Non-communicable diseases and their impact on depression, anxiety, and stress among the geriatric population residing in old age homes in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are most prevalent among the elderly population. Mental illness and chronic disease conditions are of utmost significance when considering their implications on various aspects such as well-being, quality of life, cost of treatment, and longevity of the affected individuals. There is a paucity of data from India to assess the prevalence of NCDs and their relation to depression, anxiety, and stress among the elderly population. Aim: The present study aims to determine the prevalence of NCDs and their relationship with depression, anxiety, and stress (DASS) among the geriatric population that resides in senior citizen homes (Old age homes) in Chennai. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the elderly population in old age homes located in Chennai. The research was carried out through offline methods during the period of January 2023 to April 2023. A total of 311 participants were involved in this study who were aged 60 and older. DASS 21 was used to study depression, anxiety, and stress. Results: The overall prevalence of depression was 84.2%, anxiety was 49.2%, and stress was 55.9% among the study participants. The findings of the study show that there is a statistically significant association, the odds of diabetes were 2 times higher (OR- 2.082, 95% CI: 1.225-3.888), the presence of hypertension was nearly 4.1 times higher (OR- 4.116, 95% CI: 2.110-8.030) and the odds of the presence of visual impairment were nearly 1.8 times higher (OR-1.810, 95% CI: 0.976-3.357) in developing the symptoms of depression. Conclusion: Screening of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, etc. for DASS among the elderly population is recommended at regular intervals, as elderly people are considered to be the most vulnerable age group population, worldwide.

A cross-sectional study to assess the magnitude of depression among young adults at selected higher educational institutions in Tamil Nadu, India: A study protocol.

BACKGROUND: One in ten young adults aged 20 to 24 years was diagnosed as suffering from DSM-IV disorder with associated impairment. Depression is a major challenge to public health around the world. The main aim of this project is to estimate the burden of depression among young adults and this is the first kind of study in nature that tends to establish a depression prevention resource center for young adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study will be conducted among 6922 young adults. A simple random sampling strategy will be used to obtain the study sample. The semi-structured tool will be used to obtain the result. Descriptive statistics and frequency percentages will be determined for categorical variables. Mean, median, and range will be calculated along with standard deviations (SD) and interquartile range (IQR). Percentage prevalence will be calculated for each categorical variable with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The P-value of <0.05 will be considered as statistically significant. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed and the questionnaires were translated into Tamil (for local relevancy), and back translated into English. Data regarding socio-demographic and mental health-related information, such as coping ability, problem-solving, personal history, academic performance, and treatment history will be collected. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study was authorized by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), School of Public Health, SRMIST, and Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, with the IEC Protocol Number: P0/2020/10/02. The ethics committee evaluated and rated the methods and tools used to assess depression among young adults.

Prevalence of viral hepatitis infection in India: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, Viral Hepatitis can be comparable to the big three communicable diseases: tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and malarial infections. The main purpose of this study was to summarize the prevalence of viral Hepatitis in India from peer-reviewed articles published from February 2000 to February 2021. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a systematic search on Science Direct, Scopus, Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and other open access journals. We evaluated all relevant papers that looked into the prevalence of viral Hepatitis systematically. Finally, 28 studies on viral Hepatitis published from February 2000 to February 2021 have been selected. These studies have been conducted across the northern, southern, central, eastern, and western regions of India. RESULTS: Twenty-eight full-text publications were obtained and evaluated consisting of 45,608 research participants. Hepatitis A was found to range from 2.1% to 52.5%. Hepatitis B was found in a wide range of individuals, ranging from 0.87% to 21.4% of the population. Hepatitis C was found to range from 0.57% to 53.7%. The majority of the children were affected by hepatitis A, and 47.4% of third-trimester pregnant mothers were affected by hepatitis E. Diabetes, hospital admission, history of jaundice, history of surgeries, and heterosexual contact were the leading modes of acquiring HBV and HCV infections. As a result of its great magnitude, this disease poses a severe threat to the national healthcare system. CONCLUSION: Effective public health measures are urgently needed to minimize the burden of viral Hepatitis and eliminate the disease.

The burden of non-communicable diseases: A scoping review focus on the context of India.

The mortality rate of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) contributes more in low-income and middle-income countries, also among individuals with lower socioeconomic status in high-income countries, making NCDs a big hurdle to minimizing global and national health disparities. Among 55 million fatalities worldwide in 2019, NCDs accounted for about 41 million (71%) deaths. The purpose of this scoping review was to comprehend the available literature on the burden of NCDs in India. This review included the studies that have been published between the period of 2009-2020. For this review, 18 full-text articles have been selected. A preliminary search was done to obtain articles from the search engines such as PubMed, Google Scholar, web of science, and Scopus. Our scoping review was focused on five major NCDs which are cardiovascular, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and stroke. In 2019, around 17.9 million individuals died from cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is accounting for 32% of all deaths. As compared to Chandigarh and Jharkhand (0.12 million and 0.96 million, respectively) Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra (4.8 million and 9.2 million, respectively) have a higher percentage of the population affected by diabetes. In India, stroke is the fifth-significant cause of disability and the fourth-leading cause of fatality, which is accounting for 3.5 percent of all disabilities. India should construct a higher-level coordinating framework and devise an overarching policy or strategy tailored to NCDs. To limit risk factor exposure, it is necessary to emphasize health promotion and preventive actions.

Well-being, familial risk, and transfusion interval in thalassemia-affected families: A two-step cluster analysis.

