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Background: Phubbing, a phenomenon of ignoring others in face-to-face conversations due to mobile phone use, can be assessed using a Phubbing Scale (PS). Recently, the PS has been shortened into an eight-item version, the PS-8. However, psychometric properties of the PS-8 among Iranian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani individuals remain understudied, especially using advanced psychometric testing, such as Rasch and network analyses. Methods: Participants residing in Iran, Bangladesh, and Pakistan (n = 1902; 50.4% females; mean age = 26.3 years) completed the PS-8 and the Internet Disorder Scale-Short Form (IDS9-SF) via an online survey. Network analysis was used to examine if PS-8 items were differentiated from IDS9-SF items; confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the factor structure and measurement invariance of the PS-8; Rasch modeling was used to examine the dimensionality of the PS-8 and differential item functioning (DIF). Results: Network analysis showed that PS-8 items were clustered together with a distance to the IDS9-SF items. The CFA results supported a two-factor structure of the PS-8, and the two-factor structure was found to be invariant across countries and women and men. Rasch model results indicated that the two PS-8 subscales were both unidimensional and did not display DIF across countries and gender/sex. Conclusion: The PS-8 is a feasible and robust instrument for healthcare providers, especially mental health professionals, to quickly assess and evaluate individuals’ phubbing behaviors.

Mark Mohan Kaggwa,1 Brendah Namatanzi,2 Moses Kule,3 Rahel Nkola,1 Sarah Maria Najjuka,4 Firoj al Mamun,5,6 Ismail Hosen,5,6 Mohammed A Mamun,5,6 Scholastic Ashaba1 1Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; 2Faculty of Health Sciences, Lira University, Lira, Uganda; 3Department of Psychiatry, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, Mbarara, Uganda; 4College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; 5CHINTA Research Bangladesh, Savar, Dhaka, 1342, Bangladesh; 6Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, 1342, BangladeshCorrespondence: Mark Mohan KaggwaDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 1410, Mbarara, UgandaEmail kmarkmohan@gmail.comBackground: Rural women are highly prevalent to depression, where spouse-related factors, including extramarital affairs and poverty, intensify its likelihood of occurrence. However, women engaged with a Money-Saving Group (MSG) are financially self-dependent, which can reduce the risk of depression suffering. Despite this, there is less study among this cohort, which led us to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of depression among the Ugandan women involved in MSG.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in Uganda among rural married or cohabiting women aged 18 to 45 years engaged in MSG. The survey was carried out within a total of 153 participants (33.3 ± 6.7 years) in April 2021. Information related to socio-demographic of the participants, their spouse characteristics, and depression were collected.Results: About 65.4% of the participants had depressive symptoms (based on the cutoff 10/27 at the PHQ-9). But, 8.15 times (CI: 2.83– 23.44, p< 0.001) and 16.69 times (CI: 4.85– 57.39, p< 0.001), higher risk of depression were observed, if the participants’ spouses were using an addictive substance and had been involved in an

Mohammed A Mamun,1,2 Firoj al Mamun,1,2 Ismail Hosen,1,2 Mahmudul Hasan,1,3 Abidur Rahman,1,3 Ahsanul Mahbub Jubayar,1,3 Zeba Maliha,1,4 Abu Hasnat Abdullah,1,2 Md Abedin Sarker,1,2 Humayun Kabir,1,5 Avijit Sarker Jyoti,6 Mark Mohan Kaggwa,7,8 Md Tajuddin Sikder2 1CHINTA Research Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 2Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 3Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh; 4Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College, Faridpur, Bangladesh; 5Department of Public Health, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 6Mugda Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 7Department of Psychiatry, Mbarara University of Science & Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; 8African Centre for Suicide Prevention and Research, Mbarara, UgandaCorrespondence: Mohammed A Mamun Tel +880 1738592653Email mamunphi46@gmail.comBackground: It is said that psychological stressors have risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may contribute to suicidality. A few studies were conducted investigating suicidality amid the first wave of the pandemic in Bangladesh, but none of these studies explored the predictive role of the suicidality-related factors (eg, behavior and health-related variables, COVID-19 risk, fear of COVID-19). Thus, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of suicidality and the predictive models explaining suicidality variance among Bangladeshi young adults during the second wave of the pandemic.Methods: An online-based cross-sectional survey was conducted during the second wave of the pandemic (between 1 and 13 April 2021; a year after the pandemic’s inception in the country). The survey questionnaire collected information on socio-demographics, behavior and health-related variables, COVID-19 risk, fear of COVID-19, depression, anxiety, and suicidality. A total of 756 data were analyzed (male 59%; mean age 22.24 ± 4.39 years), and hierarchical regression was perf

