Prevalence and socioeconomic impact of depressive disorders in India: multisite population-based cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: The National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) of India was undertaken with the objectives of (1) estimating the prevalence and patterns of various mental disorders in representative Indian population and (2) identifying the treatment gap, healthcare utilisation, disabilities and impact of mental disorders. This paper highlights findings pertaining to depressive disorders (DD) from the NMHS. DESIGN: Multisite population-based cross-sectional study. Subjects were selected by multistage stratified random cluster sampling technique with random selection based on probability proportionate to size at each stage. SETTING: Conducted across 12 states in India (representing varied cultural and geographical diversity), employing uniform, standardised and robust methodology. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 34 802 adults (>18 years) were interviewed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Prevalence of depressive disorders (ICD-10 DCR) diagnosed using Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview V.6.0. RESULTS: The weighted prevalence of lifetime and current DD was 5.25% (95% CI: 5.21% to 5.29%, n=34 802) and 2.68% (95% CI: 2.65% to 2.71%, n=34 802), respectively. Prevalence was highest in the 40-59 age groups (3.6%, n=10 302), among females (3.0%, n=18 217) and those residing in cities with population >1 million (5.2%, n=4244). Age, gender, place of residence, education and household income were found to be significantly associated with current DD. Nearly two-thirds of individuals with DD reported disability of varying severity, and the treatment gap for depression in the study population was 79.1%. On an average, households spent INR1500/month (~US$ 23.0/month) towards care of persons affected with DD. CONCLUSION: Around 23 million adults would need care for DD in India at any given time. Since productive population is affected most, DD entails considerable socioeconomic impact at individual and family levels. This is a clarion call for all the concerned stakeholders to scale up services under National Mental Health Programme in India along with integrating care for DD with other ongoing national health programmes.

National Mental Health Survey of India, 2016 - Rationale, design and methods.

Understanding the burden and pattern of mental disorders as well as mapping the existing resources for delivery of mental health services in India, has been a felt need over decades. Recognizing this necessity, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, commissioned the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) in the year 2014-15. The NMHS aimed to estimate the prevalence and burden of mental health disorders in India and identify current treatment gaps, existing patterns of health-care seeking, service utilization patterns, along with an understanding of the impact and disability due to these disorders. This paper describes the design, steps and the methodology adopted for phase 1 of the NMHS conducted in India. The NMHS phase 1 covered a representative population of 39,532 from 12 states across 6 regions of India, namely, the states of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh (North); Tamil Nadu and Kerala (South); Jharkhand and West Bengal (East); Rajasthan and Gujarat (West); Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (Central) and Assam and Manipur (North East). The NMHS of India (2015-16) is a unique representative survey which adopted a uniform and standardized methodology which sought to overcome limitations of previous surveys. It employed a multi-stage, stratified, random cluster sampling technique, with random selection of clusters based on Probability Proportionate to Size. It was expected that the findings from the NMHS 2015-16 would reveal the burden of mental disorders, the magnitude of the treatment gap, existing challenges and prevailing barriers in the mental-health delivery systems in the country at a single point in time. It is hoped that the results of NMHS will provide the evidence to strengthen and implement mental health policies and programs in the near future and provide the rationale to enhance investment in mental health care in India. It is also hoped that the NMHS will provide a framework for conducting similar population based surveys on mental health and other public health problems in low and middle-income countries.

Temporal Lobe Seizures Presenting as Abrupt Clinging Behavior in a Child.

True and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) go hand in hand. One colors the picture of other. Although it is thought that children carry lower risk for PNES than adults, this may represent the under-diagnosis of this condition in childhood due to few studies on this specific topic. Again, true seizure can be misdiagnosed by dramatic and varied manifestations appearing as psychological phenomena. We report a case of a 9-year-old boy presenting with sudden onset, short lasting, off and on different "melodramatic" episodic behavioral problems with La-Belle' indifference without loss of consciousness, appearing to be of psychogenic origin but finally ended with a diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy and responded dramatically with antiepileptics. The goal of this case report is to alert the reader to be cautious about rarer presentations of epilepsy and see each case holistically which may be misguided as PNES.

Severe Tardive Dystonia on Low Dose Short Duration Exposure to Atypical Antipsychotics: Factors Explored.

Tardive dystonia (TD) is a serious side effect of antipsychotic medications, more with typical antipsychotics, that is potentially irreversible in affected patients. Studies show that newer atypical antipsychotics have a lower risk of TD. As a result, many clinicians may have developed a false sense of security when prescribing these medications. We report a case of 20-year-old male with hyperthymic temperament and borderline intellectual functioning, who developed severe TD after low dose short duration exposure to atypical antipsychotic risperidone and then olanzapine. The goal of this paper is to alert the reader to be judicious and cautious before using casual low dose second generation antipsychotics in patient with no core psychotic features, hyperthymic temperament, or borderline intellectual functioning suggestive of organic brain damage, who are more prone to develop adverse effects such as TD and monitor the onset of TD in patients taking atypical antipsychotics.

Sensitising intern doctors to ethical issues in a doctor-patient relationship.

There is a felt need in India to influence the ethical behaviour of doctors by giving students formal education in ethics in medical colleges. Since internship is the interface between learning and independent practice, it is important to sensitise intern doctors to ethical issues in a doctor-patient relationship at this stage.