Prevalence and determinants of Internet addiction among the students of professional colleges in the Jammu region.

Background: With ever-increasing digitization, the internet has intertwined into the daily lives of users to a large extent. It holds tremendous educational benefits to college students; however, its excessive usage can lead to addiction and even psychological morbidities. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of internet addiction and its association with various factors including depression, anxiety, and stress. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students of two professional colleges, i.e., medical and engineering colleges in the Jammu region. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was used to elicit the information regarding socio-demographic and personal details of students. Young's internet addiction scale was used to assess internet addiction, whereas the DASS 42 scale was used to measure depression, anxiety, and stress. Data thus collected were analyzed using the PSPP software. Results: A total of 480 students constituted the study population. The prevalence of internet addiction was found to be 78.7%, with a significantly higher prevalence seen among the male students in comparison to females (P < 0.005). A significantly positive correlation of internet addiction was found with depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusions: Internet addiction is significantly associated with psychopathology among the respondents. In this context, there is an urgent need to develop effective strategies for the prevention of internet addiction by promoting awareness among the students.

Comparison of multidetector computed tomographic colonography and conventional colonoscopy for detection of colorectal polyps and cancer.

BACKGROUND: Computed tomographic colonography (CTC) is a new technique for detecting colonic neoplasms. Data on the utility of this method in the Indian population are limited. METHODS: Forty-two patients with symptoms of colonic disease underwent CTC and conventional colonoscopy (CC) within one week of each other and the findings at these two investigations were compared. RESULTS: The entire colon could be evaluated in 38 patients on CTC and in 23 patients on CC. Of the 19 patients who had incomplete CC, 14 had occlusive colonic lesions. Of the 86 lesions detected on CC, 76 (88.4%) were correctly identified on CTC with regard to location and size. CTC was false negative for 10 lesions and false positive for 5 lesions in 3 patients. The sensitivity and specificity of CTC were 65% and 77%, respectively, for lesions 1-5 mm; 97% and 83% for 6-9 mm-sized lesions; and 100% and 100% for lesions 10 mm or larger. Extracolonic findings were seen in 24 of 42 patients (57%). CONCLUSIONS: CTC is reliable for detecting lesions 6 mm or larger in size. It permits evaluation of the region proximal to an occlusive growth, which is often not possible with CC.