Objective: To determine the frequency of depression in patients with vitamin B12 deficiency. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out from January 2020 to March 2021 on a total sample size of n=100 patients (age 49.84 ± 0.91 years) using a simple random sampling technique, visiting the medical department of the federal government polyclinic hospital, in Islamabad. Patients presenting with macrocytic anaemia secondary to vitamin B12 deficiency were included while the patients with previously diagnosed depression were excluded from the study. Serum vitamin B12 levels were measured through the ELISA technique. Patient Healthcare Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was designed and presented to patients with vitamin B12 deficiency for depression assessment. Patients with PHQ-9 score ≤5 were rated as having no depression and the patients with score ≥5 were rated as having depression. Data were analyzed using GraphPad Prism and the correlation coefficient was measured through non-linear fit and linear regression curves while ordinary ANOVA (non-parametric) was applied for study variables. Results: The average level of vitamin B12 in the serum and PHQ-9 score were recorded as 158 ± 4.94 (pg/uL) and 5.85 ± 0.30, respectively. Vitamin B12 levels and PHQ-9 score depicted an inverse correlation, however, no association was found between gender and PHQ-9 score. Conclusion: Data depicted that the patients presenting low levels of vitamin B12 in their serum have shown corresponding high PHQ-9 scores which is an indicator of depression. However, depression prevails in all age groups without any discrimination of gender.

Introduction: Prevalence and severity of depressive illness among the youth are on the rise. Objective: To examine the prevalence and severity of depressive illness among youth coming to the psychiatry outpatient department of District Headquarters Hospital, Sargodha. Material and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The study population includes young people (15-24 years) coming to the Out-patient Department of Psychiatry in District Headquarters Hospital, Sargodha. The duration of the study was from 1st February 2018 to 20th May 2018. 50 patients were selected through the convenience sampling technique. Beck’s depression inventory-II semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection from people aged 15-24 years coming to psychiatry OPD. The diagnosis was made as per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-V). Informed consent was obtained from all participants. Chi-square applied. P-value of 0.05 taken as cut off value. Results: Depression was present in 64% of the study participants. Among female participants, 77.42% of females while among male participants, 42.11% of males were suffering from depression (P-value=0.012) which shows that there is a significant association between gender and depression. Overall, 50% of the participants were mildly depressed, 34.37% were moderately depressed and only 15.63% were severely depressed (P-value = 0.618). Among depressed, 75% were 20-24 years old and 25% were 15-19 years old. Conclusion: Prevalence of depression is found to be more among women and in the young age group 20-24 years. Therefore, regular psychiatric screening, treatment, and follow-up are recommended in an educational institute for early diagnosis and treatment.

Objective: To compare the effects of antiviral therapy such as sofosbuvir and daclatasvir in HCV patients which were diagnosed by HCV-RNA PCR without Diabetes Melitis. Study Design:  Cross-sectional comparative study Inclusion Criteria: HCV Positive patients after PCR test conformation between 20-75 years age. Methodology: In this cross-sectional analysis total of 100 Hepatitis c infected patients selected, Sofosbuvir plus Daclatasvir treatment given for 03 months period. Different parameters were recorded such as Total Bilirubin, Direct Bilirubin, Indirect Bilirubin, Hb levels, Serum ALT levels, and Serum ALP level. The statistical relation of the mentioned variables was analyzed through SPSS version 15. Results: Out of a total of 100 patients, 47% (47) were males, 53% (53) were females, 44% (44) patients had a history of prior interferon therapy, 23% (23) patients were having low hemoglobin levels before starting treatment. Both groups completed oral antiviral treatment for 12 weeks & resulting data showed the equality of treatment on group B and group A as no decrease in hemoglobin (p=0.799), ALT normalization (p=1.000) & no rise in serum bilirubin (p=0.817) during 1st month of treatment was noted in both groups while the SVR noted of both groups also showed no significant difference to each other i.e. 92% & 94 % (p=0.696). Conclusion:  This study concluded to monitor the anti-viral drug response against HCV patients.