Prevalence and factors associated with digital addiction among students taking university entrance tests: a GIS-based study.

BACKGROUND: The surge in digital media consumption, coupled with the ensuing consequences of digital addiction, has witnessed a rapid increase, particularly after the initiation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite some studies exploring specific technological addictions, such as internet or social media addiction, in Bangladesh, there is a noticeable gap in research focusing on digital addiction in a broader context. Thus, this study aims to investigate digital addiction among students taking the university entrance test, examining its prevalence, contributing factors, and geographical distribution using GIS techniques. METHODS: Data from a cross-sectional survey were collected from a total of 2,157 students who were taking the university entrance test at Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. A convenience sampling method was applied for data collection using a structured questionnaire. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS 25 Version and AMOS 23 Version, whereas ArcGIS 10.8 Version was used for the geographical distribution of digital addiction. RESULTS: The prevalence of digital addiction was 33.1% (mean score: 16.05 ± 5.58). Those students who are attempting the test for a second time were more likely to be addicted (42.7% vs. 39.1%), but the difference was not statistically significant. Besides, the potential factors predicted for digital addiction were student status, satisfaction with previous mock tests, average monthly expenditure during the admission test preparation, and depression. No significant difference was found between digital addiction and districts. However, digital addiction was higher in the districts of Manikganj, Rajbari, Shariatpur, and Chittagong Hill Tract areas, including Rangamati, and Bandarban. CONCLUSIONS: The study emphasizes the pressing need for collaborative efforts involving educational policymakers, institutions, and parents to address the growing digital addiction among university-bound students. The recommendations focus on promoting alternative activities, enhancing digital literacy, and imposing restrictions on digital device use, which are crucial steps toward fostering a healthier digital environment and balanced relationship with technology for students.

Food insecurity and suicidal behaviors among Bangladeshi university students: a multi-institutional cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Suicidal behaviors among students pose a significant public health concern, with mental health problems being well-established risk factors. However, the association between food insecurity (FIS) and suicidal behaviors remains understudied, particularly in Bangladesh. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between FIS and suicidal behaviors among Bangladeshi university students. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling was conducted between August 2022 and September 2022. Information related to socio-demographic, mental health problems, FIS and related events, and suicidal behaviors were collected. Chi-squared tests and multivariable logistic regression models, both unadjusted and adjusted, were employed to examine the relationship between FIS and suicidal behavior. SETTING: Six public universities in Bangladesh. PARTICIPANTS: 1,480 students from diverse academic disciplines. RESULTS: A substantial proportion of respondents experienced FIS, with 75.5% reporting low or very low food security. Students experiencing FIS had significantly higher prevalence of suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts compared to food-secure students (18.6% vs. 2.8%, 8.7% vs. 0.8%, and 5.4% vs. 0.3%, respectively; all p<0.001). In addition, students who have personal debt and participate in food assistance programs had higher risk of suicidal behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: This study sheds light on the association between FIS and suicidal behaviors among university students. Targeted mental health screening, evaluation, and interventions within universities may be crucial for addressing the needs of high-risk students facing FIS.

Prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems among adolescents in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Emotional and behavioral problems among adolescents is a global concern. Previous studies conducted in Bangladesh have highlighted the importance to effectively prevent and address emotional and behavioral problems among adolescents to improve their psychological well-being. Despite these efforts, there remains limited research specifically addressing emotional and behavioral problems, conduct disorders, hyperactivity/attention disorders, and peer relationship problems among adolescents in Bangladesh in terms of age, gender, grade, and location. To address this knowledge gap, the present study aimed to comprehensively investigate the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems among school-going adolescents in Bangladesh. METHODS: The study employed a two-stage stratified cluster sampling technique to recruit a total of 1496 participants. The socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, such as age, gender, grade, location, birth order, family type, monthly family income, and parental education were collected. Emotional and behavioral problems were assessed using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), while the chi-square test and logistic regression were used to analyze the data with STATA software. RESULTS: The prevalence of emotional disorder was 9.09% (7.73 - 10.65%). The rate was 21.72% (19.70 - 23.88%) for conduct disorder, 6.21% (5.09 - 7.55%) for hyperactivity, and for peer-relationship problem, the rate was 15.10% (13.37 - 17.01%) among adolescents. Overall, gender, grade, location, monthly family income, and parental education were significantly associated with emotional and behavioral problems. More specifically, adolescent girls (OR = 2.90 for the emotional disorder), grade (8th: OR = 2.07, 9th: OR = 1.95, for the emotional disorder), urban residents (OR = 2.46, for conduct disorder; OR = 2.29, for hyperactivity; OR = 2.03, for peer-relationship problem), poor monthly family income (OR = 2.84, for peer-relationship problem) significantly increased the risk of psychiatric morbidity. CONCLUSION: The study highlights the need for school-based intervention programs to address adolescent emotional and behavioral problems. By targeting vulnerable individuals, these programs can effectively reduce mental health problems among adolescents.

