities were assessed via web-based self-reported questionnaires on perceived stress scale, brief cope inventory, and DSM-5 crosscutting level-1 questionnaire. Results: Majority of the patients reported moderate level of stress followed by mild and severe. Depression and Anxiety symptoms were most common psychopathologies though the patients have reported greater severity in various domains of psychiatric symptoms. Coping styles explains most of variance (64.8%) of the perceived stress. Similarly total PSS scores, coping styles, COVID-19 status and sociodemographic factors contributed significantly to the variance of all psychiatric symptoms. Conclusion: Factors like female gender, being married, belonging to nuclear families, service class and urban domicile are the significant factors determining higher risk of stress and developing more psychopathologies. Furthermore, coping styles used by the patients have a greater moderating effect on mental health symptoms and their perceived stress which can be a major area for interventions to reduce the mental health morbidities.

Sensory Processing in Children and Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The aim is to assess the sensory processing difficulties in children and adolescents with ADHD. METHODS: In all, 38 ADHD children of the age group 6-14 years and 34 age- and gender-matched typically developing controls were included in the study. Sensory processing was assessed on Child Sensory Profile-2. The child behavior checklist and Weiss functional impairment rating scale were applied to assess behavioral problems and functional impairments, respectively. RESULTS: A significantly higher sensory processing difficulties were seen in children with ADHD than typically developing controls. There were positive correlations between the scores of Child sensory profile 2 with internalizing (with Sensitivity p = .036, Avoiding p = .001, and Auditory p = .029) and externalizing T scores (with Seeking p = .031, Movement p = .025, and Visual p = .018) of CBCL and also with scores of Weiss functional impairment rating scale (with Seeking p = .001, Sensitivity p = .019, and Registration p = .045). CONCLUSIONS: Sensory problems were common in children with ADHD and add to the functional impairments.

Psychiatric Comorbidity, Psychosocial Problems, and Functioning of People Who Inject Opioids: An Observational Study.

Background: Injecting drug use (IDU) is a growing concern in India. This problem may coexist with other psychiatric disorders. The psychiatric comorbidity in IDUrs affects the psychosocial functioning of this population. This study aimed to assess psychiatric comorbidities, psychosocial problems, and global functioning of people who inject opioids. Methods: This cross-sectional study included opioid-dependent individuals with a history of injecting opioids who visited an outpatient clinic for buprenorphine maintenance treatment. The patients were assessed by SCID-I and SCID-II for Axis-I and Axis-II psychiatric disorders, respectively. The diagnosis was confirmed according to DSM-IV-TR. Moreover, the assessment of psychosocial and environmental problems was done according to Axis-IV of DSM-IV. Functioning was assessed using the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF). Substance use severity was also assessed using Addiction Severity Index (ASI). Findings: A total of 100 participants were included in the study. All participants were male, and the majority (63%) were in the age range of 18-40 years with the mean age of 36.96 (SD=10.12). Moreover, 76% of the participants had psychiatric comorbidity. Mood disorder (28.95%), anxiety disorder (13.16%), any personality disorder (27.63%) were the most common comorbidities. The results also revealed psychosocial and environmental problems were significantly higher in participants with comorbidity and their global functioning was poor. Conclusion: Psychiatric comorbidities are quite common and are associated with various psychosocial and environmental problems. Early identification and interventions for comorbid conditions along with community-based psychosocial rehabilitation should be considered for better outcomes.

Utilization of Point-of-Care Ultrasound in a Specialist Palliative Care Team Across Multiple Care Settings: A Retrospective Chart Review.

Background: Technological advancements have rapidly increased the use of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) across various medical disciplines, leading to real-time information for clinicians at the bed side. However, literature reveals scant evidence of POCUS use in palliative care. The objective of this study was to examine the use of POCUS in a specialist palliative care setting. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted from January 2018 to June 2019 in Brampton, Canada, to evaluate characteristics of patients for whom POCUS was utilized. Patients were identified through pre-existing logs and descriptive information was collected from electronic health records, including demographic information, life-limiting diagnosis, patient assessment location, diagnosis made with POCUS, and, if applicable, volume of fluid drained. Results: We identified 126 uses of POCUS in 89 unique patients. Sixty-two patients (69.7%) had a cancer diagnosis, with patients most commonly suffering from gastrointestinal, lung, and breast pathologies. Sixty-one POCUS cases (48.4%) were in the outpatient setting. Eighty-one POCUS cases (64.3%) revealed a diagnosis of ascites and 21 POCUS cases (16.7%) revealed a diagnosis of pleural effusion. Other diagnoses made with POCUS included bowel obstruction, pneumonia, and congestive heart failure. During the study period, 52 paracentesis and 7 thoracentesis procedures were performed using POCUS guidance. Conclusion: We identified multiple indications in our specialist palliative care setting where POCUS aided in diagnosis/management of patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Further studies can be conducted to identify the potential benefits in symptom burden, patient and caregiver satisfaction, and health care utilization in palliative care patients receiving POCUS.

