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Vivek Benegal

Publications and source records attributed to Vivek Benegal.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2025

Human development, inequality, and their associations with brain structure across 29 countries.

BACKGROUND: The macro-social and environmental conditions in which people live, such as the level of a country's development or inequality, are associated with brain-related disorders. However, the relationship between these systemic environmental factors and the brain remains unclear. We aimed to determine the association between the level of development and inequality of a country and the brain structure of healthy adults. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study pooling brain imaging (T1-based) data from 145 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in 7,962 healthy adults (4,110 women) in 29 different countries. We used a meta-regression approach to relate the brain structure to the country's level of development and inequality. RESULTS: Higher human development was consistently associated with larger hippocampi and more expanded global cortical surface area, particularly in frontal areas. Increased inequality was most consistently associated with smaller hippocampal volume and thinner cortical thickness across the brain. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the macro-economic conditions of a country are reflected in its inhabitants' brains and may explain the different incidence of brain disorders across the world. The observed variability of brain structure in health across countries should be considered when developing tools in the field of personalized or precision medicine that are intended to be used across the world.

Humans↗
PubMed2006

Tsunami: psychosocial aspects of Andaman and Nicobar islands. Assessments and intervention in the early phase.

The aim of this paper is to describe the activities and observations of the team from National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) Bangalore, India in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands during the early phase of the Tsunami disaster in January and February 2005. The activities comprised mental health consultation at camps, community sensitization, mental health services to the students and children, teachers orientation sessions and training of non-governmental organization [NGO] functionaries. Initial assessment reveals 5-8% of the population were suffering from significant mental health problems following the early phase of the disaster. This may increase in the aftermath of the early relief phase. Psychiatric morbidity is expected be around 25-30% in the disillusionment phase. High resilience was seen in the joint family system of tribal Nicobarese during early phase of disaster. In developing countries like India, limited availability of mental health professionals and poor knowledge about disaster mental health among the medical and para-medical staff, may lead to poor psychosocial rehabilitation of the survivors. To respond to a high magnitude natural disaster like a tsunami, the disaster mental health team must be able to understand the local culture, traditions, language, belief systems and local livelihood patterns. They also need to integrate with the network of various governmental and non-governmental organizations to cater to the needs of the survivors. Hence the presence of a disaster mental health team is definitely required during the early phase of the disaster in developing countries.

Catchment Area, Health↗
PubMed2006

Psychosis among substance users.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This work reviews the evidence that substances of abuse can cause psychosis in nonpsychotic persons. The review is based on the concept that psychosis exists in continuum. Studies examining substance use in, or its effect on, already psychotic individuals were not reviewed. RECENT FINDINGS: A substantial proportion of substance users experience psychosis. Use of cocaine, amphetamines, cannabis and alcohol seems to be associated with greater risk for psychosis. Severity and duration of use, age at the time of first use and vulnerability to develop psychosis by virtue of familial, possibly genetic and personality factors seem to be the determinants for the development of psychosis. Epidemiological and preliminary biological studies suggest that cannabis is a component cause in the development of schizophrenia. Evidence for the causative role of other substances is less systematic. SUMMARY: There exists strong evidence that abuse of substances is associated with greater risk for psychosis and preliminary evidence for their causative role in the development of psychosis. More systematic examination of this issue is likely to throw light on the neurobiology of psychosis and possibly help the vulnerable population in primary prevention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

High-risk sexual behaviour & sensation seeking among heavy alcohol users.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: An association has been shown between alcohol use and high-risk sexual behaviour. One of the important variables that might mediate risky sexual behaviour among alcohol users is the sensation-seeking dimension of personality. This study was undertaken with the aim to assess the relationship between sensation seeking and sexual risk taking among heavy alcohol users admitted to a De-addiction centre. METHODS: To study the above association, sensation seeking was compared between subjects admitted for treatment of alcohol dependence with (n = 30) and without (n = 30) reported high-risk sexual behaviour. RESULTS: Subjects reporting high-risk sexual behaviour were found to have higher sensation seeking scores in all the domains of the sensation seeking scale compared to those without high-risk sexual behaviour. Scores on the subscale disinhibition, of the sensation seeking scale seemed to be associated with higher sexual risk taking. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Sensation seeking as a personality variable was significantly associated with sexual risk taking behaviour among heavy alcohol users. The study indicates the need for careful assessment of personality in these individuals and emphasizes the need for further studies on a larger sample.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Polymorphisms at the DRD2 locus in early-onset alcohol dependence in the Indian population.

The susceptibility to alcohol dependence is probably of polygenic origin. Association studies have attempted to identify possible candidate genes that may contribute to the risk to developing dependence. Severe forms of the alcoholism phenotype have been associated with an increased frequency of the Taq A1 allele at the DRD2 locus. Ethnic stratification and non-comparable phenotype may have contributed to the contradictory results in previous studies. We identified probands, using the Schedules of Assessment of Neuropsychiatry (SCAN) schedule, who had onset of alcohol dependence (ICD-10) before 25 years of age. Family members were interviewed using the Family Interview for Genetic Studies (FIGS) schedule to identify patients who had two first-degree relatives with alcohol dependence. Fifty subjects who fulfilled the criteria were selected for the study. These were compared to a normal population from a similar background. The allele frequencies did not differ between the two groups. The Taq1a polymorphism does not seem to be associated with alcoholism in this group of severely affected, young age of onset probands in the southern Indian population.

Journal Article↗