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Smita Neelkanth Deshpande

Smita Neelkanth Deshpande
Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Dr. RML Hospital, New Delhi, India · Psychiatry, De-addiction and Resource Centre for Tobacco Control

MD,DPM

About

333
Publications
185,239
Reads
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4,518
Citations
Additional affiliations
July 2004 - October 2015
Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Dr. RML Hospital, New Delhi, India
Position
  • Consultant, Professor & Head of Department
Education
January 1982 - December 1984
All India Institute of Medical Sciences
Field of study
  • Psychiatry, Psychology, Neurology
August 1980 - December 1981
Grant Medical College
Field of study
  • Psychological Medicine
August 1974 - January 1980
Government Medical College, Nagpur
Field of study
  • Medicine, Surgery, Gynecology, Obstetrics, Ophthalmology

Publications

Publications (333)
Article
Background: Despite national and international recommendations, COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in low and middle-income (LMIC) countries remains low. Several psycho-social determinants which are frequently associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (CVH) must be addressed effectively in order to increase vaccine acceptance among perinatal women. The...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was declared a global pandemic in March 2020, affecting certain health measures. Precautionary hygiene measures of hand washing, mask-wearing, and social distancing were advocated and disseminated to the public through different governm...
Article
Full-text available
BACKGROUND Work-related stress has been found to have a detrimental effect on the individual’s productivity, quality of work, health, and personal life. Nursing has been identified as an occupation with high stress levels owing to complex job requirements that demand full physical and mental attributes, high responsibility, and job timings. Many Ay...
Chapter
Mental illnesses account for a substantial portion of global disease burden: they are a top contributor to years lived with disability, and fifth largest contributor to disability-adjusted life years (Charlson, Ferrari et al., 2018). Current best treatment practices include medications, which are largely palliative, but not curative. Indian governm...
Presentation
Full-text available
SARS-CoV-2 was declared a global pandemic in March 2020, effecting certain precautionary hygiene measures of hand washing, mask wearing, and social distancing, advocated and disseminated to the public through different government machineries. The current study explored if government messaging had an impact on the knowledge of COVID-19 and the neces...
Research
Full-text available
Background: The functional outcome of the debilitating mental illness schizophrenia (SZ) has an integral role in cognition. The thyroid hormone has a vital role in the developmental stages and functioning of the human brain. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between thyroid functions, cognition, and functional imaging of the brain...
Article
Background The functional outcome of the debilitating mental illness schizophrenia (SZ) has an integral role in cognition. The thyroid hormone has a vital role in the developmental stages and functioning of the human brain. Aim This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between thyroid functions, cognition, and functional imaging of the brain i...
Article
Full-text available
We developed and tested the Indian Autism Screening Questionnaire (IASQ), which was reported to be reliable and valid as compared to the Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism (ISAA) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale -2 (CARS2). The present study describes the feasibility, acceptability, sociodemographic and developmental details of IASQ study p...
Article
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Background Among the Indian adolescents, the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity and alcohol use disorders (AUD) are 7.3% and 1.3%. However, no separate data are available for indigenous tribal populations. This study estimated the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity and AUD and associated socio-demographic factors among adolescents in the tribal c...
Article
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This scoping review aimed to synthesise current evidence related to psycho-social groups as part of community-based mental health interventions in South Asia. We used a realist lens to pay attention to the contexts and mechanisms supporting positive outcomes. We included studies published from January 2007 to February 2022 that: were based in commu...
Article
Full-text available
Evidence shows that stigma negatively influences the quality of life of persons with severe mental illness. Nonetheless, stigma towards mental illness is lower among persons with a lived experience of mental illness compared to the rest of the population. Understanding the association between stigma of mental illness and the mental status of indivi...
Article
Full-text available
Genetic perturbations in dopamine neurotransmission and calcium signaling pathways are implicated in the etiology of schizophrenia. We aimed to test the association of a functional splice variant each in Dopamine β-Hydroxylase (DBH; rs1108580) and Calcium voltage-gated channel subunit alpha1 C (CACNA1C; rs1006737) genes in these pathways with schiz...
Article
Full-text available
Despite the high burden of mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), less than 25% of those in need have access to appropriate services, in part due to a scarcity of locally relevant, evidence-based interventions and models of care. To address this gap, researchers from India and the United States and the Indian Council of Medic...
Article
Full-text available
Genetic etiology of schizophrenia is poorly understood despite large genome-wide association data. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) with a probable regulatory role are emerging as important players in neuro-psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia. Prioritising important lncRNAs and analyses of their holistic interaction with their target genes...
Article
Evidence shows that stigma negatively influences the quality of life of persons with severe mental illness. Nonetheless, stigma towards mental illness is lower among persons with a lived experience of mental illness compared to the rest of the population. Understanding the association between stigma of mental illness and the mental status of individ...
Article
Background: The study investigated the psychometric properties of the Community, Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE-42), a self-report instrument in Indians. Method: CAPE-42 was translated in Hindi and tested on 312 Indian adults recruited online and through paper-pencil assessment. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to establi...
Article
Full-text available
