Background: Depression is the commonest psychological problem that affects a woman during her perinatal period worldwide. The risk of prenatal depression increases as the pregnancy progresses and clinically significant depressive symptoms are common in the mid and late trimester. There is a paucity of research on depression during the prenatal period in India. Given this background, the present study aimed to assess the prevalence of prenatal depression and its associated risk factors among pregnant women in Bangalore, Southern India. Methods: The study was nested within an on-going cohort study. The study participants included 280 pregnant women who were attending the antenatal clinic at Jaya Nagar General Hospital (Sanjay Gandhi Hospital) in Bangalore. The data was collected by using a structured questionnaire which included. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to screen for prenatal depression. Results: The proportion of respondents who screened positive for prenatal depression was 35.7%. Presence of domestic violence was found to impose a five times higher and highly significant risk of developing prenatal depression among the respondents. Pregnancy related anxiety and a recent history of catastrophic events were also found to be a positive predictors of prenatal depression. Conclusion: The high prevalence of prenatal depression in the present study is suggestive of its significance as a public health problem. Health care plans therefore can include screening and diagnosis of prenatal depression in the antenatal care along with other health care facilities provided.

Background: A pregnant woman undergoes physiological as well as psychological changes during this phase of life during which anxiety is a commonly faced mental condition. There is sufficient evidence on the association of pregnancy specific anxiety with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Studies on anxiety during pregnancy from low and middle income countries are limited. Methods: This study included 380 pregnant women, having a confirmed pregnancy of less than 24 weeks without any obstetric complication, who were availing of antenatal care at a public sector hospital in Bangalore city. Pregnancy-related thoughts (PRT) scale was used to screen for anxiety. Details pertaining to sociodemographic data, obstetric history, psychosocial factors including social support, marital discord, domestic violence, consanguinity, history of catastrophic events, history of mental illness, current presence of depression and anxiety was obtained by means of electronic data capture using an Android-based App. Results: Out of 380 pregnant women, 195 (55.7%) were found to have pregnancy-related anxiety. Lower socioeconomic status, low social support and depression emerged as significant determinants of anxiety. Conclusion: The prevalence of anxiety was fairly high in the study population and isp therefore an important public health concern. Pregnancy-related anxiety must be identified early during routine antenatal care to prevent any untoward pregnancy outcomes.

PurposeClinical studies suggest that 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) deficiency plays a pivotal role in both type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cognitive impairment. However, it is unclear if 25(OH)D deficiency could be a possible cause of cognitive impairment in T2DM. Vitamin-D binding protein (VDBP) acts as a major 25(OH)D transporter. Preclinical study has demonstrated improvement in cognitive function by VDBP via inhibiting synaptic degeneration. The aim of the study was to assess the association between serum 25(OH)D, VDBP and cognitive impairment in T2DM patients.Patients and methodsIn this case-control study, cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and serum 25(OH)D and VDBP levels were estimated using ELISA kits.ResultsA total of 88 subjects were included in the study. T2DM patients had lower serum 25(OH)D (p=0.02), VDBP levels (p=0.04) and MMSE scores (p<0.0001) than controls. T2DM patients had higher prevalence of 25(OH)D deficiency and insufficiency, aOR 0.322 (0.128–0.809), p=0.016 and cognitive impairment, aOR 4.405 (1.617–12.002); p=0.004. Cognitive impairment was associated with serum 25(OH)D, aOR 0.131 (0.027–0.638); p=0.014 and VDBP, aOR 1.008 (1.001–1.015), p=0.029. A general linear model showed a significant association of MMSE with serum 25(OH)D (p=0.022).ConclusionSerum 25(OH)D deficiency and cognitive impairment was higher in T2DM patients. Routine assessment of cognitive function is suggested to prevent further behavioral complications. The association of VDBP and cognitive impairment in T2DM needs further exploration.

Background: Worldwide, the occurrence of obesity has markedly increased over the past decades with serious public health consequences. Obese pregnant women are more likely to develop hypertension, pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes, resulting in obstetric complications which in turn may contribute to an increase in adverse child outcomes and maternal mortality. The present study was done to determine the prevalence of obesity and its association with socio-demographic variables, obstetric history and mental health. Methods: This study was nested within an ongoing cohort study, CASCADE, in a public hospital in Bangalore. The study participants comprised of 280 pregnant women who were 18 years of age and above, with a gestational age of less than 24 weeks, enrolled between a period of August 1st, 2017 until April 30th, 2018. Weight and height were measured using calibrated devices to calculate the body mass index. Results: The prevalence of obesity was observed to be 33.9% among the pregnant mothers. Obesity was found to be significantly associated with age, history of abortion, gravidity on multivariate logistic regression. No association was found with depression and anxiety. Conclusions: Obesity is an important health concern among urban pregnant women in the region of South India. The prevalence is much higher than that reported in other studies. Increasing age, multigravidity and past history of abortion were significantly associated with maternal obesity.

