INTRODUCTIONMenstrual irregularities affect 2-5% of childbearing women, a number that is considerably higher among females under constant stress during a cycle [1]. A woman's menstrual cycle typically follows a 28-day cycle and ends with the shedding of uterine lining leading to bleeding. The normal menstrual cycle indicates the proper functioning of hormones, having a normal menstrual cycle signifies a healthy hypothalamo-pitutary axis with a normal uterus. However, a number of conditions such sudden weight loss, over-exercising, medical conditions and even stress can interfere with a woman's ability to experience a normal menstrual cycle. Both longer duration of menstrual bleeding and cycle irregularity are associated with major depression.Although there appears to be a relationship between the type and severity of the stress and the proportion of women who develop menstrual problems, in practice it is difficult if not impossible to identify a threshold at which stress will interfere with the normal cycle. The individual response to abnormality in body function is heightened due to psychobiological characteristics [2][3]. This study was planned to establish a correlation between the levels of perceived stress and its effect on the menstrual cycle. MATERIALS AND METHODSThis cross-sectional study was conducted in the undergraduate girl's hostel of a medical college. Hundred female students aged above 18 years were the target population of the study. The students with current medical, psychiatric or gynaecological problems like pregnancy and amenorrhea were excluded from the study.The participants were given liberal verbal explanations plus description letters about the topic and the aim of the study with attached consent forms. After the students had duly signed the consent form, a questionnaire along with the PSS (available freely online) [4] and PBAC (prior permission taken) [5] was provided to them.The questionnaire dealt with anthropometric data, lifestyle, menstrual history, and menstrual health status. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated using self-reported data on height and weight. The students were then asked to record their menstrual pattern on the PBAC for the next menstrual cycle and fill the PSS for the month. Based on the answers, PSS was calculated for each participant.The PSS is the most widely used psychological instrument for measuring the perception of stress [4]. It is a measure of the degree to which situations in one's life are appraised as stressful. Items were designed to tap how unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded respondents find their lives. The scale also includes a number of direct queries about current levels of experienced stress. The questions in the PSS ask about feelings and thoughts during the last month. In each case, respondents are asked how often they felt a certain way. 5, 7, & 8) and then summing across all scale items. The subjects who scored ≤20 on the PSS were categorized to have low stress levels, while subjects with score >20 were categorized to have hig...

No abstract

Comments have been frequently made on the differences in the symptomatological pattern of depression in different cultural groups. Kraepelin (1921), in his study on the incidence of depressive illness in Asian countries, mentioned that depression in Java was characterized almost exclusively by excitement and confusion and that ideas of sin and suicidal tendencies were absent. Carothers (1958) could not elicit feelings of guilt or self abasement in depression among the Africans of Kenya. Lambo (1956), of Nigeria, thought that the rarity of depression observed by many workers in African countries might be due to erroneous diagnosis, and that most of the cases remain concealed by the label of ‘neurasthenia’. Out of fifteen cases of definite affective psychosis seen by him only one showed guilt feelings, self-condemnation and anticipation of punishment. Multiple somatic features, phobic and obsessional symptoms and anxiety were common. Yap (1965), commenting on the findings of various workers about depression in African countries, states ‘there is agreement among these authors on the rarity of outspoken affective illness, lightness and short duration of depression with an absence of ideas of sin and guilt, the relative frequency of manic pictures, the common association with confusional symptoms, and a very low suicide rate.’ He also refers to Pfeiffer's findings about the frequency of hypochondriacal depression in the Chinese. The absence of delusions of sin in Chinese as well as in Japanese depressives has also been noted by Yap (1958). On the other hand, Eaton and Weil (1955), in a study concerning the Hutterites, have reported a high incidence of guilt-ridden depression.

The novelty of three-dimensional visualization technology (3DVT), such as virtual reality (VR), has captured the interest of many educational institutions. This study's objectives were to (1) assess how VR and physical models impact anatomy learning, (2) determine the effect of visuospatial ability on anatomy learning from VR and physical models, and (3) evaluate the impact of a VR familiarization phase on learning. This within-subjects, crossover study recruited 78 undergraduate students who studied anatomical structures at both physical and VR models and were tested on their knowledge immediately and 48 hours after learning. There were no significant differences in test scores between the two modalities on both testing days. After grouping participants on visuospatial ability, low visuospatial ability learners performed significantly worse on anatomy knowledge tests compared to their high visuospatial ability counterparts when learning from VR immediately (P = 0.001, d = 1.515) and over the long-term (P = 0.003, d = 1.279). In contrast, both low and high visuospatial ability groups performed similarly well when learning from the physical model and tested immediately after learning (P = 0.067) and over the long-term (P = 0.107). These results differ from current literature which indicates that learners with low visuospatial ability are aided by 3DVT. Familiarizing participants with VR before the learning phase had no impact on learning (P = 0.967). This study demonstrated that VR may be detrimental to low visuospatial ability students, whereas physical models may allow all students, regardless of their visuospatial abilities, to learn similarly well. Anat Sci Educ 14: 788-798.