Objective: Raising children with autism is a stressful event for a family because of the interrelated negative effects. Studies on clinical depression among caregivers of children with autism are very few. The two main objectives were (i) to find the prevalence of Major Depressive Disorder and Dysthymic Disorder in caregivers of children with autism, and (ii) to determine the factors associated with these disorders. Method: A total of 27 caregivers were interviewed by using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Thai version to find clinical depression in caregivers. Results: Almost 26 % of the participants demonstrated depressive disorders, of which 14.8% and 11.1% met diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder and Dysthymic Disorder respectively. Low education level was a significant factor associated with depression. Conclusion: The prevalence of clinical depression is higher among caregivers of children with autism than in the general population. Hence, psychiatrists should include the assessment for caregivers’ depression in their care plans for autistic children to enhance the development of the children and their caregivers.

The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in Major Depressive Disorder and the factors that were associated with the severity of MDD. Methods: A total of 140 major depressive disorder patients researched are subjected for blood sampling to determine the blood thyroid abnormalities. The severity of illness of MDD was determined by the duration of illness, frequency of admission/ suicidal attempts, and the Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAM-D). Results: Thirty-one of the 140 patients had thyroid dysfunction. There was no significant difference in the severity of illness among patients with MDD between thyroid dysfunction and normal function group (p=0.024). Conclusion: Patients with MDD had high prevalence of thyroid dysfunction; however, the former had no correlation with later. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 18 (1): January – June 2017: XX XX.

To determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and examine its association with patients with major depressive disorder. Methods: All patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) who visited the Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital were invited to participate in this study. Subjects who met the inclusion criteria and did not have exclusion criteria were included in this project until 140 subjects were enrolled. The criteria proposed by the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (updated ATPIII) were utilized for diagnosing metabolic syndrome. Age, history of antidepressant and antipsychotic use, time of illness, severity of illness and family history of metabolic syndrome were assessed as factors associated with metabolic syndrome. Data was analyzed by using percentage, mean, standard deviations, student t-test, chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test. Results: One hundred forty subjects were recruited. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome determined by the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (updated ATPIII) was 37.9% (53). Age was significantly associated with metabolic syndrome in patients with a major depressive disorder (p≤0.001). The duration of illness, duration of treatment, family history of diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia were not associated with metabolic syndrome. Conclusions: A high proportion of Thai patients with MDD had metabolic syndrome. These findings support the importance of assessing and monitoring metabolic syndrome in MDD patients, especially in older patients.

Objectives: Alcohol use in adolescents is one of the major health problems in many countries.Understanding the extent of the problem andrelated health risk behaviors is necessary to help prevent the associated behaviors andprovide appropriate intervention. This study aimed to identify alcohol use in adolescents and its correlation with others health risk behaviors. Methods: A total of 4372 participants, aged 13-18 years old were enrolled. The data were collected using a two-stage stratified cluster sampling methods from secondary and vocational schools. A web-based questionnaire using the Thai Youth Risk Behavior Survey, modified from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, was administered. Results: The prevalence of lifetime alcohol exposure was 28.32%, of which 815 participants (18.64%) reported current alcohol use. Adolescents with older age (odds ratio, OR=4.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.15-5.87), male gender (OR = 2.63, 95% CI = 2.23-3.09), and attendance at vocational schools (OR=7.87, 95% CI = 6.66-9.31) were associated with current alcohol use. When adjusted for confounding variables, health risk behaviors including interpersonal violence, cyber bullying, risky sexual behaviors, tobacco and marijuana use, and suicidal behaviors were associated with current alcohol use from the multiple logistic regression (p<0.001). Conclusions: This study shows that a number of adolescents in Northern Thailand are currently using alcohol, and this can influence other health risk behaviors. Efforts to prevent and control alcohol use needs to focus on high-risk groups and among those currently using alcohol.