Search

Background Mental health problems among medical students are highly prevalent internationally. There have been very few studies however in Nepal. This study aimed to assess the frequency of mental health problems and burnout in Nepalese medical students. Results A total of 169 students responded to the questionnaire. Half (50%) of the surveyed students had some form of mental health problem according to the GHQ-12, while the OLBI showed that 85% students were disengaged and 65% were exhausted. The CAGE screening tool was positive in 14%, and 11% described illicit drug use. Sixty-four percent of students identified their academic studies as their major source of stress. Conclusions Timely recognition of mental health problems is imperative to avert psychiatric illness. Training on early identification and management of stress would be helpful. Further studies are required to identify the factors associated with poor mental health.

Introduction: Health personnel working in the frontline to deal with COVID 19 outbreak are at increased risk of developing psychological problems. This study aims to find out the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among Nepalese health care workers. Methods: This is a hospital based descriptive cross-sectional study conducted from July 10 2020 to September 10, 2020. All health care workers (total 280) were included in the study. HADS-14 item was used to measure anxiety and depression. Perceived stress scale was used to measure stress. Data was analyzed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 24.0. Statistical data was analyzed by percentage, mean and standard deviation. Results: Out of total 270 respondents the prevalence of anxiety, depression and stress was found to be 112 (41.4%), 65 (24.1%) and 203 (74%) respectively. Females accounted for 148 (54.8%) and males 122 (45.2%). More than one third 96 (35.6%) of the health workers were working in front line. Conclusions: Prevalence of anxiety, depression and stress is higher among health workers when compared to similar studies. Effective strategies toward improving the mental health like adequate rest, supply of protective equipments, frequent breaks, ensuring safety issues of their family members, training on management of stress might be helpful in reducing stress.

Introduction: Patients with thyroid disorders are more prone to develop depressive symptoms and conversely depression may be accompanied by various subtle thyroid abnormalities. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in depression. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Devdaha Medical College and Research Institute employing a simple random sampling technique during the period of August 2019-January 2020. The research was approved by the Ethical Committee of the Institutional Review Board of Devdaha Medical College and Research Institute. The protocol approval number is 009/019. Data analysis was done in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (Version 23). Results were presented as frequencies and percentages where required. Results: Among 263 patients with depression, 69 (26.2%) had abnormal thyroid status with most common being subclinical hypothyroidism 32 (12.2%), 13 (4.9%) overt hypothyroidism and 7 (2.7%) overt hyperthyroidism. Conclusions: The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction is high among patients with depression. We recommend to conduct routine thyroid function tests for all the patients with depression.

Homelessness is an important social determinant of health. The information has been sparse on the relationship between homelessness and mental illnesses in Asian countries. In this perspective paper, we present the synthesis of viewpoints of early career psychiatrists from several Asian countries on the relationship of homelessness and mental illnesses. An online questionnaire was used to gather responses. The definition of homelessness was kept broad and included both temporary and lasting homelessness. The responses were synthesized into paragraphs to describe the perspective for the country. Although difficulties were experienced in the estimation of homelessness, the numbers of homeless individuals varied from practically negligible in Jordan to about 1.77 million in India. Mental health issues were present in the homeless population and included affective disorders, psychotic disorders, and substance use disorders. The psychiatrists generally had a considerate viewpoint toward treating the mentally ill homeless people. There is a need for more literature on the interface of homelessness and mental illness from Asian countries, especially where the homeless populations are substantial.