The Global Prevalence of Schizophrenia

Bhugra discusses the implications of a new study in PLoS Medicine that challenges widely held assumptions about the epidemiology of schizophrenia

Hysterectomy: retrospective analysis of 476 cases

Background: Diseases of the female genital tract are commonly encountered in clinical practice. Hysterectomy is the definite treatment for many of the pelvic pathologies. The present study is aimed at analysis of age and types of hysterectomy and evaluation of histopathological reports of the hysterectomy specimens.Methods: A total of 476 consecutive hysterectomy were studied over a period of two years from January 2016 to December 2017.Results: The peak age group of hysterectomy was 41-50 years with 221 (46.43%) cases. The commonest type of hysterectomy was abdominal. The most common endometrial pathology was atrophic endometrium, seen in 131 (27.52%) cases. In myometrium, the most common pathology was leiomyoma in 179 (37.61%) cases. Among cervical lesions, chronic cervicitis was the most common finding, seen in 274 (57.56%) cases.Conclusions: The experience with various types of hysterectomies at our institution has been reviewed. A wide spectrum of lesions were observed when histopathology reports of the hysterectomy specimens were analysed

Globalization: Mental Health and Social Economic Factors

Several factors associated with globalization have mental health consequences. This article reviews the literature on mental health and inequality, occupational patterns and identity shifts before considering the role of globalization as an acculturative stressor. We argue that a re-evaluation of mental health policy in light of globalization must look further than current studies of migrants to consider indigenous communities where models of social experience and behaviour are changing

Measuring pathways to care in first-episode psychosis : a systematic review

Background Adequately understanding and measuring pathways to care is a prerequisite for early detection and effective treatment of first-episode psychosis. Method We conducted a systematic review of studies on pathways to care in first-episode psychosis to establish what measures currently exist to assess pathways in first-episode psychosis and to compare these measures. Results We identified 15 studies which had used six different measures of pathways to care. Differences in aims, methodology and lack of psychometric data did not allow a direct comparison of pathways measures but certain common themes emerged. Discussion Pathways to care in first-episode psychosis are diverse and varied. There is no measure with established psychometric properties that has been devised on a well-developed theoretical or conceptual framework and had its psychometric properties established. The conflict between exploring the patient's narrative and journey through the healthcare system and developing an empirical measure of pathways with optimal outcomes has hindered the development of such a measure

Mental Health and Quality of Life of Frontline Health Care Workers After One Year of Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract Aim: This study aimed to investigate the impact of more than one year of COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life and mental health (in terms of depression, anxiety, stress, fear, burnout – workload) among Frontline Health Care Workers (HCWs). Subjects and methods: This is a cross-sectional survey based on 1,479 frontline HCW participants aged 20-65 years in Turkey who completed a survey including the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21), Burnout, Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), and WHO (World Health Organization) Quality of Life instruments during March-July 2021. Bivariate, factorial and multivariate statistical analyses were performed. Results: Statistically significant differences were found between three frontline groups of HCWs (Physicians, Nurses, Others) including: age (p<0.001), gender (p<0.001), educational level (p<0.001), income (p<0.001), number of calls per week (p<0.001). There were significantly high scores of fear of COVID-19 for all items among physicians. The findings also showed that the prevalence of depression (p=0.002), anxiety (p<0.001), and stress (p<10.005) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (p=0.011) were significantly different among the three groups of frontline HCWs. The work-related burnout was over 30% in general. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure was 0.840 and indicated that the data of the study were suitable for a factor analysis. The factor analysis found out three factors with eigenvalue greater than one. These factors were consistent with the original scale. The multiple linear regression analysis revealed anxiety (p<0.001), stress(p<0.001), fear of COVID-19 and Burnout (p=0.008), depression (p=0.004), lack of sleeping- Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (p=0.014) and feeling exhausted (p=0.025) were associated with the quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic after adjusting for the age and gender. Conclusion: The findings of this study show that fear and burnout related to COVID-19 were significantly associated with high scores of depression, anxiety, stress, and burnout after one year of pandemic among frontline-HCWs, with poor quality of life and sleep