Personality profile and short-term treatment outcome in patients with alcohol dependence: A study from South India

BACKGROUND: Studying personality profiles allows researchers to generate important hypotheses in risk factors and correlates of alcohol use/misuse. Studies examining the association between personality traits and treatment outcome are limited in India. We studied the correlation between personality and treatment outcome in patients with alcohol dependence. METHODS: Adult participants with alcohol dependence were recruited from the inpatient and outpatient wards of de-addiction unit of a tertiary care facility in India using a prospective design and followed up after 3 months. Questionnaires administered were revised NEO personality inventory (NEO-PI-R), alcohol use disorders identification test, and advanced warning of alcohol relapse (AWARE). RESULTS: Out of 99 recruited participants (92% males) with mean age of 37 (±8.36) years, 82 (82.8%) patients were followed up to 3 months. E4 (activity) facet of the extraversion domain in the NEO-PI-R significantly correlated with the baseline drinking scores ( CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that factors related to extraversion, specifically, high activity might be associated with higher drinking as well as higher risk of alcohol relapse. Predicting alcohol relapse by studying the personality traits would help clinicians in improving treatment outcomes

Park availability and major depression in individuals with chronic conditions: Is there an association in urban India?

Green space exposure has been positively correlated with better mental-health indicators in several high income countries, but has not been examined in low- and middle-income countries undergoing rapid urbanization. Building on a study of mental health in adults with a pre-existing chronic condition, we examined the association between park availability and major depression among 1208 adults surveyed in Delhi, India. Major depression was measured using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. The ArcGIS platform was used to quantify park availability indexed as (i) park distance from households, (ii) area of the nearest park; and within one km buffer area around households - the (iii) number and (iv) total area of all parks. Mixed-effects logistic regression models adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics indicated that relative to residents exposed to the largest nearest park areas (tertile 3), the odds [95% confidence interval] of major depression was 3.1 [1.4-7.0] times higher among residents exposed to the smallest nearest park areas (tertile 1) and 2.1 [0.9-4.8] times higher in residents with mid-level exposure (tertile 2). There was no statistically significant association between other park variables tested and major depression. We hypothesized that physical activity in the form of walking, perceived stress levels and satisfaction with the neighborhood environment may have mediating effects on the association between nearest park area and major depression. We found no significant mediation effects for any of our hypothesized variables. In conclusion, our results provide preliminary and novel evidence from India that availability of large parks in the immediate neighborhood positively impacts mental well-being of individuals with pre-existing chronic conditions, at the opportune time when India is embarking on the development of sustainable cities that aim to promote health through smart urban design - one of the key elements of which is the inclusion of urban green spaces

Associations Between Sociodemographic Characteristics, Pre Migratory and Migratory Factors and Psychological Distress Just After Migration and After Resettlement: The Indian Migration Study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Migration is suspected to increase the risk for psychological distress for those who enter a new cultural environment. We investigated the association between sociodemographic characteristics, premigratory and migratory factors and psychological distress in rural-to-urban migrants just after migration and after resettlement. METHODS: Data from the cross-sectional sib-pair designed Indian Migration Study (IMS, 2005-2007) were used. The analysis focused on 2112 participants aged ≥18 years from the total IMS sample (n = 7067) who reported being migrant. Psychological distress was assessed based on the responses of the 7-questions in a five-point scale, where the respondents were asked to report about their feelings now and also asked to recall these feelings when they first migrated. The associations were analyzed using multiple logistic regression models. RESULTS: High prevalence of psychological distress was found just after migration (7.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.2-8.4) than after settlement (4.7%; 95% CI: 3.8-5.6). Push factors as a reason behind migration and not being able to adjust in the new environment were the main correlates of psychological distress among both the male and female migrants, just after migration. CONCLUSIONS: Rural-urban migration is a major phenomenon in India and given the impact of premigratory and migratory related stressors on mental health, early intervention could prevent the development of psychological distress among the migrants

Relation between age at first alcohol drink & adult life drinking patterns in alcohol-dependent patients

Background & objectives: Age at first drink has its influence on later life drinking patterns. The association between age at first drink and adult alcohol consumption has not been studied in clinical population. This study was aimed to determine the age at first drink and its correlation with adult life drinking patterns in alcohol-dependent patients. Methods: Adult participants with alcohol dependence were included from the inpatient and outpatient wards of a tertiary care de-addiction facility in India. Questionnaires administered were National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism-Quantity Frequency for alcohol and the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence for tobacco. Results: Of the 99 participants (92% males) with mean age 37±8.36 yr, mean age at first drink was 21.14±5.33 yr. After controlling for age, satisfaction with life scores and smoking, age at first drink showed a significant negative correlation with drinking days per week (r=-0.259, P=0.012), typical drink per day (r=-0.218, P=0.035) and maximum drinks in the previous month/year (r=-0.233, -0.223 and P=0.024, 0.031, respectively). Interpretation & conclusions: Our study suggested that earlier age of first drink correlated with chronic heavy drinking patterns in later adult life in alcohol-dependent patients. This may have implications for alcohol control policies determining the age for legal consumption

The MAIT TCRβ chain contributes to discrimination of microbial ligand

Mucosal‐associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are key players in the immune response against microbial infection. The MAIT T‐cell receptor (TCR) recognizes a diverse array of microbial ligands, and recent reports have highlighted the variability in the MAIT TCR that could further contribute to discrimination of ligand. The MAIT TCR complementarity determining region (CDR)3β sequence displays a high level of diversity across individuals, and clonotype usage appears to be dependent on antigenic exposure. To address the relationship between the MAIT TCR and microbial ligand, we utilized a previously defined panel of MAIT cell clones that demonstrated variability in responses against different microbial infections. Sequencing of these clones revealed four pairs, each with shared (identical) CDR3α and different CDR3β sequences. These pairs demonstrated varied responses against microbially infected dendritic cells as well as against 5‐(2‐oxopropylideneamino)‐6‐d‐ribitylaminouracil, a ligand abundant in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, suggesting that the CDR3β contributes to differences in ligand discrimination. Taken together, these results highlight a key role for the MAIT CDR3β region in distinguishing between MR1‐bound antigens and ligands