In recent years mental health has emerged as a major health threat in low income countries like India. In response, mental health care has been integrated into primary health care, in turn creating a rising demand for trained and skillful mental health professionals. This study was conducted in district Budgam (J&K), India with the aim of providing...
Article
Full-text available
Background Weight gain associated with atypical antipsychotic medications need to be well managed. We set out: 1. To test the effect of acetazolamide on weight gain associated with antipsychotics 2. To assess improvement in psychotic symptoms using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale score on patients receiving acetazolamide Methods and Materials T...
Article
Full-text available
Background COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (CVH) is common among perinatal women in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), but it is often unaddressed. This could be due to a lack of feasible, scalable, and acceptable interventions and models for CVH in LMICs. Our study aimed to develop a CVH intervention model that can be implemented in LMICs using e...
Article
With a steady rise in mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Kashmir, the need to address mental health in this region becomes important. This paper reports on traditional and current community mental health coping mechanisms among residents in Kashmir. Six focus group discussions (FGD) were f...
Article
My early exposure to mental illness in our community, the plight of mentally ill people and their families drove me to seek postgraduate training in psychiatry in India. I realized early on that only research could make an impact on the scale that was needed. My contacts with thoughtful scientists and mentors helped me understand that by training e...
Article
Full-text available
The Indian Autism Screening Questionnaire (IASQ), derived from the Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism ISAA (the mandated tool for autism in India), is an autism screening instrument for use in the general population by minimally trained workers. While ISAA has 40 items with four anchor points, the IASQ is a 10-item questionnaire with yes/no answ...
Article
Objective To design a meditation protocol and test its feasibility, acceptability and efficacy in conjunction with YT for persons with schizophrenia (SZ). Methods The meditation protocol consisted of Anapana (observing normal respiration) and Yoga Nidra (supine, restful awareness). In a single blind randomized controlled trial, medicated and clini...
Article
Cognition is believed to be a product of human evolution, while schizophrenia is ascribed as the by-product with cognitive impairment as it's genetically mediated endophenotype. Genomic loci associated with these traits are enriched with recent evolutionary markers such as Human accelerated regions (HARs). HARs are markedly different in humans sinc...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Depression in pregnancy affects nearly one in five women in low‑ and middle‑income countries and is associated with adverse obstetric and neonatal outcome. Burden of morbidity is high, but specialized mental health resources are meager. Effective low intensity psychosocial interventions hold promise to fill the treatment gap for materna...
Book
Full-text available
Primary healthcare workers are gatekeepers for the health issues of the citizens of a country. If they emphasize tobacco cessation and offer counselling and guidance to all persons availing of their services, it will go a long way to addressing the growing use of tobacco products in Montenegro.
Article
Full-text available
Background: Bipolar affective disorder (BD) is a chronic recurrent disorder having a definite link with metabolic abnormalities, including obesity, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. Drugs approved for the treatment of BD include sodium valproate but have weight gain as a metabolic side effect. An increase in weight is one of the common reasons...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction: Specific Learning Disability (SLD) is a certifiable disability for benefits under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act in India (2016) for which the NIMHANS SLD index is the legally mandated standard for assessment. We evaluated the NIMHANS battery against Dyslexia Assessment for Languages of India (DALI), a skill-based objecti...
Article
Full-text available
This study aimed to explore ethical dilemmas and challenges faced by young mental healthcare researchers and professionals working with survivors of suicide (hereinafter suicide survivors). Two focus group discussions (FGDs) Researcher FGD (with those engaged in suicide research) and Clinician FGD (with those providing treatment to suicide survivor...
Article
COVID-19 vaccines are one of the most effective strategies for preventing COVID-19 infection, as well as the associated mortality and morbidity. Despite the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine acceptance among perinatal women is challenging in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Further, the vaccine hesitancy among perinatal women may h...
Chapter
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a common, disabling disorder. While many efficacious anti-psychotic drugs (APDs) are available, they provide only symptomatic relief. Rational therapeutics dictates the use of drugs that counteract or negate etiologic factors. The etiology of SZ is uncertain, though a multitude of genetic and environmental factors have been pr...
Chapter
As Waters put it: “auditory hallucinations are auditory perceptions that a person experiences in the absence of an external stimulus when awake”.[1] Delusions were defined by Oyebode as “false judgements held with remarkable confidence and certitude, immune to any disapproval”.[2] Both were known since early times and have been described in ancient...
Preprint
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English version of the Montenegrin Guidelines for tobacco cessation for primary health workers
Preprint
Full-text available
Tobacco cessation guidelines, based on WHO guidelines, for Primary health workers who understand Monetnegrin
Article
The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) is a simple and inexpensive tool for Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessments, with evidenced psychometric data from different countries. However, it is still unclear whether ASD symptoms are measured the same way across different societies and world regions with this tool, since data on its cross-cultural...
Preprint
Full-text available
BACKGROUND The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder is increasing due to various biopsychosocial and environmental factors that demands prompt and holistic initiatives for early diagnosis and appropriate interventions. However, most of the developing countries are in severe scarcity of culturally adapted and validated cost-effective tools and tra...
Preprint
Full-text available
ICMR funded implementation research in the thrust areas of the National Mental Health Programme for capacity building of young faculty (Draft)
Book
Full-text available