Depression in Ugandan caregivers of cancer patients: The role of coping strategies and social support.

BACKGROUND: Palliative care services involve the psychological care of the caregivers of cancer patients. Psychological conditions, especially depression among caregivers, distort caregiving roles; thus, it can increase a patient's psychological suffering. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of depression and associated coping strategies among caregivers of cancer patients at a rural cancer care facility. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was among 366 caregivers of cancer patients. The data was collected using a pretested questionnaire, where the symptoms of depression were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 at a cutoff of 10 out of 27. The coping strategies were assessed based on the Brief-coping orientation to problems experienced Inventory. Logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with depression. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 39.01 (±11.50) years; most were females (60.38%). The prevalence of depression was 8.2%. The identified factors associated with increased likelihood of depression were coping strategies: active coping (aOR = 1.55, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.05-2.28, p = 0.026), denial (aOR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.20-2.19, p = 0.001), and humor (aOR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.11-1.84, p = 0.005). However, coping with positive reframing reduced the likelihood of depression (aOR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.52-0.94, p = 0.019). There was no significant association between depression and social support. CONCLUSION: The lower prevalence of depression reported in this study than in the prior Ugandan studies reflects that depression severity among caregivers in rural settings is less prevalent because of the fewer care-associated burdens they experience. Therefore, establishing palliative care near the patients can be a protective factor for caregivers' depression. In addition, the role of social support and coping strategies in depression might be helpful in mental health strategies.

Involvement and burden of informal caregivers of patients with mental illness: the mediating role of affiliated stigma.

BACKGROUND: The fear and lack of understanding of mental illness can lead to stigma. The stigma of mental illness affects not only individuals who suffer from it, but also the caregivers. Stigma among caregivers can lead to delay in seeking care, poor adherence to treatment and a high risk of relapse. Caregivers of patients with mental illness are at an increased risk of distress due to the burden to stigma and caregiving burden. An increase in caregivers' burden can lead to a reduction in caregivers' involvement. There is a relationship between caregivers' involvement, burden, and affiliated stigma. The present study examined the mediating role of affiliated stigma in the relationship between caregivers' burden and involvement among informal caregivers of hospital-admitted patients with mental illness in Uganda. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 428 informal caregivers (mean age: 39.6 years [SD±14.6]; females = 62.1%). Information was collected regarding sociodemographic characteristics, affiliated stigma, and the involvement and burden of informal caregivers. RESULTS: The findings indicate that affiliated stigma serves as a full mediator between the caregiver's roles and involvement (ß=15.97, p<0.001). Being female increased the caregivers' burden of caregiving (ß= -0.23, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The findings in the present study suggest that intervention to address affiliated stigma among caregivers of patients with mental illness should be incorporated into mainstream mental health care to reduce the caregiving burden.

Depression among Bangladeshi diabetic patients: a cross-sectional, systematic review, and meta-analysis study.

AIM: This study aims to assess the prevalence and associated factors of depression among diabetic patients in a cross-sectional sample and perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the extant studies to date. METHODS: A face-to-face semi-structured interview of established diabetic patients was conducted in four districts of Bangladesh between May 24 to June 24, 2022, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) was used to detect depression. PRISMA guidelines were followed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis, with Bangladeshi articles published until 3rd February 2023. RESULTS: The prevalence of depression among 390 diabetic patients was 25.9%. Having secondary education and using both insulin and medication increased the likelihood of depression, whereas being a business professional and being physically active reduced the likelihood of depression. The systematic review and meta-analysis indicated that the pooled estimated prevalence of depression was 42% (95% CI 32-52%). Females had a 1.12-times higher risk of depression than males (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.99 to 1.25, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Two-fifths of diabetic patients were depressed, with females at higher risk. Since depression among diabetic patients increases adverse outcomes, improved awareness and screening methods should be implemented to detect and treat depression in diabetic patients.

A phubbing scale tested in Bangladesh, Iran, and Pakistan: confirmatory factor, network, and Rasch analyses.

