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Biomedical subjects

N N Wig

Publications and source records attributed to N N Wig.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Effects of level of socio-economic development on course of non-affective psychosis.

BACKGROUND: This study explored the relation of level of socio-economic development to the course of non-affective psychosis, by extending the analysis of urban/rural differences in course in Chandigarh, India. METHOD: The proportion of 'best outcome' cases between urban (n = 110) and rural (n = 50) catchment areas were compared at two-year follow-up, separately for CATEGOS+ and non-S+ schizophrenia. RESULTS: The proportion of subjects with 'best outcome' ratings at the urban and rural sites, respectively, was similar for CATEGOS+ schizophrenia (29 v. 29%), but significantly different for non-S+ psychosis (26 v. 47%). CONCLUSIONS: The fact that in rural Chandigarh, psychoses have a more favourable course than in the urban area may be explained in large part by psychoses distinct from 'nuclear' schizophrenia.

Cohort Studies↗
PubMed1996

Psychosocial and biological aspects of acute brief psychoses in three developing country sites.

This study explored biological as well as psychosocial contributions to the incidence of acute brief psychoses in three developing country sites. The samples were taken from the five year follow-up data of the International Pilot Study of Schizophrenia sites in Ibadan, Nigeria and Agra, India, and from the Determinants of Outcome of Severe Mental Disorders rural Chandigarh site. Baseline narratives of the cases and controls were reviewed and rated for presence or absence of three exposures: fever, departure from or return to parental village (women), and job distress (men). Results showed an association between fever and acute brief psychosis in all three sites. There was an association between acute brief psychosis and departure from or return to the parental village among women in all sites, and among men, an association between job distress and acute brief psychosis was noted in Ibadan and Agra. These findings suggest that psychosocial and biological factors such as these three exposures merit further research to clarify their roles in the etiology of acute brief psychoses.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1993

Genetic loadings in schizophrenia: a dermatoglyphic study.

Finger and palmar dermatoglyphics of 120 male and 120 female schizophrenics with and without a family history of schizophrenia in first-degree relatives were studied in the northwestern part of India. Patients were selected according to specific diagnostic criteria. Significant dermatoglyphic differences were observed for fingerprint patterns, total finger ridge counts and 'atd' angle between the schizophrenics with and those without a positive family history of schizophrenia, suggesting a strong "genetic loading" (i.e., hereditary factors) in familial cases of schizophrenia. Dermatoglyphic features of isolated schizophrenics also significantly differed from those of controls, thus indicating the involvement of genetic factors in the etiology of schizophrenia.

Dermatoglyphics↗
PubMed1990

Relatives' expressed emotion and the course of schizophrenia in Chandigarh. A two-year follow-up of a first-contact sample.

A two-year follow-up was conducted of a subsample of the Chandigarh cohort of first-contact schizophrenic patients from the WHO Determinants of Outcome project. The patients were those living with family members who had been interviewed initially to determine their levels of expressed emotion (EE). The interview was repeated for 74% of the relatives at one-year follow-up. A dramatic reduction had occurred in each of the EE components and in the global index. No rural relative was rated as high EE at follow-up. Of the patients included in the one-year follow-up, 86% were followed for two years. In contrast to the one-year findings, the global EE index at initial interview did not predict relapse of schizophrenia over the subsequent two years. However, there was a significant association between initial hostility and subsequent relapse. The better outcome of this cohort of schizophrenic patients compared with samples from the West is partly attributable to tolerance and acceptance by family members.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1989

Psychiatric disorders among medical in-patients in an Indian hospital.

Psychiatric symptoms among medical in-patients in an Indian hospital were assessed: the SRQ was used as a screening instrument, and those with probable psychiatric disorders were given the PSE and MSE, for further, detailed assessment. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was 34%, with a further 15% reporting distressing psychiatric symptoms only. The most frequent complaints were delirium and adjustment disorders. They were largely associated with connective tissue, as well as cardiovascular and endocrine, disorders, and were characterised by depression, worrying and irritability. The reliability of the SRQ varied with the cut-off score, which gave optimal specificity and sensitivity when set at 9.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1989

Alcohol-related problems in the emergency room of an Indian general hospital.

Alcohol-related problems made up 17.6% of the case load of psychiatric emergencies in an Indian general hospital. The police brought three-quarters of them, 45% for quarrels, street-fights and under influence of alcohol and 20% for minor offences like abusing in public. A psychiatric illness was definitely present in 40% of the cases. Only 10% of the patients with alcohol-related problems were referred for outpatient treatment. Eighty-five percent were not given any follow-up advice because the patients said they needed no help.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1988

Determinants of emergency room visits for psychological problems in a general hospital.

