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Biomedical subjects

Seggane Musisi

Publications and source records attributed to Seggane Musisi.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Detection of major depression in Ugandan primary health care settings using simple questions from a subjective well-being (SWB) subscale.

OBJECTIVE: To explore whether the 4-item subjective well-being subscale could be used to detect a major depressive illness. Secondly, to describe the prevalence and characteristics of depressed health care attendees at primary healthcare centres. METHOD: Using a descriptive, cross-sectional study design, we interviewed 199 consecutive patients about their socio-demographics, subjective well-being (SWB), major depressive illness symptoms and depression severity. The instruments used were translated into Luganda. RESULTS: Point prevalence of a current Major Depressive Episode (MDE) was 31.6%. Using a one week reference period, we found that experiencing a lot of distress, having less energy or poor health, having poor emotional and psychological adjustment and not being satisfied with life were significantly more common among patients with a current MDE. The 4-item SWB subscale detected depression of up to 87.1% (95% CI: 0.818-0.923). In logistic regression, all four SWB items predicted a current MDE. CONCLUSION: Major depressive illness is a common at primary healthcare level in Uganda. Four simple questions reflecting SWB items have potential to detect diagnosable patients likely to have a current MDE, making general screening procedures less necessary.

Adolescent↗

Primary mania versus HIV-related secondary mania in Uganda.

OBJECTIVE: The authors hypothesized that in the majority of HIV-positive patients presenting with mania, the mania is secondary to HIV infection and that its presentation and correlates differ from those of HIV-negative patients with primary mania. METHOD: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted with HIV-negative and HIV-positive patients admitted to psychiatric wards with acute mania. The authors compared the patients' psychiatric, physical, and immunological (CD4 cell counts) and other laboratory parameters. Pairwise comparisons were done for the two groups on a number of variables. RESULTS: Of 141 patients who presented with acute mania during a 6-month period and were eligible for the study, 61 met criteria for HIV-related secondary mania. Compared with HIV-negative patients with primary mania, they were older, more cognitively impaired less educated, and more likely to be female. Patients in this group had more manic symptoms: they were more irritable, more aggressive, more talkative, and had higher rates of paranoid delusions, visual hallucinations, and auditory hallucinations. More of the HIV-positive secondary mania group had CD4 counts below 350 cells/mm(3). CONCLUSIONS: Primary mania and HIV-related secondary mania are clinically and immunologically distinct. The relation between secondary mania and depressed CD4 counts suggests that in the setting of an HIV/AIDS epidemic in poor countries, secondary mania may be used as an indicator to initiate highly active antiretroviral therapy.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗

The International HIV Dementia Scale: a new rapid screening test for HIV dementia.

OBJECTIVE: HIV dementia is an important neurological complication of advanced HIV infection. The use of a cross-cultural screening test to detect HIV dementia within the international community is critical for diagnosing this condition. The objective of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of a new screening test for HIV dementia, the International HIV Dementia Scale (IHDS) in cohorts from the US and Uganda. DESIGN: Two cross-sectional cohort studies designed to evaluate for the presence of HIV dementia. METHODS: Sixty-six HIV-positive individuals in the US and 81 HIV-positive individuals in Uganda received the IHDS and full standardized neurological and neuropsychological assessments. The sensitivity and specificity of varying cut-off scores of the IHDS were evaluated in the two cohorts. RESULTS: In the US cohort, the mean IHDS score for HIV-positive individuals without dementia and with dementia were 10.6 and 9.3 respectively (P < 0.001). Using the cut-off of < or = 10, the sensitivity and specificity for HIV dementia with the IHDS were 80% and 57% respectively in the US cohort, and 80% and 55% respectively in the Uganda cohort. CONCLUSIONS: The IHDS may be a useful screening test to identify individuals at risk for HIV dementia in both the industrialized world and the developing world. Full neuropsychological testing should then be performed to confirm a diagnosis of HIV dementia.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗

Repetition of deliberate self-harm as seen in Uganda.

Described is the presentation of repetition of deliberate self-harm (DSH) as seen in an African population in urban Uganda. A Luganda version (local language in study area) of the modified European Parasuicide Interview Schedule I (EPSIS I) was used to collect the data. An univariate analysis was conducted. Results indicated that repeaters of DSH differed significantly from non-repeaters on several dimensions. The factors included were: more often single, less often had children, staying alone or with their parents, reported sexual problems as a precipitant of current DSH event, more negative life events in childhood and less negative life events in the last year. Furthermore, a multivariate analysis was conducted resulting in only sexual problems and the psychological factor of trait anger, which retained statistical significance. The significance of these findings is discussed.

Adolescent↗

Psychological factors in deliberate self-harm as seen in a urban African population in Uganda: a case-control study.

Psychological factors associated with deliberate self-harm (DSH) as seen in an African population in Uganda are described. A case-control study design was employed in which a Luganda version (predominant language in the study area) of the modified European Parasuicide Interview Schedule I (EPSIS I) was used to collect data. The controls were patients admitted to the participating hospitals for non-recurrent medical conditions. Hopelessness, global psychological distress, and state anger, but not depression, were significantly associated with DSH after controlling for other factors. Both depression and hopelessness were significantly associated with suicidal intent independent of each other. Differences were observed on the psychological factors associated with suicidal intent in the different age/sex groups and in the depressed/nondepressed group. Interventions for DSH in this population should include treatments for both depression and hopelessness. This study further raises questions about the universality of the structural relationship among depression, hopelessness, and suicidality.

Adolescent↗

Deliberate self-harm as seen in Kampala, Uganda - a case-control study.

OBJECTIVES: A study to investigate deliberate self-harm (DSH) in an African context was undertaken in Uganda. METHODS: A case-control study in which 100 cases of DSH and 300 controls matched on age and sex were recruited from three general hospitals in Kampala and subjected to a structured interview using a modified version of the European Parasuicide Study Interview Schedule I. RESULTS: Among the cases, 63% were males, with a male to female ratio of 1.7:1 and a peak age range of 20-24 years. Higher educational attainment, higher socio-economic class and poor housing were significantly associated with DSH. District of current residence, district of birth, religion, ethnicity, marital status, number of children, current living arrangement, area of usual residence, employment status of respondent and partner were not significantly associated with DSH. Pesticides and medications, mainly antimalarials and diazepam, were the main methods of DSH used. The most commonly reported psychiatric disorders were adjustment disorder, acute stress reactions and depression. CONCLUSION: DSH in Uganda appears to predominantly afflict the young. Disturbed interpersonal relationships, poverty and loneliness were important factors in the immediate precipitation of this behaviour. The fact that pesticide poisoning is still the predominantly used method in DSH in this area calls for a review of the legislation that controls the sale and availability of these agricultural chemicals.

Adolescent↗