BACKGROUND: Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder which is one of the common genetic disorders among children that is increasing worldwide. AIM AND OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify clustering patterns among thalassemia-affected families based on their well-being, transfusion interval, and risk factors using two-step cluster analysis (TCA). METHODS: The study design is a descriptive, analytical cross-sectional study. The study sample consisted of 125 thalassemia children along with either one of the parents who referred to a thalassemia treatment center of a pediatric hospital in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The parents and children were evaluated using the Ryff Psychological Well-being Scale and Kidscreen Questionnaire respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 software. RESULTS: Out of 125 parents, 86 were father (68.8%) and 39 were mother (31.2%). The mean age of parents was 38 years. Similarly, out of 125 thalassemia-affected children, the mean age of children was 13 years. Six clusters were deducted from the TCA. Parents' well-being variable does not have discriminating power to form cluster division. Three cluster formations were meaningful. CONCLUSION: TCA, in this study, helps in finding the clusters of families with thalassemia-affected children associated with poor well-being and familial risks, which require attention for medical counseling.

Assessing the role of family well-being on the quality of life of Indian children with thalassemia.

BACKGROUND: The association between chronic diseases and psychological problems is well established. As thalassemia is chronic blood disorder with burdensome treatment procedures, patients are likely to have psychological health problems. Many studies reported evidences regarding the quality of life. But, factors influencing the health-related quality of life with focus on psychological well-being were minimally studied. We aimed to find the factors contributing to the health-related quality of life among thalassemia affected children and hypothesising whether the parent's psychological well-being, sociodemographic characteristics and transfusion interval have an impact on children's quality of life. METHOD: A cross-sectional analytical study conducted on 125 thalassemia patients and 125 parents (either father or mother) referred to the clinic of Thalassemia treatment center. KIDSCREEN-10 and Ryff Psychological well-being scale is used for measuring the health-related quality of life and well-being of children and parent respectively. RESULTS: We have found the three factors such as family income, children education, and, parent education significantly contributed to the children's health-related quality of life among thalassemia affected children. The average score of Health-related quality of life among children is 16.28 with a standard deviation of 3.432 and the mean psychological well-being score for the parent is 83.99 with a standard deviation of 11.41. A positive correlation exists between parent psychological well-being and children's health-related quality of life. CONCLUSION: Family well-being is the foundation for quality of life of the children. It was found that factors such as family income and parents' and children's education have a direct association with HRQoL of life of children with thalassemia. However, more studies need to be done in order to ascertain the factors contributing to HRQoL of children with thalassemia to improve the quality of life of thalassemia patients.

Dimensions of social capital of families with thalassemia in an indigenous population in Tamil Nadu, India - a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that social capital is positively associated with health, and the association is context-based. Indigenous populations with poor access to health care largely depend on social capital for their health care needs. This study was conducted to explore the dimensions and types of social capital and its utilization by families with thalassemia for their health and well-being in an indigenous population in Tamil Nadu, India. METHODS: The participants in the study were parents who had children with thalassemia, belonged to an indigenous community in Tamil Nadu, were poor and marginalized, and had poor access to health care. Different dimensions and types of social capital were examined with the help of qualitative in-depth interviews using a phenomenological approach. A total of 8 in-depth interviews were conducted and transcribed. Thematic analysis of the data was performed. RESULTS: The social capital identified through the in-depth interviews consisted of various levels of family support, financial support from relatives and neighbors, the provision of information from formal and informal networks, and trust in the physician. Indigenous communities are close-knit due to their geographical remoteness and limited accessibility. Family ties were a form of social capital that encouraged bonding, and provided support and care to the children affected by thalassemia. The bonding also helped to meet the regular requirement of blood donation for the children. Relatives and neighbors were an asset that served as a bridge for the families affected, helping them in times of immediate and urgent financial need, making it easier to sustain long-term treatment and providing emotional support. There were informal networks that bridged parents belonging to indigenous and non-indigenous communities, with the latter providing the former with information to help them choose better health care at an affordable cost. The other formal links were the ties between the parents and nongovernmental organizations, such as the local thalassemia association, which connected members belonging to different areas. It was these ties that were of the greatest assistance to the families affected in coping with the disease, enabling them to sustain the treatment, and assisting them to choose and carry out the complicated bone marrow transplantation, which is the definitive treatment for this condition. CONCLUSION: The bonding, bridging, and linking dimensions of social capital help communities cope with thalassemia, the more so in indigenous and marginalized communities.

Gender difference in care of type 2 diabetes.

INTRODUCTION: Biologically male and female have similar diabetes prevalence. Gender differences in the social structure bring differences in life style modifications and all other self care behaviors in type 2 diabetes. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the gender difference in care of type 2 diabetes in Western region, Nepal. METHODS: Hundred men and hundred women respondents participated in a cross-sectional study conducted in two hospitals in Pokhara, Nepal. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to each of the respondents. RESULTS: Dry mouth (χ2 = 3.977, P = 0.046) and abdominal pain (χ2 = 3.840, P = 0.050) were reported as symptoms of diabetes in 51% and 31% women compared to 37% and 19% men respectively. The study revealed that women had low self-efficacy with respect to their diabetes care (35%) in comparison to men (65%). There was significant association between gender and diet practices which showed men have 0.328 (95% CI: 0.184 - 0.585) times less chances of bad dietary practices compared to women. After adjusting for age, education, occupation and self-efficacy, men were less likely to have bad dietary practices (OR= 0.513, 95% CI: 0.266, 0.992). CONCLUSIONS: The result of this study provided evidence that there are gender differences in reporting of symptoms, mode of diagnosis and certain self-management behaviors. Therefore there is a need to design gender specific behavior change communication strategies for better management of type 2 diabetes.