Annals of Psychiatric Research

EDITORIAL

2025-04-03T08:30:34+00:00

The intricate interplay between stress, mental health, and physical illness continues to be a critical area of exploration in psychiatric research.1 This issue of Annals of Psychiatric Research brings forth insightful studies that deepen our understanding of how stress manifests across different populations, including medical professionals and patients with chronic illnesses, and its implications for mental health and clinical outcomes.

Prevalence and Correlates of Anxiety and Depression in Glaucoma and Cataract Patients: A Cross-sectional Comparison

2025-02-21T10:55:14+00:00

Background- According to WHO, leading cause of blindness includes cataract and glaucoma. These patients often face significant mental issues. People have many concerns when they first hear that they have cataract or glaucoma such as whether they will go blind, how expensive treatment will be and regarding their self sufficiency. All these factors can lead to anxiety and depression. Comparing the psychological impact of these conditions can help identify specific factors that contributed in each group and then developing tailored mental health interventions.

Materials & Methods- Prior approval of ethical committee was taken before conducting the study. Consecutive patients with diagnosis of Cataract and primary open angle Glaucoma were recruited for study. Sample was targeted to include 100 patients as 50 each of primary open angle glaucoma and cataract attending ophthalmology outpatient department. Data was collected on the especially designed proforma and assessed through Hospital anxiety and depression scale(HADS),

Results and Discussion. Nearly double no. of glaucoma experienced anxiety and depression as compared to cataract. Anxiety in glaucoma was found be associated with occupation and monthly income and anxiety in cataract was found to be associated with marital status. Depression in glaucoma was found to be associated with occupation and marital status whereas depression in cataract was found to be associated with marital status.

Conclusion- In conclusion, Anxiety and depression exist as co-morbidity with glaucoma and cataract. Both anxiety and depression were higher in glaucoma patients as compared to cataract. The lack of association with ocular clinical factors such as visual acuity, pain and beta blockers suggests that targeted high risk subgroup screening of persons with glaucoma is not feasible and it may be necessary to screen all persons with glaucoma for anxiety. So this study emphasize the importance of combined management with a psychiatrist especially in glaucoma. Regular psychiatric counselling can help these patients manage their emotions, and so can improve their medication adherence.

Perceived Stress and Coping Strategies among Patients with Myocardial Infarction at a Tertiary care Hospital

2025-03-03T08:57:00+00:00

Background: Stressful life events have strong etiological significance in myocardial infarction (MI). However, perceived stress and coping strategies in MI patients are not fully elucidated. We assessed perceived stress and coping strategies in MI patients.
Methods: This cross-sectional study from June 2023 to June 2024 included 156 MI patients. Data on psychosocial stressors, perceived stress, and coping strategies were collected using structured questionnaires: Presumptive stressful life events scale (PSLES), perceived stress scale (PSS), and proactive coping inventory (PCI). Statistical analyses assessed the relationship between perceived stress and coping strategies.
Results: Most patients (69%) were over 45 years old, predominantly male (85%), and from rural areas (53%). High levels of perceived stress were reported in 44% of patients. The most common psychosocial stressors were financial, marital, and workplace issues. Coping strategies varied significantly, with those having higher mean scores on instrumental support-seeking, emotional support-seeking, and avoidance strategies showing significantly higher perceived stress (p <0.001).
Conclusion: Psychosocial stressors and perceived stress are important etiological factors of MI, and the type of coping strategy employed plays a crucial role. Proactive, reflective, strategic and preventive coping strategies aid in reducing stress levels and improving patient outcomes. This study highlights the need to educate individuals on effective coping strategies to improve stress management.

Burnout and Perceived Stress among Post-Graduate Medical Residents: Findings of a Longitudinal Survey

2025-03-06T05:23:12+00:00

Background: Few longitudinal studies have been conducted on burnout, workload, and perceived stress in resident doctors. We assessed the degree and correlates of burnout and perceived stress among postgraduate resident doctors over two academic years.
Materials and Methods: Over 90 post-graduate resident doctors were surveyed at the end of their first and second academic years. The ICD-10 Symptom Checklist, Cohen’s perceived stress scale (PSS-10), Maslach burnout inventory (MBI), Zung self-reported depression scale (ZSRDS), somatic symptom scale-8 (SSS-8) were administered along with pre-designed proforma to collect data on socio-demographic and work-related variables.
Results: The majority (80%) of residents reported some level of burnout. A higher number of residents reported high burnout at the end of the first academic year compared to the second year. The mean scores of the MBI, ZSRDS, PSS-10, and SSS-8 were significantly lower at the end of the second year than at the first year. The multivariate analysis revealed that marital status and workload were significantly associated with burnout. Unmarried resident doctors had significantly lower emotional exhaustion sub-domain scores on the MBI at the end of the first and second sessions. Higher workload is very likely to be associated with burnout (odds ratio, 15; 95% CI, 1.89–119.0; p <0.001).
Conclusion: A greater number of post-graduate resident doctors reported high burnout and perceived stress at the end of the first academic year compared to the second year. Workload was found to be the most significant factor associated with burnout. Interventions to manage stress and address burnout among resident doctors in the first academic year are recommended.

Socio-demographic, Clinical and Treatment-Related Factors Associated with Psychiatric Re-hospitalization: A Retrospective Study

2024-11-19T12:20:22+00:00

Introduction: Acute psychiatric care is associated with frequent readmissions and discharges; the estimated rate of re-hospitalization is approximately 40 to 50%. The present study aimed to identify the sociodemographic, clinical, and treatment-related factors responsible for re-hospitalization.
Method: This retrospective study consisted of 343 patients who were re-hospitalized during the study period, of which 43 were excluded. The remaining 300 patients were further subdivided based on the duration between discharge from the index episode and readmission (< 1 and >1 year), and sociodemographic and clinical profiles were compared. A logistic regression model was used to perform 25 imputations including all outcome variables, predictors, and covariates.
Results: The mean age of the admitted patients was 32.33 ± 9.27 years. Patients with affective disorders had the highest re-hospitalization (36.33%), followed by substance use disorders (28.3%) and psychotic disorders (27%). Over 57% of re-hospitalizations occurred within one year. Logistic regression analyses showed that precipitating factors according to presumptive stressful life events (PSLE) scale (OR-0.578), comorbid medical disorder (OR-2.898), duration of hospital stay (OR-1.231), and non-compliance to treatment (4.114) after discharge were associated with early readmission.
Conclusion: The rate of re-hospitalization was higher within one year, as compared to other similar studies. Young, educated and married males who had a shorter duration of hospital stay had a higher amount of re-hospitalization. The majority of readmitted patients had a diagnosis of mood disorders; substance use disorder and psychosis. Also combined treatment with pharmacotherapy and modified electroconvulsive therapy resulted in a lesser risk of re-hospitalizations.

Presidential Address at the 39th Annual Conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS)- Rajasthan Chapter 2024

2025-04-03T08:38:26+00:00

Distinguished guests, esteemed colleagues, honored delegates and dear budding psychiatrists. It is my privilege to stand before you today as President of the Indian Psychiatry Society, Rajasthan Chapter, as I pledge to tirelessly promote excellence in psychiatric care.