BACKGROUND: Phubbing, a phenomenon of ignoring others in face-to-face conversations due to mobile phone use, can be assessed using a Phubbing Scale (PS). Recently, the PS has been shortened into an eight-item version, the PS-8. However, psychometric properties of the PS-8 among Iranian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani individuals remain understudied, especially using advanced psychometric testing, such as Rasch and network analyses. METHODS: Participants residing in Iran, Bangladesh, and Pakistan (n = 1902; 50.4% females; mean age = 26.3 years) completed the PS-8 and the Internet Disorder Scale-Short Form (IDS9-SF) via an online survey. Network analysis was used to examine if PS-8 items were differentiated from IDS9-SF items; confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the factor structure and measurement invariance of the PS-8; Rasch modeling was used to examine the dimensionality of the PS-8 and differential item functioning (DIF). RESULTS: Network analysis showed that PS-8 items were clustered together with a distance to the IDS9-SF items. The CFA results supported a two-factor structure of the PS-8, and the two-factor structure was found to be invariant across countries and women and men. Rasch model results indicated that the two PS-8 subscales were both unidimensional and did not display DIF across countries and gender/sex. CONCLUSION: The PS-8 is a feasible and robust instrument for healthcare providers, especially mental health professionals, to quickly assess and evaluate individuals' phubbing behaviors.

Death Anxiety Among Pakistani HCWs: The Role of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Positive Religious Coping Strategy.

Background: The mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs) has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. To address this, spirituality and religious coping mechanisms have been suggested as a way to maintain well-being and reduce anxiety levels. Additionally, vaccination has been shown to play an essential role in lowering anxiety levels, including death anxiety. However, there is a lack of evidence on how positive religious coping strategies and COVID-19 immunization affect death anxiety levels. To fill this gap, this study uses a Pakistani HCWs sample. Methods: This study collected cross-sectional data from 389 HCWs on socio-demographics, positive religious coping strategies, vaccine acceptance, and death anxiety. Hypothesis testing was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Partial Least Squares (PLS) by adopting the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique. Results: The results showed that the positive religious coping strategy and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine reduced death anxiety among HCWs in Pakistan. HCWs practicing the positive religious coping strategy and vaccine acceptance had lower levels of death anxiety symptoms. Thus, the positive religious coping strategy has a direct effect on reducing death anxiety. Conclusion: In conclusion, COVID-19 immunization positively affects individual mental health by reducing death anxiety. Vaccines protect individuals from COVID-19 infection, providing a sense of security that reduces the chance of death anxiety among HCWs attending to COVID-19 patients.

Suicidal behaviours among Ugandan university students: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Suicide remains the leading cause of death among university students often resulting from multiple physical and psychological challenges. Moreover, suicidal behaviours among students appear to have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic according to some studies. OBJECTIVE: To explore the prevalence and associated factors for suicidal ideation, suicide plans, and suicide attempts among university students in Uganda. METHODS: Cross-sectional study data were collected from May to September 2021 from 540 undergraduate university students in south-western Uganda (363 males, mean age 23.3 years). Questions from the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) were used to assess suicidal ideation, while other bespoke questions were used to assess suicide plans and attempts. The survey also investigated the suicide attempt/plan method, location of the suicidal activity, and reason for not enacting the suicide plan. Three independent regression analyses were used to determine the factors associated with different forms of suicidal behaviours. RESULTS: The prevalence of past-year suicidal behaviours was 31.85% for suicidal ideation, 8.15% for suicide plans, and 6.11% for suicide attempts. Having a chronic physical medical condition increased the likelihood of having all forms of suicidal behaviours. Suicidal ideation was associated with having difficulty paying university tuition fees. However, being in the fifth year of university education, and feeling satisfied with current academic grades reduced the likelihood of suicidal ideation. Individuals feeling satisfied with academic performance appeared to be a protective factor against having suicide plans. Suicide attempts were associated with having a history of sexual abuse and having difficulty paying university tuition fees. The most common method used for attempted suicide was a drug overdose, and the most common location for attempted suicide was their homes. CONCLUSION: University students have prevalent suicide behaviours especially among students with a chronic physical medical condition, a history of sexual abuse, and problems paying university tuition fees. Based on the present study, for students at risk, universities should provide appropriate interventions such as life skills education and suicide prevention techniques.

Gambling-related suicide in East African Community countries: evidence from press media reports.

