The global burden of headache is very large, but knowledge of it is far from complete and needs still to be gathered. Published population-based studies have used variable methodology, which has influenced findings and made comparisons difficult. The Global Campaign against Headache is undertaking initiatives to improve and standardize methods in use for cross-sectional studies. One requirement is for a survey instrument with proven cross-cultural validity. This report describes the development of such an instrument. Two of the authors developed the initial version, which was used with adaptations in population-based studies in China, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Zambia and 10 countries in the European Union. The resultant evolution of this instrument was reviewed by an expert consensus group drawn from all world regions. The final output was the Headache-Attributed Restriction, Disability, Social Handicap and Impaired Participation (HARDSHIP) questionnaire, designed for application by trained lay interviewers. HARDSHIP is a modular instrument incorporating demographic enquiry, diagnostic questions based on ICHD-3 beta criteria, and enquiries into each of the following as components of headache-attributed burden: symptom burden; health-care utilization; disability and productive time losses; impact on education, career and earnings; perception of control; interictal burden; overall individual burden; effects on relationships and family dynamics; effects on others, including household partner and children; quality of life; wellbeing; obesity as a comorbidity. HARDSHIP already has demonstrated validity and acceptability in multiple languages and cultures. Modules may be included or not, and others (eg, on additional comorbidities) added, according to the purpose of the study and resources (especially time) available.

BackgroundAnxiety and depression are two important contributors to the global burden of disease. In many developing countries, including Nepal, their prevalences are yet to be assessed.MethodsA nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted among a representative sample of Nepalese adults aged 18–65 years (N = 2100), selected by multistage random cluster sampling and interviewed at home during unannounced visits. The validated questionnaires included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), to detect cases of anxiety (HADS-A), depression (HADS-D) and comorbid anxiety and depression (HADS-cAD), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised Short Form-Neuroticism (EPQRS-N), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life 8-question scale (WHOQOL-8). Logistic regression analyses were used to explore associations of caseness with four groups of variables: demographic, domicile, substance use, and behavioural and health.ResultsAge- and gender-adjusted point prevalences of HADS-A, HADS-D and HADS-cAD were 16.1, 4.2 and 5.9 % respectively. In a multivariate model, HADS-A was positively associated with urban residence (AOR = 1.82; p < 0.001) and neuroticism (AOR = 1.32; p < 0.001), and negatively with alcohol consumption (AOR = 0.71; p = 0.041). HADS-D was positively associated with marijuana use (AOR = 3.61; p = 0.017) and negatively with quality of life (QoL) (AOR = 0.86; p < 0.001). HADS-cAD was positively associated with widowhood (AOR = 2.71; p = 0.002), urban residence (AOR = 2.37; p = 0.001), living at altitude ≥2000 m (AOR = 2.32; p = 0.002) and neuroticism (AOR = 1.26; p < 0.001), and negatively with alcohol use (AOR = 0.56; p = 0.026) and QoL (AOR = 0.79; p < 0.001).ConclusionDepression and anxiety are important mental health conditions in Nepal, and major contributors to public ill health, being very highly prevalent, comorbid and associated with psychosocial burden. They are also linked to the unique topography, habitation and social structure of the country. High prevalence coupled with the disabling nature of these disorders establishes their health-care priority and their importance in national health policy.

