Conference Papers
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This collection contains abstracts of conference papers, presented at local and international conferences by the staff of the Faculty of Medicine
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Item Eating attitudes and behaviours among adolescent girls in the Colombo District, Sri Lanka(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2012) Wijeratne, L.T.; Kuruppuarachchi, K.A.L.A.; Pathmeswaran, A.; Williams, S.S.INTRODUCTION: Eating disorders are considered by some to be a culture bound phenomena confined to the west. Its prevalence among young adolescents in Sri Lanka is not known. AIMS: To describe the concerns and attitudes regarding weight and body shape among adolescent school girls in the Colombo district. METHODS: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in selected National, type 1AB, type 1C and type 2 schools in the Colombo district, using a self administered questionnaire that included demographic data and the Eating Attitude Questionnaire ( EAT26 ). The EAT 26 was translated to Sinhalese and validated using the Delphi technique. Results: The study population consisted of 1564 adolescent school girls from 18 schools. A high risk for developing an eating disorder in terms of the EAT 26 questionnaire was seen in 217 [ 14%) and a moderate risk in 554 ( 36%). 14% believed they were fatter than their peers. Of those who believed they were fatter than others, 25% had an EAT26.score indicating a high risk for developing an eating disorder. Dieting was undertaken by 34% to lose weight. CONCLUSIONS: Risk for eating disorders is present in adolescent girls in Sri Lanka. Clinicians need to consider this differential diagnosis in young females presenting with weight loss.Item Prevalence of psychological morbidity in an urban population: Is it related to modifiable physical risk factors?(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2013) Williams, S.S.; Pinidiyapathirage, M.J.; Wijeratne, L.T.; Kasturiratne, A.; Peris, M.U.P.K.; Williams, H.S.A.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of psychological morbidity and its relationship to diabetes mellitus, hypertension and alcohol use in an urban population in Sri Lanka. METHODS: This study was conducted in the Ragama Health Study cohort that consists of 2986 individuals, between 35-64 years of age, living in the Ragama Medical Officer of Health area in the district of Gampaha. Subjects were selected using age-stratified random sampling, from the electoral lists in 2007, and investigated using clinical, bio¬chemical and anthropometric examinations. Psychological morbidity was estimated using a pre-validated K10 questionnaire which has high sensitivity and specificity for non psychotic psychiatric disorders and a self administered GHQ 30 questionnaire. Baseline age-adjusted prevalence and three year incidence of hypertension and diabetes were estimated. Odds ratios for independent risk factors were calculated. RESULTS: The prevalence of psychological morbidity identified using the K10 questionnaire ranged from 18- 26% in a total population of 2919. Females had a higher prevalence of psychologrcal morbidity than males (28.6% vs 22.4%; p<0.001). Diabetic or hypertensive status and alcohol use did not predict psychological morbidity. A self report of overall low health status was predictive of psychological morbidity OR1.925 (95% CI 1.62 - 2.28). DISCUSSION: High prevalence of psychological morbidity was identified in this community study. Females are more at risk. In the initial analysis, psychological status was not associated with diabetes mellitus, hypertension or alcohol use.Item The validation of the Sinhala version of the Kessler psychological distress scale (K10) to screen for psychiatric morbidity(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2008) Wijeratne, L.T.; Williams, S.S.; Peris, M.U.P.K.; de Silva, N.R.; Hapuarachchi, H.A.C.; Perera, K.P.J.; Kawamura, N.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.BACKGROUND: The Kessler psychological distress scale (K10), used in epidemiological surveys, measures psychological distress. High scores in community surveys are associated with anxiety and affective disorders, and to a lesser extent, with other psychiatric disorders. OBJECTIVE: To validate the Sinhala translations of the long (K10) and short (K.6) versions of the Kessler psychological distress scale. DESIGN, SETTING AND METHODS: The English version of K10 was translated into Sinhala. Content and face validity was assessed by experts. The scales were pre-tested and modified accordingly. The Sinhala versions of K6 and K10, and the Structured Clinical Interview Schedule were administered to 20 adults with major psychiatric illnesses diagnosed by two clinicians independently, and to a random sample of 25 apparently normal people from the community. SPSS (Version 11) was used for the analysis. RESULTS: The ROC curve for the K10 contained 96.1% of the area under the curve of 0.961 (95% CI 90.4%-100%). A cut off score of 22 for the K10 yielded a sensitivity of 93.8% and a specificity of 82.6%. The ROC curve for the K6 contained 90.1% (95% CI 80.5% - 99.7%) of the area under the curve. For the K6, a cut off score of 13 gave a sensitivity of 88.2% and a specificity of 72%, The total number of days that the patient could not attend to regular work and responsibilities was significantly correlated with both the K10 (p=0.041) andK6 (p=0.023). CONCLUSION: The Sinhala version of the K10 and K6 questionnaires can be used to screen for psychological distress.