Ismail Hosen,1,2 Firoj al Mamun,1,2 Md Tajuddin Sikder,2 Amir Zaib Abbasi,3 Liye Zou,4 Tianyou Guo,4 Mohammed A Mamun1,2 1CHINTA Research Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 2Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 3Department of Management Sciences, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan; 4Exercise Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of KEEP Collaborative Innovation, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Tianyou Guo; Mohammed A Mamun Email gtyou168@126.com; mamunphi46@gmail.comBackground: Problematic smartphone use (PSU) has been increasing hastily in recent decades, and it has become inseparable during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among the students who are at risk of problematic smartphone use. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of PSU during the COVID-19 pandemic among the Bangladeshi students.Methods: A total of 601 Bangladeshi students were recruited through an online-based cross-sectional survey that was conducted between October 7 and November 2, 2020. The survey collected information related to socio-demographics, behavioral health, internet use behaviors, depression, anxiety, and PSU. Independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were performed to present the relationship between the studied variables and PSU. Multiple linear regression analysis was also used for investigating the explanatory power of the predictive models for PSU.Results: Surprisingly, about 86.9% of the students scored to be problematic smartphone users (≥ 21 out of a total 36 based on the Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale). In addition, medical students, engaging in a relationship, performing less physical activity, longer duration of internet use, some sorts of internet use purpose (eg, messaging, watching videos, using social media), depression, and anxiety were sig

Background: Sleep problems in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are highly prevalent, but little information is available on this issue in low- to middle-income countries (LMIC) such as Bangladesh. Therefore, the present study investigated the prevalence and socio-demographic determinants of ASD sleep disturbances in a comparison with typically developing children (TDC). Methods: A cross-sectional interview study was carried out within a total of 446 Bangladeshi mothers, whose children's mean age was 8.1 +/- 2.9 years (151 ASD [8.5 +/- 2.7 years] and 295 TDC [7.9 +/- 2.9 years]); in addition to socio-demographics, the Child Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ) was used, and a cut-off score of 41 out of 93 points considered as reflecting sleep problems. Results: About 89.7% of the children reported having problems in sleep, with ASD reporting higher frequency vs TDC (94.00% vs 87.50%; chi(2)=4.678, p=0.031). The overall mean CSHQ score was 48.7 +/- 7.6 in total sample, whereas ASD children reported higher scores compared to TDCs (50.9 +/- 8.1 vs 47.5 +/- 7.0, p< 0.001). Similarly, subscales of CSHQ such as sleep duration (4.23 +/- 1.56 vs 3.90 +/- 1.31, p=0.017), sleep anxiety (7.23 +/- 2.05 vs 6.45 +/- 1.92, p< 0.001), night waking (3.82 +/- 1.07 vs 3.17 +/- 1.89, p< 0.001), parasomnias (8.86 +/- 2.06 vs 7.85 +/- 2.27, p< 0.001), and sleep disordered breathing (4.02 +/- 2.92 vs 3.43 +/- 2.07, p=0.014) were more problematic among ASD compared to TDC. Lastly, 28.5% of ASD reported taking sleep-related medications vs 0.3% for TDC (n=1). Conclusion: Bangladeshi ASD children are highly likely to manifest sleep disturbances, which warrant urgent implementation of parental educational and support programs to mitigate the impact of sleep problems in ASD families.

Naznin Sultana,1,2 Md Asaduzzaman,3 Firoj al Mamun,1,4 Ismail Hosen,1,4 Qian Yu,5 Amir H Pakpour,6,7 David Gozal,8 Mohammed A Mamun1,4 1CHINTA Research Bangladesh (Centre for Health Innovation, Networking, Training, Action and Research – Bangladesh), Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 2Department of Public Health, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 3Department of Public Health, American International University – Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 4Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 5Exercise Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of KEEP Collaborative Innovation, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, People’s Republic of China; 6Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Research Institute for Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran; 7Department of Nursing, School of Health and Welfare, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden; 8Department of Child Health and the Child Health Research Institute, The University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, USACorrespondence: Qian YuExercise Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of KEEP Collaborative Innovation, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, 518060, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail yuqianmiss@163.comMohammed A MamunCHINTA Research Bangladesh, Savar, Dhaka, 1342, BangladeshTel +880-1738592653Email mamunphi46@gmail.comBackground: Sleep problems in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are highly prevalent, but little information is available on this issue in low- to middle-income countries (LMIC) such as Bangladesh. Therefore, the present study investigated the prevalence and socio-demographic determinants of ASD sleep disturbances in a comparison with typically developing children (TDC).Methods: A cross-sectional interview study was carried out within a total of 446 Bangladeshi mothers, who

