Effectiveness of the Thinking Healthy Programme for perinatal depression delivered through peers: Pooled analysis of two randomized controlled trials in India and Pakistan

BACKGROUND: The Thinking Healthy Programme (THP) is recommended to treat perinatal depression in resource-limited settings, but scale-up is hampered by a paucity of community health workers. THP was adapted for peer-delivery (THPP) and evaluated in two randomized controlled trials in India and Pakistan. Our aim was to estimate the effectiveness of THPP on maternal outcomes across these two settings, and evaluate effect-modification by country and other pre-defined covariates. METHODS: Participants were pregnant women aged≥18 years with depression (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score≥10), randomized to THPP plus enhanced usual care (EUC) or EUC-only. Primary outcomes were symptom severity and remission (PHQ-9 score<5) 6 months post-childbirth. Secondary outcomes included further measures of depression, disability and social support at 3 and 6 months post-childbirth. RESULTS: Among 850 women (280 India; 570 Pakistan), 704 (83%) attended 6-month follow-up. Participants in the intervention arm had lower symptom severity (PHQ-9 score adjusted mean difference -0.78 (95% confidence interval -1.47,-0.09)) and higher odds of remission (adjusted odds ratio 1.35 (1.02,1.78)) versus EUC-only. There was a greater intervention effect on remission among women with short chronicity of depression, and those primiparous. There were beneficial intervention effects across multiple secondary outcomes. LIMITATIONS: The trials were not powered to assess effect-modifications. 10-20% of participants were missing outcome data. CONCLUSIONS: This pooled analysis demonstrates the effectiveness, acceptability and feasibility of THPP, which can be scaled-up within a stepped-care approach by engaging with the existing health care systems and the communities to address the treatment gap for perinatal depression in resource-limited settings

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Not AvailableWestern Ghats of India is one of the megadiversity centres in the world. There are 15 species of Garcinia reported, of which many are endemic in nature. The genetic diversity in one of the same endemic species Garcinia xanthochymus were evaluated using ISSR and RAPD markers. A total of 15 individual plants from each location was analyzed. Six populations of G. xanthochymus were collected and screened using 16 ISSR and 10 RAPD markers. ISSR primers generated 80 bands of which 17 were polymorphic (21.25 % polymorphism) and RAPD primers produced 51 total bands of which 18 were polymorphic (35.29 % polymorphism). The ISSR and RAPD cluster analysis grouped them into two groups. The detected polymorphism is enough at species level and therefore the RAPD and ISSR can be used as efficient markers for genetic relatedness assessment in G. xanthochymus. The UPGMA and PCoA analysis distantly grouped these populations in two groups. The genetic diversity within the population is an important source for the evolution of the genera. G. xanthochymus has distinct populations in different geographical area.Not Availabl

Determinants of Common Mental Disorder, Alcohol Use Disorder and cognitive morbidity among people coming for HIV testing in Goa, India

OBJECTIVE: To investigate associations between background characteristics (psychosocial adversity, risk behaviours/perception of risk and HIV-related knowledge, perceptions and beliefs) and psychological and cognitive morbidity among people coming for testing for HIV/AIDS in Goa, India. METHODS: Analysis of cross-sectional baseline data (plus HIV status) from a prospective cohort study. Participants were recruited at the time of coming for HIV testing. RESULTS: Consistent with associations found among general population samples, among our sample of 1934 participants, we found that indicators of psychosocial adversity were associated with CMD (common mental disorder - major depression, generalised anxiety and panic disorder) among people coming for testing for HIV. Similarly, perpetration of intimate partner violence was associated with AUD (alcohol use disorder). Two STI symptoms were associated with CMD, and sex with a non-primary partner was associated with AUD. Suboptimal knowledge about HIV transmission and prevention was associated with low cognitive test scores. In contrast with other studies, we found no evidence of any association between stigma and CMD. There was no evidence of modification of associations by HIV status. CONCLUSIONS: Among people coming for testing for HIV/AIDS in Goa, India, we found that CMD occurred in the context of social and economic stressors (violence, symptoms of STI, poor education and food insecurity) and AUD was associated with violence and risky sexual behaviour. Further research is necessary to understand the role of gender, stigma and social norms in determining the relationship between sexual and mental health. Understanding associations between these background characteristics and psychological morbidity may help inform the design of appropriate early interventions for depression among people newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS

Psychological predictors for attendance of post-HIV test counselling and linkage to care:the Umeed cohort study in Goa, India

