Background:Bipolar affective disorder (BAD) is a severe mental illness which results in serious lifelong struggles and challenges. The full impact of stressful life events (SLEs) on the course of BAD is poorly understood.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted on 128 consecutive patients with BAD currently admitted with a relapse. Our objectives were (1) to estimate the proportion, type, and timing of preonset SLEs in relapsed BAD patients and (2) to study the association between SLEs and selected clinical variables in this group. Semi-structured proforma, Young Mania Rating Scale, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale, and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale were used. Statistical analysis was done using R software for Windows.Results:About 69.5% (89/128) of patients reported preonset SLEs – among which 50 (56.2%) had mania and 39 (43.8%) had depression. Conflict with in-laws and financial problems were the commonly reported SLEs. The mean duration between SLEs and the relapse was 19.73 ± 4.8 days. BPRS score was significantly high in subjects with preonset SLEs (P = 0.022). No significant association was detected between SLEs and the type of episode during relapse (P = 0.402).Conclusion:This study emphasizes the significance of SLEs in the relapse and longitudinal course of BAD. Understanding the association of SLEs and relapse in BAD will help in predicting further relapses and developing newer pharmacological and nonpharmacological measures targeting this aspect, thereby maximizing both symptom reduction and quality of life in patients with BAD.

Background: COVID-19, which originated in China, became a pandemic affecting more than 180 countries. By April 2020, India had announced lockdown in an attempt to control the spread of the virus. Lack of social interaction and apprehension about the studies had created emotional disturbances among medical students. Methods: The study was done in a medical college situated in Central Travancore, Kerala, between 2020 April 20 to May 31. Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) and Impact Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) were administered in Google forms to the MBBS batch WhatsApp groups. Results: Out of 320 responses from medical students, 239 were females, and 82 were male students. 56% of male students and 54% of female students have mild to severe depressive symptoms, 58% of male students and 54% of female students have symptoms of anxiety, and 63% of male students and 50% of female students experienced mild to severe stress.68% of males and 62% of females have higher Impact events scale. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of anxiety and depression among medical students during the COVID lockdown period. There is a significant difference between genders in scores of anxiety, stress and impact of events. This shows the need for resilience training among medical students.

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Background: Chronic alcohol dependence is known to cause psychosexual dysfunction, which leads to marked psychiatric morbidity. There is a dearth of studies from India in this area. Aim: To estimate the frequency of psychosexual dysfunction in individuals with alcohol dependence and to explore the association between psychosexual dysfunction and various socio-demographic and alcohol-related variables. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted on 50 male patients in a tertiary care center. The evaluation was conducted using a specially designed intake pro forma and tools such as the severity of alcohol dependence questionnaire, checklist for sexual dysfunction and International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision, and diagnostic criteria for research. Results: Sexual dysfunction was present in 66% of alcohol-dependent individuals. The most common among them was found to be aversion to sex (32%) followed by erectile dysfunction (24%). In most of the cases, patients having erectile dysfunction were also found to have aversion to sex. Conclusion: Sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent in male patients with alcohol dependence. The study highlights the detrimental effects of alcohol on sexual function apart from other etiological factors.