BackgroundHeadache disorders are among the most prevalent and burdensome global public-health problems. Within countries, health policy depends upon knowledge of health within the local populations, but the South-East Asia Region (SEAR), among WHO’s six world regions, is the only one for which no national headache prevalence data are available.MethodsIn a cross-sectional population-based study, adults representative of the Nepali-speaking population aged 18–65 years and living in Nepal were randomly recruited using stratified multistage cluster sampling. They were visited unannounced at home by trained interviewers who used a culturally-adapted Nepali translation of the structured Headache-Attributed Restriction, Disability, Social Handicap and Impaired Participation (HARDSHIP) questionnaire.ResultsThere were 2,100 participants (1,239 females [59.0 %], 861 males [41.0 %]; mean age 36.4 ± 12.8 years) with 9 refusals (participation rate 99.6 %). Over half (1,100; 52.4 %) were resident above 1,000 m and almost one quarter (470; 22.4 %) lived at or above 2,000 m. The 1-year prevalence of any headache was 85.4 ± 1.5 % (gender- and age-adjusted 84.9 %), of migraine 34.7 ± 2.0 % (34.1 %), of tension-type headache (TTH) 41.1 ± 2.1 % (41.5 %), of headache on ≥15 days/month 7.7 ± 1.1 % (7.4 %) and of probable medication-overuse headache (pMOH) 2.2 ± 0.63 % (2.1 %).There was a strong association between migraine and living at altitude ≥1,000 m (AOR = 1.6 [95 % CI: 1.3-2.0]; p < 0.001). There was a less strong association between TTH and urban dwelling (AOR = 1.3 [95 % CI: 1.1-1.6]; p = 0.003), and a possibly artefactual negative association between TTH and living above 1,000 m (AOR = 0.7 [95 % CI: 0.6-0.8]; p < 0.001).ConclusionHeadache disorders are very common in Nepal. Migraine is unusually so, and strongly associated with living at altitude, which in very large part accounts for the high national prevalence: the age- and gender- standardised prevalence in the low-lying Terai is 27.9 %. Headache occurring on ≥15 days/month is also common. This new evidence will inform national health policy and provide a basis for health-care needs assessment. However, research is needed to explain the association between migraine and altitude, since it may be relevant to health-care interventions.

BackgroundHeadache disorders, particularly migraine and tension-type headache (TTH), are among the most prevalent global public-health problems. Medication-overuse headache (MOH) is a common sequela of mismanagement of these. Migraine and MOH are highly disabling. Formulation of responsive health policy requires reliable, locally-derived, population-based data describing both individual and societal impact of headache disorders. South-East Asia is the only one of WHO’s six world regions in which no such national data have yet been gathered.MethodsIn a nationwide population-based cross-sectional study, a representative sample of Nepalese-speaking adults (18–65 years) were randomly selected by stratified multistage cluster sampling. Trained interviewers made unannounced door-to-door visits and enquired into headache and its attributable burden using a culturally-adapted and validated Nepalese translation of the Headache-Attributed Restriction, Disability, Social Handicap and Impaired Participation (HARDSHIP) questionnaire.ResultsAmong 2100 participants, 1794 (85.4 %) reported headache during the preceding year (male: 689 [38.4 %], female 1105 [61.6 %]; mean age 36.1 ± 12.6 years). Mean headache frequency was 3.8 ± 6.2 days/month, mean headache intensity 2.1 ± 0.7 on a 0–3 scale, and mean attack duration 41.9 ± 108.5 h. All aspects of symptom burden (frequency, intensity and duration) were greater among females (p < 0.001). Participants with headache had poorer quality of life (QoL) than those without (p < 0.001); QoL was worst among those with probable MOH (pMOH).Mean proportions of total available time spent in the ictal state were 5.4 % among participants with migraine, 3.9 % among those with TTH and 44.7 % among those with pMOH, with headache-related disabilities of 2.4, 0.15 and 9.7 % respectively. At population level, these disorders were responsible for reduced functional capacities of 0.81, 0.06 and 0.20 %. Total lost productive time due to headache was 6.8 % for the 85 % of the population with headache. Males lost more paid worktime than females (p < 0.001); the reverse was so for household worktime (p < 0.001).ConclusionsHeadache disorders, very common in Nepal, are also highly burdensome at both individual and population levels. There is a substantial penalty in lost production. The remedy lies in better health care for headache; structured headache-care services are urgently needed in the country, and likely to be cost-saving.

