Santosh Kumar

Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences | IGIMS · Department of Psychiatry

Background Having a child with a serious illness like cancer has a detrimental and negative impact on the parents’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Many factors have been identified as being associated with poorer HRQOL. Acquiring knowledge about these factors is essential to enhancing the quality of life (QOL) of children as well as their p...

Psychological issues inherent to multiple medical illnesses provide both a challenge and an opportunity for clinical psychologists in the general hospital setup. The nature of psychological disturbances and their interventions can vary according to the physical conditions. Diagnosis-related stigma, pain, cosmetic issues, and fear of recurrence are...

Background and objective Substance use disorders pose significant global public health challenges, with India being no exception. Bihar, one of India's most populous states, implemented alcohol prohibition in April 2016 to address the adverse effects of alcohol abuse. However, the impact of this policy on overall substance use behavior among patien...

The role of lacosamide (LCM) as add on treatment modality in dissociative disorders (DD) is of interest. It was a randomized control trial in which 300 patients diagnosed with dissociative disorders having treatment for the dissociative disorders were included. They were divided into two groups. Group one consisted of intervention group in which...

Background While over three-quarters of those suffering from schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like illnesses experience auditory hallucinations, 6% of individuals with depressive disorder report the same. Differentiating between auditory hallucinations in these two illnesses is important both diagnostically and prognostically. Aim To compare the ch...

Pica, in the form of ingestion of various non-food items like clay, chalks, etc., is commonly reported in Indian settings, but its other variant, pagophagia (ice eating), gets attention rarely. This case series is about three female patients who presented in psychiatry outpatient clinics with various mental health issues and ice eating habits. A di...

Background Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) influence dementia care significantly. BPSD can be affected by factors related to the patient’s illness and socio-cultural background. Aim This study aimed to find a relationship between BPSD with patients’ socio-demographic and clinical profiles and their caregivers’ distress in...

Suicide is a significant tragic public health issue globally. Individual vulnerability to suicide is very complex and multidimensional. The pioneer researchers and scholars in the field have attempted to explain various social, psychological, and biological issues underlying suicidal behavior. The present work is a compilation of their significant...

Background The Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) was developed in April 2020 as an instrument to gauge the symptoms of stress and anxiety occurring secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was constructed using the English language due to which its application to a multi-linguistic country like India became a hindrance. Aim To establish psychometric v...

Background In India, only about 10% of persons with psychiatric illnesses receive evidence-based treatments. Stigma, mistrust in allopathic medicine, allegiance toward faith healers, cultural and traditional practices, and beliefs are some of the major hindrances to the treatment of mentally ill patients. Aim To assess supernatural attitudes towar...

Background Vitiligo is a common depigmenting dermatosis characterized by milky-white macules or patches. Any pathological discoloration of the skin has been linked to an impact on the body image of an individual, and vitiligo has been linked to decreased self-esteem and poor socialization of the affected people. In Indian society, vitiligo is label...

Background Comorbidity of various psychiatric conditions with migraine is common and important. A thorough analysis of mental conditions in migraine is essential to encourage the holistic care of such patients. Aim To assess psychiatric comorbidity in patients with migraine using a well-standardized clinical diagnostic tool. Methods This cross-se...

Background Recent reports indicate that self-isolation because of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related lockdowns had significant influence on mental health of medical students. Aim To understand the relationship between two different motivations for solitude – self-determined versus non-self-determined with medical students’ COVID-19-relate...

Background: Caregivers of patients with schizophrenia have a considerable burden of care and develop different coping strategies to deal with the caregiving burden. Aim: The aim of this article is to assess gender differences in the burden of care and coping strategies used among caregivers of clinically stable patients with schizophrenia. Meth...

Background The doctor–patient relationship is of critical importance to patient satisfaction and is impacted by various doctor-related factors. Aim To assess the levels of emotional intelligence (EI), empathy, everyday/perceived discrimination and verbal aggression amongst medical professionals and medical students, and to understand the interrela...

Background: Mothers of neonates admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) experience heightened distress, anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms. Despite their prevalence, these conditions are generally neither recognized nor treated due to the constraints of time and concerns about the social acceptability of screening. Aim: To study...

Background The coronavirus anxiety scale (CAS) was developed and validated in 2020 as a psychometrically suitable measure of anxiety incurred by the coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic. Since it is available only in the English language, it cannot be used in the general population, most of whom are not English speaking. Aim The aim of this study...

Background: Schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are two common and chronic psychiatric illnesses known to be associated with a considerable burden of caregiving. Various sociodemographic and clinical variables can influence the caregiving experience of the caregivers of these patients. Aim and Objectives: The present study aims t...

