Medicine
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This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty
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Item Betel-quid use and its effects on symptoms of schizophrenia and extrapyramidal symptoms among a group of patients in a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka.(Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrists, 2020) Isuru, A.; Ediriweera, D.; Pathmeswaran, A.; Embuldeniya, A.; Narammalage, H.; Warnakulasuriya, S.; Kuruppuarachchi, K.A.L.A.; Hapangama, A.BACKGROUND: There is limited research regarding the prevalence of betel quid use and its effects on symptoms of patients with schizophrenia. Available studies suggest an association between betel chewing and positive symptoms among males with schizophrenia. AIMS: This study aimed to compare the prevalence of betel quid chewing between patients with and without mental illness, and to explore the association between betel quid use, symptoms of schizophrenia and side effects of psychotropic medication. METHODS: A cross sectional descriptive study was carried atoutpatient clinics at a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka. A structured interview schedule was administered to all participants. RESULTS: Out of 1000 participants, 20.9% chewed betel quid (95%CI: 18.4% - 23.4%). The rate of betel chewing among patients with and without a mental illness was 20.7% (95% CI: 17.0% - 24.4%) and 21.0% (95% CI: 17.6% - 24.5%) respectively and there was no significant difference between the two groups. There was no statistically significant difference between the occurrence of positive or negative symptoms and extra pyramidal side effects in patients with schizophrenia who did and did not chew betel. Female gender (p=0.004) and betel quid chewing (0.002) were associated with more anticholinergic side effects. CONCLUSIONS: There was no association between betel quid usage and the occurrence of positive or negative symptoms of schizophrenia or extra pyramidal side effects. KEYWORDS: Schizophrenia, Betel quid, Positive symptoms, Negative symptoms, Extra pyramidal side effectsItem Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency and its metabolic associations in an urban setting in Sri Lanka: Data from Colombo Urban study(Endocrine Society of Sri Lanka, 2019) Subasinghe, C. J.; Gunawardana, K.; Ediriweera, D.; Somasundaram, N.P.INTRODUCTION: Vitamin D deficiency is a commonly prevalent, but less attended problem in Asia. Vit D status has many metabolic associations. We designed this community-based study to describe the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency and its metabolic associations in Sri Lankan population. METHODS: A representative sample aged 18 years and above was included. Demographic, anthropometric, and social details were recorded using a standard proforma. Blood analysis was done for vitamin D status, and other metabolic parameters. Prevalence was estimated using weighted age standardized calculations. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to study associations to vitamin D status. RESULTS: Cumulative community prevalence of Vit D deficiency and insufficiency was 90.2%. Prevalence was highest among young and females. Obese had significantly lower vitamin D levels. According to the linear regression, Moors showed a significantly lower Vit D levels compared to Sinhalese while Triglyceride levels showed an inverse association with Vit D levels. Dysglycaemia was not associated with Vit D deficiency. DISCUSSION: Very high prevalence of Vit D problem was anticipated on clinical grounds and this is comparable with regional data. High prevalence among young needs early attention to avoid future poor bone health outcomes. Moor ethnicity shows high rates due to many known factors. Obesity is an emerging health problem in the country and co existent Vit D deficiency would increase its burden. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency and other metabolic problems are highly prevalent in this population. Causative factors and consequences of this problem should be further researched to plan strategies to replete the Vit D and prevent this problem.