Altered functional connectivity in children with ADHD while performing cognitive control task.

Response inhibition is one of the crucial cognitive domains that exhibit deficit in children with ADHD. To further elucidate it, this study examines the task-based functional-connectivity in children with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). We acquired the fMRI data of 16 unmedicated children with ADHD and 16 typically developing (TD) children who performed the flanker task. MVPA and seed-based connectivity analysis was performed to identify the abnormal connectivity pattern across the whole brain. MVPA revealed that six important regions, namely the right IFG, right SMA, bilateral precentral gyrus, left DLPFC, and left cerebellum, had abnormal connectivity in children with ADHD while they performed the cognitive control task. Out of these six regions, four were further used for whole-brain seed-based functional connectivity analyses, which revealed patterns of significantly altered connectivity across multiple regions. Signal intensities changes were also extracted to perform BOLD- reaction time (RT) correlation analysis, that suggest positive correlation between left DLPFC and right IFG. Overall, the results suggest that children with ADHD are unable to endure high cognitive control demand. Our findings highlight the utility of analyzing brain connectivity data in identifying the abnormal connectivity in children with ADHD.

A Clinical Response Team Providing Support to Long-Term Care Homes with COVID-19 Outbreaks in Eastern Ontario-a Cohort Study.

Background: The greatest impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada has been on long-term care facilities which have accounted for a large majority of the mortality seen in this country. We developed a clinical response team to perform mass assessment and provide support to long-term care facilities in Eastern Ontario with large outbreaks in the hope of reducing the impact of the outbreaks. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of all residents of LTC facilities supported by our multidisciplinary clinical response team. We collected data about the timing of the outbreak and our deployment, as well as the total number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, and measured the correlation between the timing of our deployment and the observed mortality rate. Results: Our clinical team was deployed to 14 long-term care facilities, representing 719 cases and 243 deaths (mean ± standard error of mortality 34% ± 4%). Our team was deployed a mean ± standard error of 16 ± 2 days after the declaration of an outbreak. There was a significant correlation between an earlier deployment of our clinical team and a lower mortality rate for that outbreak (Pearson's r = 0.70, p < .01). Interpretation: This retrospective, uncontrolled study of a non-standardized intervention has many potential limitations. However, the data suggest that timely deployment of our clinical response team may improve outcomes in the event of a large outbreak. This clinical team may be useful in future pandemics.

Psychosocial functioning among current noninjecting opioid users: Is there any difference between methadone maintenance treatment and treatment as usual?

Background: Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) have a significant problem in psychosocial functioning domains, which are not systematically studied in India. This study aimed to evaluate the psychosocial functioning in current noninjecting opioid users on Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) versus Treatment as Usual (TaU: Chlordiazepoxide, Zolpidem, Trazodone, Tramadol, Tapentadol, and Buprenorphine). Materials and Methods: It is a cross-sectional study on patients of current noninjecting OUD on MMT or TaU for at least in the past month. Comorbidities and illness severity were assessed with the help of Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview 7.0.2 and World Health Organization-The Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test 3.0, respectively. Social and occupational functioning assessment scale (SOFAS), WHO Quality of Life (WHOQoL-BREF), and Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8) assessed the sociooccupational functioning and QoL and client satisfaction. A total of 67 participants (37 on MMT and 30 on TaU) were included in the study. Results: A significant difference between the two groups (MMT better than TaU) was based on SOFAS scores, CSQ-8, and WHOQoL-BREF. In the TaU group, there was a significant negative correlation between risk of addiction severity with sociooccupational functioning (r = -0.5; P = 0.0046), physical health (r = -0.48; P = 0.0087) and social relationship (r = -0.47; P = 0.0087) domain of QoL. In the MMT group, the association between risk of addiction severity with sociooccupational functioning, domains of QoL, and client satisfaction were insignificant. Conclusion: Sociooccupational Functioning, Client Satisfaction, and QoL of patients maintained on MMT are better than those on TaU.

Burden of care and quality of life in caregivers of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder which is increasing across the globe. The disorder in children not only creates burden of care in caregivers but also leads to impaired quality of life of families. OBJECTIVE: To study the burden of care and quality of life in caregivers of children and adolescents with ASD. METHODOLOGY: Cross sectional study conducted in Child and Adolescent psychiatry outpatient services at a government centre in north India between September 2014 to August 2015. The sample consisted of 40 caregivers of children with Autism. Mean age of the caregiver's were 34.72 ± 6.32 years. Burden of care and quality of life were measured by Burden Assessment Schedule (BAS) and World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument, Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire respectively. RESULTS: Mean burden of care on BAS was 71.73 ± 8.62 indicating quite a high degree of burden on the caregivers of ASD. Significantly higher burden was reported by caregivers belonging to low income families and caregivers of children in age group 6-12 years. A positive correlation was observed between severity of autism and burden of care in caregivers. The study also found that as the severity of symptom increases the QoL in caregiver worsens. CONCLUSION: Caregivers of children with ASD suffer from high burden of care and impaired QoL.