BACKGROUND: Gambling activities and associated mental health problems have become a topic of increased concern globally. Many individuals with a severe gambling disorder have gambling-related suicidality. However, no study has explored gambling-related suicide in East African Community (EAC) countries. The present study investigated the press media reporting of gambling-related suicide cases from EAC countries. METHODS: As there is no established suicide database in that region, media reports were utilized to collect gambling-related suicide data. Gambling-related suicide case reports were searched for in EAC countries' press media websites using Google. After removing duplicates, a total of 18 suicides were found. RESULTS: The victims were all males aged 16 to 40 years. The most prevalent reason for the death was university students who had used their university tuition fees for gambling and losing the money (n = 4/17). All the suicide deaths were in Kenya (10/18), Uganda (7/18), and Tanzania (1/18). Betting on soccer was the most common type of gambling reported (n = 11/15), and hanging was the most used mode of suicide (n = 10/16). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the press media reports, 18 males were identified as having carried out gambling-related suicides. The countries with the most widespread opportunities to gamble had more gambling-related suicides, although the number of suicides was very small.

Antenatal depression among women with gestational diabetes mellitus: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is quite prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, and has been proposed to increase the risk of depression. There is only a prior study assessing antenatal depression among the subjects with GDM in the Bangladesh, which leads this study to be investigated. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms and potential associations among pregnant women diagnosed with GDM. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 105 pregnant women diagnosed with GDM over the period of January to December 2017 in 4- hospitals located in two different cities (Dhaka and Barisal). A semi-structured questionnaire was developed consisting of items related to socio-demographics, reproductive health history, diabetes, anthropometrics, and depression. RESULTS: Mild to severe antenatal depression was present in 36.2% of the subjects (i.e., 14.3%, 19% and 2.9% for mild, moderate and severe depression, respectively). None of the socio-demographic factors were associated with depression, but the history of reproductive health-related issues (i.e., abortion, neonatal death) and uncontrolled glycemic status were associated with the increased risk of depressive disorders. CONCLUSIONS: GDM is associated with a high prevalence of depressive symptoms, which is enhanced by poor diabetes control. Thus, in women presenting with GDM, screening for depression should be pursued and treated as needed.

A network analysis of the Internet Disorder Scale-Short Form (IDS9-SF): A large-scale cross-cultural study in Iran, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The Internet Disorder Scale-Short Form (IDS9-SF) is a validated instrument assessing internet disorder which modified the internet gaming disorder criteria proposed in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). However, the relationships between the nine items in the IDS9-SF are rarely investigated. The present study used network analysis to investigate the features of the IDS9-SF among three populations in Bangladesh, Iran, and Pakistan. Data were collected (N = 1901; 957 [50.3%] females; 666 [35.0%] Pakistani, 533 [28.1%] Bangladesh, and 702 [36.9%] Iranians) using an online survey platform (e.g., Google Forms). All the participants completed the IDS9-SF. The central-stability-coefficients of the nine IDS9-SF items were 0.71, 0.89, 0.96, 0.98, 0.98, 1.00, 0.67, 0.79, and 0.91, respectively. The node centrality was stable and interpretable in the network. The Network Comparison Test (NCT) showed that the network structure had no significant differences among Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Iranian participants (p-values = 0.172 to 0.371). Researchers may also use the IDS9-SF to estimate underlying internet addiction for their target participants and further explore and investigate the phenomenon related to internet addiction. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03284-8.

Water, sanitation, hygiene and waste disposal practices as COVID-19 response strategy: insights from Bangladesh.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global emergence, and the absence of a proven vaccine or medicine has led to the implementation of measures to prevent and control the spread of the virus. Wearing protective equipment like mask and gloves, washing hands via soap, frequent use of antiseptic solution and maintaining social distance are being applied globally to reduce the transmission rate. Therefore, this study was intended to investigate water, sanitation and hygienic (WASH) behaviour, protective equipment use and their disposal practices among Bangladeshi residents amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the study aims, data were collected mainly via an online survey and analysed through a set of statistical tools including T test, one-way ANOVA and principal component analysis (PCA). This study found that almost 89.80% of the respondents reported to know about the COVID-19 and its preventive measures. WASH status of the respondents is found quite good, where 94.60% stated to have available potable water, 99% have improved toilet facilities, 95% wash their hands via soap, and 79.80% clean their house and toilets by antiseptic solutions properly. Moreover, nearly 94.50% and 54.80% people reported to use face mask and hand gloves, respectively, but the disposal practice of these protective equipment is inappropriate. More than 50% of people reported disposing of their used mask, gloves and tissue with other household wastes, which is alarming for public health and environmental perspective. Moreover, the WASH and waste disposal practices of the marginal people were found very poor and not at a satisfactory level. The results of statistical analysis focused on WASH and waste disposal practices as well as the factors which influence these practices. It is found that gender, occupation, area of residence, and level of education of the participants mainly influence the WASH and waste disposal practices. It is expected that this study exposed the necessity to introduce proper infectious waste management policy and also the increase in awareness level among mass people regarding the preventive measures of COVID-19 infection to combat against disease transmission and environmental pollution. Supplementary Information: The online version of this article (10.1007/s10668-020-01151-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Unobtrusive monitoring of behavior and movement patterns to detect clinical depression severity level via smartphone.

