Background:There is a considerable lack of scientific estimate of psychiatric morbidity among Indian prisoners.Objective:The objective of the following study is to study the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among prisoners.Settings and Design:A cross-sectional study at District Jail, Kozhikode, Kerala.Materials and Methods:A total of 255 prisoners who were inmates during the period from mid-April to mid-July 2011 participated in the study. The study subjects included both male and female remand or convict prisoners. Socio-demographic data, clinical history and criminological history were collected from each individual. Psychiatric morbidity was assessed using MINI-Plus.Statistical Analysis:Done by using SPSS version 16 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, USA).Results:A total of 175 subjects (68.6%) had a current mental illness. Substance use disorder was the most common diagnosis (47.1%). Antisocial personality disorder was diagnosed in 19.2%, adjustment disorder in 13.7%, mood disorder in 4.3% and psychosis in another 6.3% of prisoners. A high rate of a current psychiatric disorder was seen in male (69.7%) prisoners. A significant association was noticed for the different nature of crimes with psychiatric diagnoses and previous imprisonment. Nearly 4% of prisoners reported a moderate to high suicide risk.Conclusion:Mental health problems among prisoners were quite high. Mentally ill prisoners are at high risk for repeated incarceration. The increased rate of psychiatric disorders should be a concern for mental health professionals and the policy makers.

Background Following the declaration of Coronavirus disease-2019 as a pandemic, a nation-wide lockdown was announced in India. This led to increase in psychological problems, especially in women. Objectives To assess the prevalence of psychological problems and domestic violence (DV) in married women during the pandemic and lockdown in a panchayat in Southern India and to study the association of socio-demographic and clinical variables with psychological problems. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was undertaken in 209 married women of 18–55 years residing in a village panchayat of northern Kerala, India. Socio-demographic variables and clinical variables, like depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, perceived stress and DV, among others, were evaluated. The participants were interviewed by trained community health workers in the post-lockdown period. Results The prevalence of depressive symptoms was found to be 10.0 %, anxiety symptoms 7.2 % and perceived stress 66.0 %. Severe DV was reported by 6.2 %; but at least one form of DV was experienced by 25.8 % of the women. Significant positive correlation was observed for DV with depression and anxiety. DV was also found to be a significant predictor of depression (adjusted OR [aOR] = 4.26, P = 0.006) and anxiety (aOR=4.34, P=0.02). Being a homemaker (aOR=4.51, P = 0.03) and having past history of mental illness (aOR=5.39, P = 0.03) were also found to increase the risk for depression significantly. Conclusion There is a high prevalence of psychological problems in married women during the pandemic and lockdown. DV was found to be a significant predictor of depression and anxiety in this population.

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Dacrystic seizures present with sudden bursts of crying and often manifest with comorbid psychiatric symptoms. Here, we present the case of a 27-year-old female with an 11-year history of stereotyped patterns of crying spells, associated with fearfulness, suspicions, hallucinatory behaviour, recurrent suicidal gestures and impairment in functioning. She was treated mostly with antipsychotics, antidepressants and mood stabilizers (for a brief period) irregularly, without adequate improvement. She presented with catatonia, hypokalemia and aspiration pneumonia, following default of medications for one month. With appropriate treatment, her physical condition became stable, when short lasting bouts of recurrent crying spells were observed, followed by confused behaviour and sleep, along with delusions and hallucinations. Her EEG showed epileptiform discharges; brain imaging was normal. She showed good response to anticonvulsants along with antipsychotics. Such unusual presentations of epilepsy and comorbid psychiatric symptoms warrant a high index of suspicion, for proper diagnosis and management.

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