Browsing by Author "Galhenage, J.S."

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    Anxiety and depression among patients at a tertiary care respiratory clinic in Sri Lanka
    (Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrists, 2018) Galhenage, J.S.; Rupasinghe, J.P.N.; Weerasinghe, W.B.D.D.; Abeywardena, G.S.; Williams, S.S.; Gunasena, B.
    BACKGROUND: Chronic respiratory diseases are associated with increased risk of mood and anxiety disorders. These disorders in turn may lead to frequent hospital admissions and lower treatment adherence among patients with respiratory disease. AIMS: The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of anxiety and depression among patients with chronic lung diseases and their association with socio demographic factors. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among patients at a respiratory outpatient clinic at the National Hospital for Respiratory Diseases, Welisara. Demographic data was collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire; a selfadministered Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale was used to examine for the presence of anxiety or depression. Consecutive patients who gave written informed consent to were included in the study. RESULTS: A total of 451 patients were participated in the study, of whom 274 (60.8%) were females. The mean age was 57.4 (SD=15.3) years and the majority (74.7%) were married. The education level of 226 (50.1%) was between grade 5 and grade 11. There was no permanent income for 196 (43.5%). The majority had bronchial asthma (60.3%) and 151 (33.5%) had one or more co-morbid medical illness. The mean score for the anxiety component was 6.78 (SD=3.59) and for the depression component it was 7.03 (SD=3.11). Seventy (15.5%) screened positive for anxiety and another 100 (22.2%) were doubtful cases. Sixty five (14.4%) screened positive for depression and another 128 (28.4%) were doubtful cases. Participants who were unmarried, divorced, separated or widowed had significantly higher levels of anxiety compared to those who were married (p=0.005). Patients who had a monthly income also had more anxiety compared to those who did not have an income (p=0.003). Conclusions: One fifth of the patients attending the respiratory clinic screened positive for anxiety and depression. This indicates the importance of addressing the psychological morbidity among patients with chronic lung disease.
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    Psychological morbidity and illness perception among patients receiving treatment for tuberculosis in a tertiary care centre in Sri Lanka
    (Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2016) Galhenage, J.S.; Rupasinghe, J.P.; de Silva, A.P.; Williams, S.; Gunasena, B.
    INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: To describe the disease perception and prevalence of depression and anxiety among TB patients at National Hospital for Respiratory Diseases, Welisara, Sri Lanka. METHOD: A descriptive cross sectional study involving TB patients from both inward and outpatient clinic settings was conducted. All consecutive patients who gave informed consent were assessed using the self-administered validated Sinhala and Tamil translations of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ). RESULTS: A total of 254 inward patients and 176 clinic patients participated. Of the clinic patients, 17.6% screened positive for anxiety and 8.5% screened positive for depression. Of the inward patients 25.2% had depression and 12.6% had anxiety. Mean BIPQ score was 27.44 for the whole population and for clinic and inward patients the mean scores were 23.84 and 29.91, respectively. Prevalence of depression was significantly higher among inward patients (p<0.0001), elderly age groups (p=0.007) and in patients with low education levels (p= 0.012). Previously treated TB patients and those on Category 2 treatment regime had a higher proportion of persons with depression (p=0.004 and p=0.002). Among the Inward patients, previously treated patients, patients with low education level, those with depression and anxiety had a higher BIPQ score (p=0.002, p=0.005, P<0.0001, p=0.001 and P<0.0001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Psychological morbidity is present among patients undergoing treatment for TB. Addressing this issue will improve treatment outcome and overall wellbeing of the patients.