The number of individuals with mental disorders is increasing and they are commonly found among individuals who avoid social interaction and like to live alone. Amongst such mental health disorders is depression which is both common and serious. The present paper introduces a method to assess the depression level of an individual using a smartphone by monitoring their daily activities. The time domain characteristics from a smartphone acceleration sensor were used alongside a vector machine algorithm to classify physical activities. Additionally, the geographical location information was clustered using a smartphone GPS sensor to simplify movement patterns. A total of 12 features were extracted from individuals' physical activity and movement patterns and were analyzed alongside their weekly depression scores using the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire. Using a wrapper feature selection method, a subset of features was selected and applied to a linear regression model to estimate the depression score. The support vector machine algorithm was then used to classify the depression severity level among individuals (absence, moderate, severe) and had an accuracy of 87.2% in severe depression cases which outperformed other classification models including the k-nearest neighbor and artificial neural network. This method of identifying depression is a cost-effective solution for long-term use and can monitor individuals for depression without invading their personal space or creating other day-to-day disturbances.

Replisome stall events have shaped the distribution of replication origins in the genomes of yeasts.

During S phase, the entire genome must be precisely duplicated, with no sections of DNA left unreplicated. Here, we develop a simple mathematical model to describe the probability of replication failing due to the irreversible stalling of replication forks. We show that the probability of complete genome replication is maximized if replication origins are evenly spaced, the largest inter-origin distances are minimized, and the end-most origins are positioned close to chromosome ends. We show that origin positions in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome conform to all three predictions thereby maximizing the probability of complete replication if replication forks stall. Origin positions in four other yeasts-Kluyveromyces lactis, Lachancea kluyveri, Lachancea waltii and Schizosaccharomyces pombe-also conform to these predictions. Equating failure rates at chromosome ends with those in chromosome interiors gives a mean per nucleotide fork stall rate of ∼5 × 10(-8), which is consistent with experimental estimates. Using this value in our theoretical predictions gives replication failure rates that are consistent with data from replication origin knockout experiments. Our theory also predicts that significantly larger genomes, such as those of mammals, will experience a much greater probability of replication failure genome-wide, and therefore will likely require additional compensatory mechanisms.

Determinants of food safety knowledge and practices among food handlers in Bangladesh: An institution-based cross-sectional study.

The engagement of a large number of people in big-scale cooking raises the danger of food contamination due to incorrect handling, whether deliberate or unintentional. Contamination during large-scale production poses a serious hazard to consumer health and has significant financial implications for a nation. This study aimed to investigate the food safety knowledge and practices of institutional food handlers in Bangladesh, considering the growing concern surrounding this issue and the lack of available information on foodborne illnesses related to institutions. In addition, the study aimed to determine the factors influencing both knowledge and practices. A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to September 2022, involving 408 institutional food handlers. The sample size was determined using Cochran's formula, and data was collected through purposive sampling. The participants were interviewed in person and completed a pilot-tested questionnaire. A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the factors related to food safety knowledge and practices. The majority of participants were female (71.3%) and aged between 26 and 35 (mean age 34.53 ± 9.06 years). They were most knowledgeable about hand hygiene and food separation but lacked knowledge about foodborne pathogens and food storage. Thawing food at room temperature was the most inappropriate practice (86%). The mean scores for knowledge and practice were found to be 16.11 ± 2.76 on a 26-point scale (61%), and 9.59 ± 2.07 on a 15-point scale (64%), respectively. Rural food handlers, those with higher education, working more than 10 h per day, and being familiar with HACCP, had higher knowledge. Food handlers aged 18 to 25, with higher income, working in private institutions, having food safety authority knowledge, actively engaging in food safety training, working more than 10 h per day, and having a positive health perception, had better food safety practices.The results of this study reinforce the notion that institutional food handlers would benefit from enhanced exposure to food safety interventions, active participation in training sessions, and strict adherence to food hygiene regulations in their food handling knowledge and practices.