BACKGROUND: Successful linkage to care is increasingly recognised as a potentially important factor in determining the success of Antiretroviral Therapy treatment programmes. However, the role of psychological factors during the early part of the continuum of care has so far been under-investigated. The objective of the Umeed study was to evaluate the impact of Common Mental Disorder (CMD), hazardous alcohol use and low cognitive functioning upon attendance for post-test counselling and linkage to care among people attending for HIV-testing in Goa, India. METHODS: The study was a prospective cohort design. Participants were recruited at the time of attending for testing and were asked to complete a baseline interview covering sociodemographic characteristics and mental health exposures. HIV status, post-test counselling (PTC) and Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) Centre data were extracted from clinical records. RESULTS: Among 1934 participants, CMD predicted non-attendance for PTC (adjusted OR = 0.51, 0.21-0.82). There was tentative evidence of an association between hazardous alcohol use and non-attendance for PTC (adjusted OR = 0.69, 0.45-1.02). There was no evidence of an association between CMD caseness and attendance for ART. However, post-hoc analyses showed an association between increasing symptoms of CMD and non-attendance. CONCLUSIONS: Although participation rates were high (86%), non-participation was a possible source of bias. Cognitive tests had not been previously validated in a young population in Goa. The context in which cognitive testing took place may have contributed to the high prevalence of low scores. Findings suggest the need to move towards a broader conceptualisation of the interrelationship between mental health and HIV. It may be important to consider the impact of symptoms of depression and anxiety at every stage of the continuum of care, including immediately after diagnosis and when initiating contact with treatment services

Pathways to HIV testing and care in Goa, India: exploring psychosocial barriers and facilitators using mixed methods

Abstract Background Despite recognition of the importance of timely presentation to HIV care, research on pathways to care is lacking. The adverse impact of depression upon adherence to antiretroviral therapy is established. There is emerging evidence to suggest depression may inhibit initial engagement with care. However, the effect of depression and other psychosocial factors upon the pathway to care is unknown. Methods We used mixed methods to explore pathways to care of people accessing testing and treatment in Goa, India. Questionnaires including measures of common mental disorder, hazardous alcohol use, cognition and assessment of pathways to care (motivations for testing, time since they were first aware of this reason for testing, whether they had been advised to test, who had given this advice, time elapsed since this advice was given) were administered to 1934 participants at the time of HIV testing. Qualitative interviews were carried out with 15 study participants who attended the antiretroviral therapy treatment centre. Interview topic guides were designed to elicit responses that discussed barriers and facilitators of accessing testing and care. Results Pathways were often long and complex. Quantitative findings revealed that Common Mental Disorder was associated with delayed testing when advised by a Doctor (the most common pathway to testing) (AOR = 6.18, 2.16–17.70). Qualitative results showed that triggers for testing (symptoms believed to be due to HIV, and for women, illness or death of their husband) suggested that poor health, rather than awareness of risk was a key stimulus for testing. The period immediately before and after diagnosis was characterised by distress and fear. Stigma was a prominent backdrop to narratives. However, once participants had made contact with care and support (HIV services and non-governmental organisations), these systems were often effective in alleviating fear and promoting confidence in treatment and self-efficacy. Conclusion The effectiveness of formal and informal systems of support around the time of diagnosis in supporting people with mental disorder is unclear. Ways of enhancing these systems should be explored, with the aim of achieving timely presentation at HIV care for all those diagnosed with the disease

Symptoms of common mental disorder and cognitive associations with seropositivity among a cohort of people coming for testing for HIV/AIDS in Goa, India: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: The majority of research on HIV/AIDS and mental health has been carried out among clinical populations: the time of onset of comorbid depression and the mechanisms for this are therefore unclear. Although there is evidence to suggest that asymptomatic people living with HIV/AIDS exhibit some cognitive deficits, the prevalence of poor cognitive functioning among people in low income settings at an early, pre-clinical stage has not yet been investigated. METHODS: We used a cross-sectional survey design to test the hypotheses that symptoms of Common Mental Disorder (CMD) and low scores on cognitive tests would be associated with seropositivity among participants coming for testing for HIV/AIDS. Participants were recruited at the time of coming for testing for HIV/AIDS; voluntary informed consent was sought for participation in research interviews and data linkage with HIV test results. Baseline questionnaires including sociodemographic variables and measures of mental health (PHQ-9, GAD-7, panic disorder questions, AUDIT and delayed word list learning and recall and animal naming test of verbal fluency) were administered by trained interviews. HIV status data was extracted from clinical records. RESULTS: CMD and scoring below the educational norm on the test of verbal fluency were associated with testing positive for HIV/AIDS in bivariate analysis (OR = 2.26, 1.31-3.93; OR = 1.77, 1.26-2.48, respectively). After controlling for the effects of confounders, the association between CMD and seropositivity was no longer statistically significant (AOR = 1.56, 0.86-2.85). After adjusting for the effects of confounders, the association between low scores on the test of verbal fluency and seropositivity was retained (AOR = 1.77, 1.27-2.48). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide tentative evidence to suggest that low cognitive test scores (and possibly depressive symptoms) may be associated with HIV status among people who have yet to receive their HIV test results. Impaired cognitive functioning and depression-like symptoms may be the result of the same underlying neurological damage. CMD and cognitive impairment may overlap to a greater extent than previously assumed. If replicated, this may have implications for the way in which we measure and treat CMD and cognitive functioning among people living with HIV/AIDS