Encourage mental health care at the primary healthcare levels, and at all levels.
Book
Full-text available
A compilation of messages from the WMH booklets published between 2006-2009.
Book
Full-text available
A public health education booklet on the theme of the World Mental Health Day 2006- build awareness and help for those who attempted suicide.
Book
Full-text available
Many paths- one goal- mental health; in a changing world with different cultures and diversity.
Book
Full-text available
Mental health disorders cause a high burden, promotion of mental health should be our primary goal.
Book
Training Manual for the primary health care worker-based stepped care model and brief psychological intervention for perinatal depression
Book
Full-text available
This is a booklet for free distribution for public health education, which was published on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, �May 31, 2009 with grateful thanks to Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and World Health Organization, India Office.
Article
Full-text available
Background Suicide results from complex interactions of various risk factors—reasons for dying (RFD)—and protective factors—reasons for living (RFL). Suicide is not necessarily a wish to die but may be an appeal for help. We analyzed RFD and RFL in persons who had attempted suicide, through their clinical records at a Crisis Intervention Clinic (CI...
Book
Full-text available
Yoga Protocol for Positive Cognitive Change in Major Mental Disorders and Stable Cardiovascular Disorders
Article
Full-text available
Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a severe condition characterized by repetitive involuntary movement of orofacial regions and extremities. Patients treated with antipsychotics typically present with TD symptomatology. Here, we conducted the largest GWAS of TD to date, by meta-analyzing samples of East-Asian, European, and African American ancestry, follo...
Preprint
Full-text available
The article is an extensive review of Depression at Workplace in India, highlighting the stressors, consequences and assessments of employee depression.
Article
Full-text available
Introduction Currently available screening questionnaires for Autism spectrum disorders were tested in developed countries, but many require additional training and many are unsuitable for older individuals, thus reducing their utility in lower/ middle- income countries. We aimed to derive a simplified questionnaire that could be used to screen per...
Article
Full-text available
ABSTRCT Introduction: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a disorder of major public health importance, in terms of prevalence, morbidity, mortality, and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease. Despite effective pharmacological and psychological therapeutic options available, significant numbers of patients with depression do...
Poster
Full-text available
There is evidence for the efficacy of Mindfulness meditation in schizophrenia. Our research particularly assesses improvement in cognition in patients with schizophrenia through Mindfulness based Stress Reduction (MBSR) over 8 weeks as compared to an Active Control group. We found that MBSR improved accuracy and speed in schizophrenia within 4 week...
Preprint
Full-text available
Cognition is believed to be a product of human evolution, while schizophrenia is ascribed as the by-product with cognitive impairment as it's genetically mediated endophenotype. Genomic loci associated with these traits are enriched with recent evolutionary markers such as Human accelerated regions (HARs). HARs are markedly different in humans sinc...
Article
Cognitive effects of tobacco use among women with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or depression have not been studied extensively as most studies focussed on men smokers. As part of a study on prevalence and cognitive effects of tobacco use, women with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression were assessed for cognitive functioning using an i...
Article
Full-text available
Concerted and systematic efforts to understand genetics of human health and disease over the preceding 60 odd years have witnessed remarkable progress. The incremental gains through this journey were enabled by chromosomal analysis, recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques, notable discovery of single nucleotide polymorphisms following th...
Research
Full-text available
This is a special supplement of the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, the official publication of the Indian Psychiatric Society South Zone. It includes protocols of 12 single site and multi-site implementation research projects funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research. Projects address the thrust areas of the Indian National Mental...
Article
Full-text available
The major objective of the paper is to discuss the development of a modular and extendible web-based system for collection, integration, management, and analysis of data from various projects on mental health. In future perspective, the authors intend to make this tool (with copyright free scales) available for use by researchers working on differe...
Article
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National and international agencies, working in collaboration, initiated capacity building in research on national mental health priorities, got 12 projects funded. The National Coordination Unit was set up to coordinate, train, and monitor project progress and formulated and implemented standard operating procedures. The NCU will ensure regular me...
Article
Full-text available
Conclusions: The NCU will ensure timely completion of research projects, data entry and analysis, and reports and project publications. It is feasible to evaluate progress with the NMHP through coordinated multisite research that also enables research capacity building. Results from these projects will help in formulating policies by the Ministry o...
Article
Full-text available
Objective The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with acceptability and efficacy of yoga training (YT) for improving cognitive dysfunction in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ). Methods We analysed data from two published clinical trials of YT for cognitive dysfunction among Indians with SZ: 1) a 21-day randomized controlled tri...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Perinatal depression (PD) has important implications for maternal and infant well-being but largely goes undetected. There is a need to develop low-intensity psychosocial interventions applicable to obstetric health care facilities. Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a brief psychological intervention for mild to moderate PD del...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction Autism is included as a certifiable disability in the Indian Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016. The Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism (ISAA), developed by the Government of India and mandated for certifying disability, is a detailed instrument that needs trained mental health experts and takes time to administer. The curr...