Israt Jahan,1,2 Ismail Hosen,3,4 Firoj al Mamun,3,4 Mark Mohan Kaggwa,5 Mark D Griffiths,6 Mohammed A Mamun3,4 1Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 2Department of Public Health and Informatics, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 3CHINTA Research Bangladesh, Dhaka, 1342, Bangladesh; 4Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, 1342, Bangladesh; 5Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; 6Psychology Department, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, NG1 4FQ, UKCorrespondence: Mohammed A MamunCHINTA Research Bangladesh, Savar, Dhaka, 1342, BangladeshTel +88-1738592653Email mamunphi46@gmail.comBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic-related “stay-at-home” and confinement orders has led individuals to be more engaged with technology use (eg, internet use). For a minority of individuals, excessive use can become problematic and addictive. However, the investigation of problematic internet use in the COVID-19 context is only just emerging. Therefore, the present study investigated the changes in internet use behaviors and addiction rates in comparison with prior Bangladeshi studies.Methods: An online cross-sectional study was carried out among a total of 601 Bangladeshi students between October 7 and November 2, 2020. The survey included questions relating to socio-demographic, behavioral health, online use behaviors, and psychopathological variables.Results: A quarter of the participants (26%) reported having low levels of internet addiction, whereas 58.6% were classed as having moderate internet addiction and 13% severe internet addiction. A total of 4% of the sample were classed as being at risk of severe internet dependency (ie, scoring over ≥ 80 on IAT). Risk factors for internet addiction included smartphone addiction, Facebook addiction, depression, and anxiety. How

Firoj al Mamun,1,2 Ismail Hosen,1,2 Jannatul Mawa Misti,1,3 Mark Mohan Kaggwa,4 Mohammed A Mamun1,2 1Centre for Health Innovation, Networking, Training, Action and Research – Bangladesh (CHINTA Research Bangladesh), Savar, Dhaka, 1342, Bangladesh; 2Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, 1342, Bangladesh; 3Pabna Medical College, Pabna, Banngladesh; 4Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, UgandaCorrespondence: Mark Mohan KaggwaDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, UgandaEmail kmarkmohan@gmail.comMohammed A MamunCentre for Health Innovation, Networking, Training, Action and Research – Bangladesh (CHINTA Research Bangladesh), Savar, Dhaka, 1342, BangladeshTel +88-1738592653Email mamunphi46@gmail.comBackground: The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has become a global burden disrupting peoples’ quality of life. Students being an important cohort of a country, their mental health during this pandemic has been recognized as a concerning issue. Therefore, the prevalence and associated risk factors of Bangladeshi students’ mental health sufferings (ie, depression, anxiety, and stress) are systematically reviewed herein for the first time.Methods: Adhering to the PRISMA guideline, a systematic search was performed from 1 to 5 April, 2021 in several databases including PubMed; and finally, a total of 7 articles were included to this review.Results: The prevalence rates of mild to severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress ranged from 46.92% to 82.4%, 26.6% to 96.82%, and 28.5% to 70.1%, respectively. The risk factors concerning mental health problems included the factors related to (i) socio-demographic (younger age, gender, lower educational grade, urban residence, family size, currently living with family/parents, and having children in the family), (ii) behav

Mohammed A Mamun,1,2 Mariam Binte Safiq,1 Ismail Hosen,1,2 Firoj al Mamun1,2 1Centre for Health Innovation, Networking, Training, Action and Research – Bangladesh (CHINTA Research Bangladesh), Dhaka, Bangladesh; 2Department of Public Health and Informatics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, BangladeshCorrespondence: Mohammed A MamunCentre for Health Innovation, Networking, Training, Action and Research – Bangladesh (CHINTA Research Bangladesh), Dhaka, BangladeshTel +880 1738592653Email mamunphi46@gmail.comBackground: Bangladeshi flood survivors are reported with such higher mental disorders that are not ever observed in any other cohorts. Although there are a few studies that assessed mental disorders, suicide or suicidal behaviors are not investigated yet. Hence, the present study for the first time investigated suicidal behaviors and its relationship with socio-demographics, flood effects and psychopathology.Methods: A cross-sectional interview study was carried out between November and December 2019, after 4/5 months of the flood occurrence. Two completely affected villages from two districts residing in two parts of the country were randomly selected (whereas Manikganj district was less affected by the recent flood compared to Kurigram), and a total of 348 flood survivors were interviewed (45.53 ± 14.85 years). Questions related to basic socio-demographics, flood effects, psychological impacts, and suicidal behaviors were asked in the interviews.Results: In the total sample, 57.5% of flood survivors reported having suicidal ideation, whereas 5.7% and 2.0% madea suicide plan and suicide attempt, respectively. Within two study sites, participants belonging to Kurigram reported significantly higher suicidal ideation compared to Manikganj (84.8% vs 33.2%, χ2 = 94.475, p< 0.001). Belonging to a lower-class family, having less education, and less earning members in the family, being affected severely by the flood, su