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Introduction: Benzodiazepine (BDZP) and/or z‐hypnotic dispensing during pregnancy has increased globally, as have rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to estimate the association between gestational exposure to BDZP and/or z‐hypnotics and diagnosis of ASD or ADHD in offspring. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and SCOPUS from inception till December 2023 for relevant English‐language articles. Outcomes of interest were risk of ASD and ADHD, two independent primary outcomes, in children exposed anytime during pregnancy to BDZP and/or z‐hypnotics versus those unexposed. Secondary outcomes were trimester‐wise analyses. Using a random effects model, we pooled the overall and trimester‐wise hazard ratios (HRs), with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), separately for risk of ASD and ADHD. Results: We found six eligible retrospective cohort studies and no case–control studies. There was no increased risk of ASD associated with anytime gestational BDZP and/or z‐hypnotic exposure (primary outcome, HR, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.81–1.50; 4 studies; n = 3,783,417; 80,270 exposed, 3,703,147 unexposed) nor after first trimester exposure (HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 0.83–1.58; 3 studies; n = 1,539,335; 70,737 exposed, 1,468,598 unexposed) or later trimester exposures. A very small but significantly increased risk of ADHD was noted with anytime gestational exposure to these drugs (primary outcome, HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03–1.12; 4 studies; n = 2,000,777; 78,912 exposed, 1,921,865 unexposed) and also with (only) second trimester exposure (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03–1.12; 3 studies; n = 1,539,281; 33,355 exposed, 1,505,926 unexposed). Findings were consistent in sensitivity analyses. Conclusion: Gestational exposure to benzodiazepines or z‐hypnotics was not associated with an increased risk of ASD and with only a marginally increased risk of ADHD in offspring. Given the likelihood of confounding by indication and by unmeasured variables in the original studies, our findings should reassure women who need these medications for severe anxiety or insomnia during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Little is known about the publication outcomes of submissions rejected by specialty psychiatry journals. We aimed to investigate the publication fate of original research manuscripts previously rejected by the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine (IJPM). Methods: A random sampling of manuscripts was drawn from all submissions rejected between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2019. Using the titles of these papers and the author names, a systematic search of electronic databases was carried out to examine if these manuscripts have been published elsewhere or not. We extracted data on a range of scientific and nonscientific parameters from the journal's manuscript management portal for every rejected manuscript. Multivariable analysis was used to detect factors associated with eventual publication. Results: Out of 302 manuscripts analyzed, 139 (46.0%) were published elsewhere; of these, only 18 articles (13.0%) were published in a journal with higher standing than IJPM. Manuscripts of foreign origin (odds ratio [OR] 1.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06–2.97) and rejection following peer review or editorial re-review (OR 2.41, 95% CI = 1.22–4.74) were significantly associated with publication. Conclusion: Nearly half of the papers rejected by IJPM were eventually published in other journals, though such papers are more often published in journals with lower standing. Manuscripts rejected following peer review were more likely to reach full publication status compared to those which were desk rejected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Celebrity suicides have the potential to trigger suicide contagion, particularly when media reporting is detailed and imbalanced. We aimed to assess the quality of media reporting of suicide of a popular Indian entertainment celebrity against the World Health Organization (WHO) suicide reporting guidelines. Methods Relevant news articles that reported the actor's suicide were retrieved from online news portals of regional and English language newspapers and television channels in the immediate week following the event. Deductive content analysis of these articles was done using a pre-designed data extraction form. Results A total of 573 news articles were analyzed. Several breaches of reporting were noted in relation to mentioning the word 'celebrity' in the title of report (14.7%), inclusion of the deceased's photograph (88.5%), detailed descriptions of the method (50.4%) and location of suicide (70.6%); local language newspapers were more culpable than English newspapers. Helpful reporting characteristics such as mentioning warning signs (4.1%), including educational information (2.7%) and suicide support line details (14.0%) were rarely practiced. Conclusion Media reporting of celebrity suicide in India is imbalanced and poorly adherent to suicide reporting recommendations. Local language news reports display more frequent and serious violations in reporting as opposed to English news articles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A proportion of manuscripts submitted to scientific journals get rejected, for varied reasons. A systematic analysis of the reasons for rejection will be relevant to editors, reviewers, and prospective authors. We aimed to analyze the reasons for rejection of manuscripts submitted to the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine , the flagship journal of Indian Psychiatric Society South Zonal Branch. Methods: We performed a content analysis of the rejection reports of all the articles submitted to the journal between January 1, 2018, and May 15, 2020. Rejection reports were extracted from the manuscript management website and divided into three types: desk rejections, post-peer-review rejections, and post-editorial-re-review rejections. They were analyzed separately for the rejection reasons, using a predefined coding frame. Results: A total of 898 rejection reports were available for content analysis. Rejection was a common fate for manuscripts across the types of submission; figures ranged from 26.7% for viewpoint articles to 72.1% for review articles. The median time to desk rejection was 3 days, while the median time to post-peer-review rejection and post-editorial-re-review rejection was 42 days and 96 days, respectively. The most common reasons for desk rejection were lack of novelty or being out of the journal's scope. Inappropriate study designs, poor methodological descriptions, poor quality of writing, and weak study rationale were the most common rejection reasons mentioned by both peer reviewers and editorial re-reviewers. Conclusions: Common reasons for rejection included poor methodology and poorly written manuscripts. Prospective authors should pay adequate attention to conceptualization, design, and presentation of their study, apart from selecting an appropriate journal, to avoid rejection and enhance their manuscript's chances of publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Little is known about changes in quality of media reporting of suicide in the community following a celebrity suicide. Our objective was to compare trends in quality of media reporting of suicide, before and after the suicide of an Indian entertainment celebrity, against the World Health Organization suicide reporting guidelines. Method: Online news portals of English and local language