Determinants of emergency room visits for psychological reasons were studied prospectively for a four month period in an Indian General Hospital. Psychiatric emergencies constituted only 2% of all emergency visits. Most of the patients were new except for 7.4% who were already registered with the outpatient services of the psychiatry department. Males outnumbered females in a ratio of 2:1. Self-referrals constituted 77% of the samples; 21% of patients were brought by police. Two-thirds of the patients were brought owing to the severity of their clinical condition and the rest, one-third, for medico-legal and social reasons. Approximately 80% of the patients sought consultation within one month of the onset of illness episode. First episode of mental illness was within last one year of the emergency room visit in 60% patients. Past history of hospitalization for mental illness was obtained only in 10% of cases. The pattern suggested that there was no misuse of emergency services by psychiatric patients although 20% of the patients presented with social problems only which required social rather than psychiatric intervention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Unwelcome guests: bugbears of the emergency room physician.

In a prospective study on psychiatric emergencies in the setting of a general hospital, the phenomenon of repeat-visits was studied. Results confirm that repeaters represent a sizeable load on emergency services--about 18% of all psychiatric emergencies. Females and neurotics are over-represented among the repeaters. Chronic repeaters tend to evoke strong feelings among the emergency physicians thereby decreasing their chances of referral to the psychiatry resident on call.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1987

Patterns of coverage of psychiatric emergencies.

A massive change in the detection of psychiatric cases in the emergency room was recorded when pattern of coverage was changed from "on-call" basis to "continuous physical presence" of psychiatry residents in the emergency room.

Emergency Services, Psychiatric↗
PubMed1987

Expressed emotion and schizophrenia in north India. I. Cross-cultural transfer of ratings of relatives' expressed emotion.

A bilingual rater was trained in English in a technique of assessing relatives emotional attitudes to patients, and was then required to rate material in Hindi without any further experience. This strategy revealed that the rating of critical comments, hostility and positive remarks could be transferred from English to Hindi without distortion. There were problems with the remaining two scales, over-involvement and warmth, but these were due to technical issues connected with rating and not to cross-cultural distortion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Expressed emotion and schizophrenia in north India. II. Distribution of expressed emotion components among relatives of schizophrenic patients in Aarhus and Chandigarh.

We measured the components of expressed emotion among two samples of relatives of first-contact patients from Aarhus (Denmark) and Chandigarh (India). The Danes were very similar in most respects to samples of British relatives, whereas the Indian relatives expressed significantly fewer critical comments, fewer positive remarks, and less over-involvement. Within the Chandigarh sample, city-dwellers were significantly more expressive than villagers of all EE components except over-involvement.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Expressed emotion and schizophrenia in north India. III. Influence of relatives' expressed emotion on the course of schizophrenia in Chandigarh.

We conducted a one-year follow-up of patients who had made a first contact with psychiatric services in Chandigarh, North India, and had been assigned a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The expressed emotion (EE) of the patients' relatives was assessed early on. We found the same associations between the individual components of EE and relapse of schizophrenia as in previous Anglo-American studies, but only the association between hostility and relapse was statistically significant. Applying the same criteria as in the Anglo-American studies for 'high EE', we found a significant relationship between high EE and relapse rates. We conclude that the significantly better outcome of Chandigarh first-contact patients compared with a London sample is largely due to the significantly lower proportion of high-EE relatives in the North Indian sample.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1983

The burden of mental illness on the family. Results of observations in four developing countries. A report from the WHO Collaborative Study on Strategies for Extending Mental Health Care.

As part of the WHO Collaborative Study on Strategies for Extending Mental Health Care 259 families in four developing countries (Colombia, India, Sudan and the Philippines) were screened with regard to the social burden caused by mental illness of one of its members. Levels of subsistence, previous illness, financial burden, personal relations and social acceptance were studied. The social burden was greatest in the urban areas.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

The WHO collaborative study on strategies for extending mental health care, II: The development of new research methods.

Teams in seven developing countries under sponsorship of the World Health Organization have been carrying out collaborative operational research on providing mental health care through primary health care services. New techniques of identifying mental disorders in children and adults have been developed and tested. Methods of assessing the skills and attitudes of health workers toward mental health work and of gauging community attitudes toward mental illness have also been developed. Results have been directly applied in planning better mental health care. The authors conclude that cross-cultural collaborative research is effective in improving mental health care for those in greatest need.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1983

The WHO collaborative study on strategies for extending mental health care, III: Evaluative design and illustrative results.

Teams in seven developing countries have adopted a common research design to evaluate new community mental health care services. The nature of the intervention programs varied considerably according to the characteristics of each area. Observations made before the intervention and 18 to 24 months after showed significant changes in the attitudes, knowledge, and diagnostic accuracy of health staff and in community attitudes and reactions. A considerable number of individuals with serious mental disorders received effective care for the first time.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1983

The WHO collaborative study on strategies for extending mental health care, IV: A training approach to enhancing the availability of mental health manpower in a developing country.

Part of the WHO collaborative study is the training of general health workers to provide mental health services. The authors describe the training program used in Raipur Rani, chandigarh, India, to train medical ancillaries (called peripheral health workers). Training methods used were based on evaluation of 1) Workers' existing knowledge of and attitudes toward mental health problems, 2) existing training materials, 3) the need for new training materials, and 4) the support and supervision workers needed to carry out their duties. Use of the workers has greatly increased the availability of mental health services.

Allied Health Personnel↗