Cognitive Functions in Abstinent Alcohol Dependent Males – A Cross Sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Humans have drunk alcohol for atleast 12000 years and it was being used in religious rituals in ancient cultures. Alcohol is an organic compound in which the functional hydroxyl group is attached to a carbon atom. Ethanol is the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages and its chemical formula is CH3-CH2-OH. The lifetime risk for alcohol use disorders is more than 15% for men and between 8% and 10% for women, making alcoholism among the most common psychiatric conditions observed in the western world. In India, the estimated number of alcohol users in 2005 was 62.5 million, with 17.4% of them being dependent users. (Ray R, national survey on extent, pattern and trends of drug abuse in India, 2005) The deleterious effects of alcohol on cognitive functioning were reported as early as the 1880s separately by wernicke and by korsakoff, followed by Hamilton, fisher and weschler. It was after the introduction of clinical neuropsychological model by Fitzhugh and co- workers on cognitive function in alcoholism which marked the beginning of systematic research in this area. (Fein G, Bachman L, Fisher S, et al, 1990) Wide research has been done in clinically evident cognitive impairments like those seen in korsakoff syndrome occurring due to thiamine deficiency. But there are no large scale epidemiologic studies to establish the prevalence of cognitive impairment in abstinent alcoholics which is not evident during routine interviews. The rate of abstinent alcoholics with cognitive impairments has been reported in myriad studies. Most of the samples chosen for these studies where from inpatient or out-patient treatment settings and had used convenient samples. (Fein G, Bachman L, Fisher S, et al, 1990) Although studies show that cognitive deficits are reversible after prolonged abstinence, residual deficits do exist for some patients. Although cognitive deficits are reversible during sustained abstinence, residual deficits persist in some patients for extended periods of time. Because of the patient’s cognitive deficits, they find it difficult to continue their treatment and participate in treatment and also indulge effectively in their life. Assessing these functions as clinicians becomes essential as it helaps us choose appropriate treatment and to time the treatment. With this note it is also important to understand that not all alcoholics develop cognitive impairment. As a result it eventually instilled a need for determining cognitive functions in alcohol dependent subjects during their abstinent period for better treatment outcome and to choose appropriate treatment in them. Hence this study is conducted among alcohol dependent males during their abstinence period to assess their cognitive functions and to find the correlation between duration of abstinence and cognitive functions

Study of the magnitude of premenstrual syndrome in a tertiary care institute in Pondicherry, India

Background: Premenstrual syndrome is cyclical physical and behavioural symptoms that appear in days preceding menstruation and interfere with work or life style followed by a symptom free interval. The common affective and somatic symptoms seen are mood swings, irritability, anxiety, breast tenderness, weight gain and abdominal bloating. The present study was done to detect premenstrual syndrome and encourage students to seek treatment which would improve quality of life both socially and academically.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of three months from November 2018 to January 2019 among medical students in a tertiary care institute in Pondicherry. A detailed questionnaire regarding premenstrual symptoms and screening for depression was obtained from all study subjects. Diagnosis of premenstrual syndrome was done if there were at least one affective symptom like mood swings, insomnia, anxiety and one somatic symptom like abdominal bloating, breast complaints and weight gain.Results: Total of 207 students were screened out of whom 155 (74.87%) students were found to have premenstrual syndrome. 41 students did not have the same, 11 students were excluded as they were having endocrine disorders like polycystic ovarian syndrome and thyroid abnormalities. 60.6% had mild 38.4% moderate 4.5% had severe premenstrual syndrome. Commonest symptoms were mood swings 81.9% followed by anxiety 80% and fatigue 71.6% breast complaints and joint pains were seen in 71% equally so also abdominal bloating and weight gain which was seen in 67%. Depression was found in 52.9% of the students.Conclusions: Premenstrual syndrome is prevalent among medical students commonly and detecting it and encouraging students to seek treatment will help them perform better socially and academically

Attitude towards mental illness among doctors and nurses in a tertiary care centre, Pondicherry, India

Background: Stigma can prevent care and treatment of mentally ill. About 54% of diagnosable mental disorders are seen in primary care settings. There is a gross underestimation of psychiatric morbidity among patients by substantial proportion of non-psychiatric clinicians. Hence there is a need to assess the attitude towards mental illness among doctors and staff nurses. The objectives of the study were to assess the attitude towards mental illness among doctors and nurses, to compare the attitude between doctors and nurses, to find if there is any correlation between duration of training or posting and attitude, to find if educational status had any influence on attitude, to find if there is any gender influence on attitude. Methods: It is a cross sectional descriptive study conducted in a private medical college, Pondicherry among doctors and nurses who had completed their under graduation with a sample size of 221 (Doctors-120, Nurses-101). The instruments used were a semi-structured demographic profile and 34 items of OMICC (Opinion About Mental Illness in Chinese Community). The data was entered in Microsoft Excel 2013 analyzed using descriptive statistics, unpaired t-test, pearson’s correlation coefficient.Results: Only 25% of doctors and 4.9% of nurses positive attitude when overall score was considered. Doctors group had higher positive attitudes compared to nurses in domains separatism, stereotyping, benevolence and stigmatisation.Conclusions: There was no correlation between duration of psychiatry posting and attitude