Background: In today’s highly-competitive era of modern education, students are constantly exposedto ‘high’ academic stress. Stress, in turn, affects sleep quality. Deterioration in sleep quality adverselyaffects overall health. Yogic breathing exercise i.e., ‘Pranayama’ practice is an easy yet effective way tomaintain sound physical and mental health. Traditional yogic literatures particularly recommend ‘Bhramari’Pranayama (the ‘Humming Bee’ breath) for effectively reducing stress and improving quality of sleep. Dueto lack of specific scientific evidence to support these benefits from Bhramari Pranayama, this study wasundertaken to evaluate the effect of Bhramari Pranayama practice on sleep quality and perceived stress inschool students.Objectives: To evaluate the effect of short-term (6 weeks) practice of Bhramari Pranayama on Sleep Qualityand Perceived Stress in school students.Methodology: After obtaining Ethical clearance, 60 school students of class X were randomly selected forthe study. Assent from participants and written informed consent from their parents were obtained. Afterhistory-taking and general physical examination, ‘baseline’ data including assessment of Sleep quality andPerceived stress were obtained using the PSQI (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) and PSS (Perceived StressScale) questionnaires respectively. Thereafter, Bhramari Pranayama was practiced by the students for 6weeks. Finally, at the end of 6 weeks sleep quality and perceived stress were re-assessed using the abovequestionnaires. Pre- and post- Bhramari pranayama data were compared and analysed using descriptivestatistics and Student’s t-test; p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results: Post Bhramari Pranayama practice, there was significant improvement in Sleep quality & asignificant reduction in Perceived stress (p-value<0.05).Conclusion: Hence, just a few weeks practice of Bhramari Pranayama significantly improves sleep qualityand reduces perceived stress.

Although depression is a common disorder, its underlying biological basis remains poorly understood. The results of clinical lab tests available for research in electronic health records can be used to identify biomarkers that may reveal biological processes involved in the development of depression or may be markers of physiological changes due to depression. Here, we leveraged clinical laboratory tests and integrated biobank data to evaluate the relationship between genetic risk for depression and 315 routinely collected quantitative lab measures. Analyses across four health care systems (N = 382,452) robustly implicate increased white blood cell count as both a risk factor and consequence of depression diagnosis and revealed neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes as the primary cell types responsible for this association. Our results highlight the importance of the immune system in the etiology of depression and motivate future development of clinical biomarkers and targeted treatment options for depression and its systemic effects.

Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) is recognized as an important public health problem globally as well as in India. It may result in adverse physical and mental health consequences for the victim or unfavourable pregnancy outcomes if it happens during pregnancy. The possible risk factors for IPV can be explained by four levels of ecological factors: individual, partner, household and community. We estimated the prevalence of IPV and its association with selected ecological risk factors among pregnant women availing of antenatal care at a public sector hospital in Bengaluru, southern India. Methods We included 350 women above the age of 18 years with a confirmed pregnancy of less than 24 weeks and having no obstetric complication. We used the Conflict Tactics Scale to determine the presence of IPV. The risk factors measured were—individual level: respondent’s age, education, occupation, gravidity, planned or unplanned pregnancy, substance abuse, presence of depression and anxiety; partner-related: spouse’s education, occupation and marital discord; household/community-related: socioeconomic status, social support, religion and consanguinity. Results The prevalence of IPV was 3.7%. Factors that were significantly associated on multivariate analysis were higher age (above 20 years) (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.82 [1.12–2.97], p=0.016) and presence of depression (AOR 6.84 [1.76–26.61], p=0.005). Conclusion The prevalence of IPV was less in our study population compared to figures reported from other Indian study settings.

Bangalore is one of the most sought-after cities in the country with rapid growth in IT industry and rise in the number of job opportunities which has led to increase in vehicular population to about 1.5 million, with an annual growth rate of 7-10%. Traffic congestion has been found to disturb mood, lead to frustration and work absences. Hence the present study was undertaken to know the emotional states of stress, anxiety and depression in city bus drivers and compare the results with non-drivers of similar working environment. OBJECTIVES: To measure stress, anxiety and depression in city bus drivers. And, to compare the results with non-drivers of similar working environment. METHODOLOGY: Comparative parallel study done with 30 male city bus drivers as cases and 30 male bus conductors as controls in the age group of 20-60 years. The study group was matched for working hours and socio economic status. Appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria were excised and informed consent was taken. Depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS), a 42 item questionnaire evaluating depression, anxiety and stress was administered to all subjects. RESULTS: compiled and statistically analyzed. Drivers were more stressed compared to non-drivers which was statistically significant (p<0.01), whereas anxiety and depression scores showed a similar trend though without a statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Results highlight that city bus drivers are more stressed compared to non-drivers working in the same environment. Therefore measures to combat the stress need to be emphasized.