Academic stress and depression among adolescents: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between academic stress and depression among adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at higher secondary schools in Tamil Nadu. 1120 adolescents were included in the study after screening by MINI-kid tool. Modified Educatonal Stress Scale for Adolescents was administered to all children. RESULTS: Adolescents who had academic stress were at 2.4 times (95% CI=0.9-2.4) (P<0.001) higher risk of depression than adolescents without academic stress. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with severe academic stress need to be identified early as interventions to reduce academic stress is likely to affect the occurrence and severity of depression.

Response to article titled "US-funded measurements of cervical cancer death rates in India: scientific and ethical concerns" by Eric J Suba.

Dr Eric Suba has been distorting facts and persistently disseminating biased and misleading views and statements regarding our studies over the past several years. His article in the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics fails to mention the facts that seem unfavourable to his arguments, and the ethical concerns are unsubstantiated by the evidence. In this context, we present the following clarifications for the attention of your readers, notably with regard to: (i) the study design and inclusion of a control group; (ii) the informed consent of the women participating in the study; (iii) the conformity with international ethical standards and guidelines, and (iv) the provision of screening to women in the control arm of the studies. We also highlight the benefits that are flowing from this research and the risk that misinformation may further delay access for women to life-saving cervical cancer screening.

Effect of visual screening on cervical cancer incidence and mortality in Tamil Nadu, India: a cluster-randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women in developing countries. We assessed the effect of screening using visual inspection with 4% acetic acid (VIA) on cervical cancer incidence and mortality in a cluster randomised controlled trial in India. METHODS: Of the 114 study clusters in Dindigul district, India, 57 were randomised to one round of VIA by trained nurses, and 57 to a control group. Healthy women aged 30 to 59 years were eligible for the study. Screen-positive women had colposcopy, directed biopsies, and, where appropriate, cryotherapy by nurses during the screening visit. Those with larger precancerous lesions or invasive cancers were referred for appropriate investigations and treatment. Cervical cancer incidence and mortality in the study groups were analysed and compared using Cox regression taking the cluster design into account, and analysis was by intention to treat. The primary outcome measures were cervical cancer incidence and mortality. RESULTS: Of the 49,311 eligible women in the intervention group, 31,343 (63.6%) were screened during 2000-03; 30,958 control women received the standard care. Of the 3088 (9.9%) screened positive, 3052 had colposcopy, and 2539 directed biopsy. Of the 1874 women with precancerous lesions in the intervention group, 72% received treatment. In the intervention group, 274,430 person years, 167 cervical cancer cases, and 83 cervical cancer deaths were accrued compared with 178,781 person-years, 158 cases, and 92 deaths and in the control group during 2000-06 (incidence hazard ratio 0.75 [95% CI 0.55-0.95] and mortality hazard ratio 0.65 [0.47-0.89]). INTERPRETATION: VIA screening, in the presence of good training and sustained quality assurance, is an effective method to prevent cervical cancer in developing countries.

Initial results from a randomized trial of cervical visual screening in rural south India.

The impact of a single round of screening of visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) on cervical cancer incidence and mortality was investigated in a cluster randomized trial in south India. Women 30-59 years of age in 113 clusters in Dindigul District were randomized to VIA screening (57 clusters, 48,225 women) by nurses and to a control group (56 clusters, 30,167 women). 30,577 eligible women were screened between May 2000 and April 2003; 2,939 (9.6%) screen-positive women were investigated with colposcopy by nurses and 2,777 (9.1%) women had biopsy. CIN 1 was diagnosed in 1,778 women, CIN 2-3 lesions were found in 222, and there were 69 screen detected invasive cervical cancers. The detection rates of lesions per 1,000 screened women were 58.2 for CIN 1, 7.3 for CIN 2-3, and 2.3 for invasive cancer. The detection rate of high-grade lesions in our study was 2-3-fold higher than those observed in repeatedly screened populations in developed countries. 71% of women with CIN 1 and 80% of those with CIN 2-3 lesions accepted cryotherapy provided by nurses and surgical treatment by mid-level clinicians. Overall, 97 and 34 incident cervical cancer cases were observed in the intervention and control arms, respectively. The intervention arm accrued 124,144 person years and the control arm accrued 90,172 during the study period. The age standardized cervical cancer incidence rates were 92.4/100,000 person-years in the intervention and 43.1/100,000 in the control arms. In the screened arm, 35.0% of cases were in Stage I as opposed to none in the control arm. The preliminary findings from our study indicate that not only is a VIA-based screening programme feasible, safe and acceptable to a population in rural settings, it also results in early detection of cervical neoplasia.

Determinants of participation of women in a cervical cancer visual screening trial in rural south India.

The efficacy of a single round of screening of visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) on cervical cancer incidence and mortality is investigated in a cluster randomized controlled trial in south India. Women aged 30-59 years in 113 clusters in Dindigul District were randomized to VIA screening by nurses (57 clusters, 48,225 eligible women) and to a control group (56 clusters, 30,167 women). 30,577 (63.4%) eligible women participated in screening. Younger, educated, married, multiparous, low-income women and those who have had tubal sterilization had a higher compliance with screening. Of the 2069 women diagnosed with CIN and invasive cancer, 1498 (72.4%) received treatment. Young women, those who practiced contraception and women with high-grade precursor lesions and invasive cancers were more likely to comply with treatment. In summary, our study indicates that women accept screening with VIA by nurses and a moderate level of compliance with screening and treatment can be reached through appropriate service delivery systems including health education activities, personal invitations, clinics in proximity to the target women, and testing and treatment in the same session. Our results imply that integration of screening activities with primary health services seems to have the potential to replicate most of these service delivery conditions in routine programs.