Prevalence and risk factors of perinatal depression among women in rural Bihar: A community-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Perinatal depression (PND) is one of the most common mental disorders occurring during the perinatal period among women. Few studies examined prevalence and risk factors of PND from rural settings in India. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of perinatal depression and identify social risk factors for it among women from rural Bihar. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted in a community setting in rural areas of Bihar. All perinatal women were screened through a door to door survey and recruited after obtaining informed consent. A semi-structured proforma was used to collect sociodemographic characteristics and family related variables. Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS) was used to screen for perinatal depression. RESULTS: A total of 564 perinatal women were recruited into the study. The estimated prevalence of PND was 23.9 % (95 % CI: 20.6,27.6). Multivariate analysis showed perinatal depression was associated with physical illness in the mother, previous history of abortion, poor financial status and ill-treatment by in-laws. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of perinatal depression among women is high in rural settings of North India. A multitude of factors ranging from physical, obstetric, economic and family related confer a high risk for PND. Comprehensive interventions are needed to address these risk factors of perinatal depression.

A qualitative study on the use of mobile-based intervention for perinatal depression among perinatal mothers in rural Bihar, India.

BACKGROUND: Perinatal depression (PND) is one of the most common psychiatric illnesses in women, with a prevalence around 22% in India. Leveraging mobile-based technologies could help in the prevention and treatment of perinatal depression even in remote places. Understanding the experiences and barriers of using such technology interventions by perinatal mothers could help in the better design and in delivery of these interventions. We aimed to study the experiences of the perinatal women using a mobile phone-based intervention, Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS), for the prevention and management of perinatal depression in a rural district of Bihar, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 12 in-depth interviews (IDIs) and one focus group discussion (FGD) with eight participants were conducted with perinatal mothers using the mobile-based IVRS to explore the experiences and perspectives of women receiving mobile phone-based interventions for the treatment of PND. Thematic analysis was done to identify major themes. RESULTS: Five major themes emerged from the study around accessibility, usability, community participation, cost and preference to either intervention. Women found the mobile-based intervention useful as it made them feel lighter. They considered mental health as a health issue and wanted help to address their problems. They became familiar with terms like anxiety, depression, helplessness and burden and bean using them in their conversations. The patients used therapeutic strategies such as breathing, coping and relaxation. They even agreed to take up sessions for their peer group. CONCLUSION: Women in rural Bihar seemed satisfied with the technology-based intervention. It has made mental health issues more visible and acceptable even in the rural hinterlands of Bihar.

Tris(2,4-di-tert-butyl-phen-yl) phosphate.

The title compound, C(42)H(63)O(4)P, was isolated from the leaves of Vitex negundo. Two of the tert-butyl groups are disordered over two orientations with occupancy ratios of 0.57 (1):0.43 (1) and 0.67 (1):0.33 (1). Several intra-molecular C-H⋯O inter-actions are observed in the mol-ecular structure.

Non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma jet for the bacterial inactivation in an aqueous medium.

This study reports the potential of non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma jet for the bacterial inactivation in an aqueous medium. All experiments were conducted in a reactor containing aqueous solution i.e., water, pre-inoculated with bacterial suspensions and after plasma exposure solution is inoculated in Petrifilm to know the viable count. The plasma jet exposure to the bacterial aqueous solution was carried out under various gases such as helium, argon, air and also in combination as Argon + Air and Helium + Air. In each case, the oxidizing species such as hydrogen peroxide, nitric acid, hydroxyl radicals and ozone formed in the reactor during the plasma exposure were quantified. The effect of applied voltage and gas flow rate were studied to optimize the conditions for its efficacy. The solution pH plays a prominent role in bacterial inactivation, as the process is effective at low pH exhibiting 7 log reduction of bacterial population. The bacterial inactivation is efficient at below the critical pH (<4.7) and the inactivation process becomes less effective if the pH goes above 4.7. Plasma treatment of deionized water produces some reactive species such as hydrogen peroxide and nitrates, this plasma treated water is used to test the bacterial inactivation. Addition of Fe2+ salt to the plasma treated water improves the efficacy by converting hydrogen peroxide to hydroxyl radicals, which serves to be a major contributor to the bacterial inactivation. Especially, Non-thermal plasma offers an alternative way to sterilize vacuum sensitive and thermo-labile living tissues.