Background:Smartphones have become a necessary evil in our lives. Selfies have become the newest technological fad to take over the youth, due to the wide and easy availability of mobile phones. There is paucity of scientific data on selfies in general, and from our country in particular. This study aimed to analyze the attitudes toward selfie taking, body image acceptance, and narcissism personality traits among an urban school-going population in Mumbai.Materials and Methods:Two hundred and fifty-two students of 11th standard, belonging to an urban Mumbai school, were interviewed in a single centric cross-sectional study. Scales used were – attitude towards selfie-taking questionnaire, body image acceptance, and action questionnaire (BIAAQ) and Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI).Statistical Analysis Used:Scores obtained were computed using basic descriptive statistics as well as computerized statistical software.Results:Of the 230 completely filled questionnaires, 54% were males. About 42.6% reported that they regularly clicked selfies of themselves. No gender difference was noticed. On an average, 18.1% girls and 15.2% boys clicked more than 4 selfies/day. The gender difference was statistically not significant (P = 0.5273). Difference in mean BIAAQ between the two genders was noticed to be statistically significant, whereas the NPI scores difference was insignificant.Conclusions:This study is a pioneering/novel/innovative work in the field of selfies. It gives us an insight into the youth's viewpoint towards selfies, which was positive in the majority of the population. A worrisome aspect is the higher body image dissatisfaction among girls. Behavioral addictions such as selfies need more focused research in the future.

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Background: Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) level are useful biomarkers of inflammation. This study aimed to assess NLR and CRP level in patients with major depressive disorder before and after pharmacotherapy to determine whether NLR or CRP could be used as biomarkers of severity of major depression and whether there was any sex difference. Methodology: Patients with major depression who received no pharmacotherapy 1 month prior to the study were included. Their haemoglobin, total white blood cell count, neutrophil and lymphocyte counts, NLR, and CRP levels were evaluated at baseline and 12 weeks post pharmacotherapy, as were the Montgomery Asberg Rating Scale for Depression, the Scale for Impact of Suicidality Management and Assessment and Planning of Care (SIS-MAP), and the Clinical Global Impression Scale -Severity. Results: 24 male and 26 female patients were included. At 12 weeks after pharmacotherapy, males had a higher haemoglobin level (p = 0.025), higher total white blood cell count (p = 0.018), and lower percentage of neutrophils (p = 0.019) than females. There was no sex difference in NLR or CRP. From baseline to 12 weeks, males had no significant change in any blood parameter, but females had a significantly greater increase in the percentage of neutrophils (p = 0.0001) and decrease in the percentage of lymphocytes (p = 0.012), resulting in a significantly increased NLR (p = 0.001). Both males and females had significant improvement on all 3 scales (p < 0.001). At 12 weeks, in males, the increase in NLR positively correlated with CRP as well as the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale and the SIS-MAP, but not the Clinical Global Impression-Severity Scale. In females, the increase in NLR did not correlate with CRP or any of the scales. Conclusion:In female patients, the NLR increased in response to antidepressant therapy while CRP remained unchanged. This indicated that inflammation has a role in the pathogenesis of major depression.

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