newspapers, as well as television channels, were searched to identify relevant suicide-related news articles. Comparison of reporting characteristics before and after the celebrity suicide was performed using chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Results: A total of 3867 eligible news reports were retrieved. There was a significant increase in harmful reporting characteristics, such as reporting the name, age and gender of the deceased (p < 0.001 for all comparisons), mentioning the location (p < 0.001) and reason for suicide (p = 0.04) and including photos of the deceased (p = 0.002) following the celebrity suicide. Helpful reporting practices were less affected; there was a significant rise in inclusion of expert opinion (p = 0.04) and mention of suicide-related warning signs (p = 0.02). Conclusion: Following a celebrity suicide, significant changes in the quality of media reporting of suicide were noted with an increase in several potentially harmful reporting characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psychiatric disorders have been identified as an important risk factor for suicide. However, different psychological autopsy studies have revealed different prevalences at different times and places. Objective: We aimed to see the distribution of psychological autopsy studies and the prevalence of mental disorders among suicides and identify major risk factors in Southeast Asian countries. Method: We scrutinized psychological autopsy studies published in the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia (SEA) region countries. We also searched the available bibliographies to identify the studies in the region so that all the possible articles could be included. Results: Out of the 11 countries, 14 psychological autopsy studies were identified in five SEA countries (Bangladesh [1], India [9], Indonesia [1], Nepal [1], and Sri Lanka [2]). Seven studies (50%) used a case-control study design, and eight (57.1%) were carried out in urban settings. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in case-control studies was from 37% to 88%. Stressful life event was identified as a major risk factor in all the case-control studies. Conclusion: Psychological autopsy studies have not been conducted in 6 out of 11 countries of the SEA region. The presence of pre-existing psychiatric morbidity and stressful life events were the two most common risk factors noted across settings, even though there is wide heterogeneity in samples, study design, instruments, and study settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Little is known about the factors that determine vulnerability to subsequent suicide in the community following a celebrity suicide. Our objective was to investigate the link between an alleged celebrity suicide and further suicidal behaviour in the community in India. Methods: Relevant news articles that reported suicidal behaviour in the population were retrieved from online news portals of regional and English language newspapers in the immediate month following the actor's death. A deductive analysis of the retrieved suicide news articles was carried out using a pre-designed data extraction form. Results: A total of 1160 relevant news articles were identified from the local language (n = 985) and English (n = 175) newspapers. For a sizeable percentage of these reports (n = 65, 5.6%), the media reported links with celebrity suicide. Odds of subsequent suicide among young (Odds Ratios [OR] – 9.24), female (OR – 1.94), unemployed (OR – 7.26), those without precipitating life events (OR – 2.94) or mental illness (OR – 1.69) were higher among those with link to celebrity suicide; likewise, odds of death by hanging (OR – 49.84) and leaving a suicide note (OR – 2.03) were higher among those linked to celebrity suicide. English newspapers (OR – 4.23) were more likely to report events linked to celebrity suicide than local language newspapers Conclusion: Persons who died by suicide by hanging after a celebrity suicide are more likely to be young, female, unemployed, have a mental disorder or precipitating life events. Suicide prevention efforts must focus on this group and prevent the same method of suicide like that of the celebrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) among patients with bipolar disorder (BD). Methodology: Eighty-seven patients with BD and 50 matched controls were assessed by using the Berlin questionnaire. Results: One-fifth of the patients with BD was found to be at high risk for OSA, compared to the 6% prevalence in the control group. Patients in high risk for OSA were more often females, had significantly higher body mass index, high waist circumference, and comorbid physical illnesses. In terms of pharmacotherapy, there was association of use of antipsychotics with higher risk of OSA at the trend level (p=0.052). Conclusion: The prevalence of high risk for OSA is significantly higher among patients with BD and higher prevalence is related to obesity and comorbid physical illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on behavioral interventions for the treatment of Tourette's disorder (TD) from India are limited. This patient series describes the usefulness and feasibility of conducting behavioral interventions for patients with TD from an Indian general hospital psychiatric unit. Behavioral treatments in these seven consecutively treated adult/adolescent patients with TD included all components of habit reversal treatment, comprehensive behavioral intervention for tics, and exposure with response prevention in some patients. Patients were predominantly male, with adolescent-onset severe TD, typical features and psychiatric comorbidities, and poor response to multiple medications prior to the institution of behavior therapy. In addition to long delays in diagnosis, none of the patients or their caregivers had been informed by the doctors they had consulted earlier about TD or the need for behavioral treatments before attending our center. Institution of behavioral treatments along with medications led to a 75% reduction in the severity of tics and reduction in comorbid symptoms. Patients and caregivers also reported similar rates of improvement as well as reductions in subjective distress and caregiver burden. Five patients have been followed up for seven months to seven years; apart from one patient, all others have had only minor exacerbations of tics during this period. This limited experience suggests that behavior therapies for TD can be successfully implemented in low-resource, non-specialized Indian settings. They are effective, and gains from such treatment are usually enduring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online portals of selected English and local language newspapers and television channels were searched to identify suicide news reports published one year after the celebrity suicide (ACS). These reports (n = 1952) were compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, immediately following the celebrity suicide (ICS) (n = 2486), and a three-month period before the celebrity suicide (BCS) (n = 1381) to assess longitudinal changes in quality of media reporting. There was a decline in reporting of several potentially harmful characteristics over time such as mentioning the deceased’s age and gender (p < .001 for both), and location of suicide (p < .001). The quality of media reporting of suicide was significantly better at one year compared to the period immediately following celebrity suicide. This change was mainly driven by an improvement in the reporting quality of English news reports while local language reports continued to remain poorly adherent to reporting guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]