Background: There is a paucity of Indian studies assessing psychiatric morbidity among family members of subjects with alcohol use disorder. Aim: To study psychiatric morbidity in wives/life partners and children of alcohol-dependent patients. Materials and methods: Fifty consecutive index patients diagnosed to be alcohol dependent according t...

Background: Although auditory hallucinations are regarded pathognomonic of psychotic disorders, that does not rule out its presence in conditions such as mood disorders. Auditory hallucinations have been reported in 15% of bipolar disorder and 25% depressive disorder patients. Aim: To compare the uniqueness of auditory hallucinations in bipolar aff...

Background: Providing care to a patient with schizophrenia is a chronic stressor and the family caregivers experience a significant burden. The burden of care can be affected by the coping strategies adopted by the caregivers and their psychological well-being. Aim: To assess the role of coping strategies adopted by caregivers and their psychologic...

Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the neuropsychological profiles of chronic schizophrenia and alcohol-dependent subjects. Materials and methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study included 30 chronic schizophrenia patients, 30 alcohol-dependent patients and 30-matched normal controls. Demographic and clinical data were collected on...

Background: Utilization pattern of antipsychotics has undergone a major shift as the newly introduced atypical antipsychotics have heralded the market. Hence continuous studies on current prescribing trends are needed to provide most updated, effective and rational treatment of psychoses.Methods: This cross-sectional prospective study was conducted...

Dhat syndrome is a culture-bound syndrome characterised by inappropriate and excessive distress of losing semen from one's body and thereby leading to multiple vague psychological and somatic symptoms. It is presumed that several of these symptoms could possibly be of other co-morbid psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to assess these...

Introduction Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease, which may be persistent, disfiguring, and stigmatizing. The disease is frequent, with prevalence estimates ranging from 0.3 to 2.5%. It is characterized by thick, red, scaly lesion that may appear on any part of the body. Psoriasis is associated with significant psychological and psychiatric m...

Introduction People with epilepsy are more likely than the general population to have comorbid psychiatric disorders that include anxiety, depression, and interictal and chronic psychoses. Even though psychiatric comorbidity is common in epilepsy, it is underrecognized and undertreated, both in specialty epilepsy centers and also in community-based...

Introduction: Risk of suicide among addicts is higher than in the general population and patients of alcohol dependence are not exception. The large population of individuals with alcohol use disorders, the relative higher frequency of suicides and suicide-related behaviours in this population, and the devastating effects of attempted and completed...

Background: Psychiatric complaints in alcoholism can be of three types- alcohol–related symptoms and signs; alcohol– induced psychiatric syndromes; and independent psychiatric disorders that co–occur with alcoholism. The third type is usually conceptualized as ‘dual diagnosis’- an extremely heterogeneous group to have poor prognosis in patients of...

Cultural influences give rise to challenges in the context of managing commonly presenting mental illnesses and dissociative trance or possession states capture the essence of the problem. Trance is an altered state of consciousness and possession is a conviction that the individual has been taken over by a spirit, power, deity, or other person. It...

Background: Young adults are at increased risk for suicidal behavior and there is growing concern about racial differences in suicidal ideation, especially in the younger population. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess suicidal ideation in school going tribal and nontribal adolescents and to study its relationships with psychological well-be...

The medical curriculum leads to increased burden and stress among medical students. The consistent failure may result in depression or vice-versa. Since early diagnosis of depression could help to improve work performance, this study evaluated the association of depression with academic performance among medical students. Total 100 first year medic...

Suicide is a complex biopsychosocial phenomenon in terms of the causes and the processes that lead up to it. The strong link of suicide to psychiatric disorders including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcohol and drug abuse/dependence and severe personality disorders is undeniable; though this is comparatively less in India and Asia....

Background: The high rate of co-occurrence of substance use disorders and other psychiatric disorders is well established. The substance use problems of psychiatric patients admitted in mental hospital set up may differ from the patients going to substance use treatment setting. This study aimed to assess prevalence and pattern of substance use in...

Background: Cannabis is among common substances used by bipolar patients. The relationships between cannabis use and bipolar disorders are complex and remain incompletely described. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of co-morbid cannabis dependence (CDS) on symptom presentation of acute bipolar mania. Methods: The impact of co-morbid...

Background: Though an adequate volume of ethanol relieves nervousness and enhances sexual desire, acute administration of a great deal of ethanol suppresses central nervous system and causes sensory torpor and penile erectile dysfunction. Long term and excessive intake of ethanol too causes multiple direct and indirect changes in the body leading t...

The literature on hallucinations is reviewed, including history; theoretical background from physiological, biochemical and psychological points of view; classification; causation; presentation in different psychiatric and neurological disorders and in normal persons. The available evidence suggests that hallucinations result from a failure of the...