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Background The increasing elderly population worldwide is likely to increase mental health problems such as geriatric depression, which has mostly been studied in high-income countries. Similar studies are scarce in low-and-middle-income-countries like Nepal. Methods A cross-sectional, population-based, door-to-door survey was conducted in randomly selected rural and urban population clusters of the Kavre district, Nepal. Trained nurses (field interviewers) administered structured questionnaires that included a validated Nepali version of the Geriatric Depression Scale short form (GDS-15) for identifying geriatric depression among the elderly (≥60 years) participants ( N = 460). Those scoring ≥6 on GDS-15 were considered depressed. Logistic regression analysis explored the associations of geriatric depression with regard to socio-demographic information, life style, family support and physical well-being. Results Of the total 460 selected elderly participants, 439 (95.4%) took part in the study. More than half of them were females (54.2%). The mean age was 70.9 (± 8.6) years. Approximately half (50.6%) were rural inhabitants, the majority (86.1%) were illiterate, and about three-fifths (60.1%) were living with their spouses. The gender-and-age adjusted prevalence of geriatric depression was 53.1%. Geriatric depression was significantly associated with rural habitation (AOR 1.6), illiteracy (AOR 2.1), limited time provided by families (AOR 1.8), and exposure to verbal and/or physical abuse (AOR 2.6). Conclusion Geriatric depression is highly prevalent in Kavre, Nepal. The findings call for urgent prioritization of delivery of elderly mental health care services in the country. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12888-019-2258-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Population ageing is a common problem faced in many countries world-wide. Due to physiological and biochemical changes in the elderly, increased incidence of diseases is observed. There is often low use of health services by the elderly for a variety of reasons. Objective To examine the status of health care utilization and to determine the factors associated with utilization of health care among the elderly population of Dhulikhel Municipality. Methods A quantitative descriptive-cross sectional study, with a total number of 200 elderly people residing in Dhulikhel Municipality, was selected for the study. Data were collected across the months of June - July 2011 applying two-staged cluster and systematic random sampling method. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were measured. Results Sixty eight percent of the elderly visited medical personnel in the past year. Eight percent of them visited the emergency department where most of them reported with symptoms attributed to heart disease. Among 200 elderly, 12.5% of them were admitted to the hospital and 53.0% utilized diagnostic services. Age, marital status, activities of daily living, and regular medication showed significant association with health services utilization at 95% level of confidence (p >0.05). Conclusion Marital status, daily living habits, existence of chronic disease, and regular medication demonstrated significant association with the utilization of health care. Social support services, informal education, and awareness programs targeting the senior citizens and studies covering a diverse population are recommended. KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY MEDICAL JOURNAL  VOL.10 | NO. 1 | ISSUE 37 | JAN - MAR 2012 | 34-39 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/kumj.v10i1.6911

Background Poisoning is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Nepal and also a major public health problem worldwide. A thorough review of the risk factors helps to decrease the incidence and mortality. The study evaluates the cases admitted in Dhulikhel Hospital, Kavre, Various parameters like age, sex, marital status, time of ingestion, month of occurrence, agent responsible for incidence; type of poisoning, psychosocial problem, outcome and duration of treatment are analyzed. Objectives The objectives of this study are to determine the pattern and severity of poisoning cases admitted to Dhulikhel Hospital. Methods A hospital based study was carried out in the patient admitted to Dhulikhel Hospital with the history of poisoning for the period of one year between April 2011 to March 2012. Various parameters were analyzed and compared with other study. Results There were 137 cases during the one year duration and maximum case belonged to second and third decade of life. Most common manner of poisoning was suicidal and the incidence was mainly during evening hours. Organophosphorus was the most commonly abused substance. Most of the cases had arrived hospital after one hour of exposure and duration of hospital stay in many cases were less than four days. Conclusion Based on these findings preventive measures like precaution taken at various levels, restriction in free sale of the poisons and promoting Poison Information Centers along with public awareness and proper psychosocial management to decrease the incidence and mortality in poisoning cases can be suggested. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/kumj.v10i4.10999 Kathmandu Univ Med J 2012;10(4):70-73