There is a dearth of studies related to consultation-liaison psychiatry in Bangladesh. The psychiatric referral rates in this country are very low, considering the higher rates of psychiatric morbidity in patients who attend various departments of a general hospital. This was a descriptive study consisting of all the cases referred for psychiatric consultation from inpatient units of various departments of BIRDEM General Hospital, Dhaka from July 2017 to June 2018. Patients of any age and of either gender were included. A total of 673 patients (1.97% of total admission) were referred from different departments of the hospital for psychiatric consultation within the study period. Majority of the respondents were female. The mean age of the respondents was 59.47 (±1.98) years. Among the referred, Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) was the diagnosis in 24.96%, followed by Major depressive disorder (MDD) in 9.95% cases. Referral from the department of Medicine and allied was 92.86 %, followed by department of Surgery and allied (6.38%) & department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (0.74%). Frequency of referral was the lowest in the months of November to January. There is a need to encourage multi-disciplinary interaction in the management of patients who attend general hospitals, so as to better identify the psychiatric morbidity. Bang J Psychiatry December 2017; 31(2): 38-42

Ex-situ culture studies of five selected aquatic macrophytes, namely Nymphaea nouchali Burm. f., Enhydra fluctuans Lour., Ipomoea aquatica Forsk., Hygroryza aristata (Retz.) Nees ex Wight & Arn. and Limnocharis flava (L.) Buch. were carried out. Comparing the biochemical composition of the above mentioned five aquatic macrophytes, on an average, Enhydra fluctuans was found to contain highest amounts of proteins (18.20%) and Ipomoea aquatica contains highest amounts of carbohydrate (58.60%). Lowest amounts of proteins (14.35%) were recorded in Hygroryza aristata and Limnocharis flava. On the other hand lowest amounts of carbohydrates were obtained in Nymphaea nouchali. Ipomoea aquatica contained highest amounts of energy (321.23 kcal) and lowest amount was observed in Limnocharis flava. The five aquatic plants were low in fiber, fat and also in ash. Among all the five aquatic macrophytes, highest values of calcium and phosphorus were found to be present in Limnocharis flava and iron was highest in Nymphaea nouchali. Lowest values of calcium and phosphorus were present in Ipomoea aquatica and lowest amount of iron was present in Limnochris flava. The present study demonstrated that, these five aquatic macrophytes are the important sources of carbohydrate, protein and minerals, which are suitable for incorporation in human diet and feed also. Asiat. Soc. Bangladesh, Sci. 44(1): 53-60, June 2018

Background: Diabetes mellitus and psychiatric disorders share a bidirectional association by influencing each other in multiple ways. The aim of the study was to find out proportion of persons having stress and anxiety and their association with age and gender among diabetic adult population. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among the patients attending the outpatient department of Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders (BIRDEM General Hospital) and Dhaka Medical College & Hospital (DMCH) Dhaka, Bangladesh. By convenient sampling, 130 participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus were included according to inclusion and exclusion criteria during January-March, 2020. Data were collected through face-to-face interview by paper and pen method with a semistructured questionnaire. Dhaka University Anxiety Scale and Perceived Stress Scale-10 were used. Result: Most (87.7%) of the respondents had moderate level of anxiety. Severe stress was more prevalent among females (76.9%) than males (23.1%) and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.034). Twenty two (16.9 %) of respondents were above the cut off point for anxiety and 6.0% were female among them. Among the respondents with anxiety, male (81.8%) were more than female (18.2%) and the difference was significant (p=0.001). Stress was highly prevalent among comparatively younger age group (d”50 years) than the older (>50 years) and this difference was statistically significant (p=0.001). Anxiety was not significantly different among two age groups (p=0.183). Conclusion: Stress was more prevalent among females and younger age group. Anxiety on the other hand was more prevalent among males and there was no significant difference between older and younger age groups. Large scale and organized scientific studies in this field are needed to determine the effect of stress and anxiety in patients with diabetes mellitus. BIRDEM Med J 2022; 12(2): 136-141