In developing countries, postnatal depression (PND) is estimated to affect a high proportion of women following childbirth. There are no reliable estimates for the magnitude of the problem in Bangladesh, a country of 140 million people. The lack of a validated Bangla version of screening scale such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) has hindered attempts to quantify and address the problem in the country. This study was carried out among Bangladeshi women to validate the Bangla version of the EPDS with the help of a multi‐disciplinary research consultative group. A research assistant administered the Bangla EPDS to a convenience sample of 100 mothers at 6–8 weeks postpartum attending an urban childhood immunization clinic. A psychiatrist examined all women using the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID) for DSM‐IV diagnosis of depression. Nine (9%) women were found to have depression. Internal consistency was tested using Cronbach\u27s alpha coefficient (0.84). The optimal Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) cut‐off score of Bangla EPDS was 10 with a sensitivity of 89%, specificity of 87 %, positive predictive value of 40%, and negative predictive value of 99%. The Bangla EPDS is thus a valid and reliable screening scale for identifying PND in Bangladesh

Standardized questionnaires for screening common health problems in the community often need to be translated for use in non-English speaking countries. There is a lack of literature documenting the process of translation of such questionnaire/scale that would enable their application in cross-cultural settings and standardization of the procedure. This paper reports the process of translation into Bangla of the widely used Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) for use in Bangladesh. Three methods: forward translation, committee translation, and back translation were used to ensure the equivalence of the translated version. Both the English and Bangla versions were piloted among 10 social science graduates who were proficient in both the languages. The concurrence of each respondent between the two versions showed a correlation coefficient of 0.98 (p<0.01). The BlandAltman test also showed a high degree of agreement. The piloted version was also tested with 15 women in the postnatal period and found to be suitable for women with lower educational attainment. The documentation of the translation process and the lessons learnt would be helpful in similar settings where screening questionnaires need to be adapted for local use.

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Introduction: Consultation-liaison Psychiatry (CLP) is the study, practice and teaching of the relationbetween medical and psychiatric disorders. Aim of the study: The aim of this study is to find out the referring department, reason for consultation,common psychiatric comorbidities and sociodemographic of the referred patients to psychiatrydepartment from the other departments of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University of Dhaka. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out from May 2018 to February 2020. Patientsreferred from different inpatient departments every Thursday were taken as study population.Psychiatric diagnoses of the patients were assigned by the consultant psychiatrist as per DSM-5criteria. Semi structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data. Results: Among the referred patients (n= 89) 56% were female; 63% were aged between 19-59years; 65% were married; 58% were from urban background and 51% studied up to higher secondary.More than half of the patients were referred from different branches of Medicine (68%). Referral fromInternal Medicine was 14.6%, Rheumatology 13.5%, Neurology and Nephrology 10% respectively.The rest were from the branches of pediatrics, surgery and gynecology. Most common psychiatricdisorder was Major Depressive Disorder (37%) followed by Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (17%)and Delirium (10.11%). 15% patient received no psychiatric diagnosis. Conclusion: Psychiatric comorbidities in general medical illness are very common. CLP provides anopportunity to improve health outcomes for inpatients and reduce burden on the healthcare system. Bangladesh J Medicine July 2020; 31(2) :76-80

Background: Recent reports revealed that the number of single mothers has been increasing day by day in Dhaka city; however, their psychological problems have not been studied yet. Aim: We aimed to see the proportion of single mothers having depressive and anxiety disorders. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted under the supervision of the Department of Psychiatry, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka from August 2016 to July 2017. A total of 156 single mothers from three social strata, namely, lower-, middle- and upper-class group were included purposively. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire consisting of demography and structured clinical interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth edition, axis-I disorders, clinician version (SCID-I-CV) which were analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17. Results: This study showed that the mean age of the single mothers was 34.8 ± 8.9 years. The overall 48.8% of single mothers had either depressive and/or anxiety disorders where 17.3% depressive disorder, 21.2% anxiety disorders and 10.3% had a dual diagnosis. Major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder were the most common specific diagnosis. Conclusion: This study provided us a sound background knowledge regarding psychiatric disorders among single mothers. This study shows the need for larger research on this issue and early detection would help them to improve the quality of life.