{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,27]],"date-time":"2026-02-27T05:09:10Z","timestamp":1772168950040,"version":"3.50.1"},"update-to":[{"DOI":"10.12688\/f1000research.165056.1","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,15]],"date-time":"2025-09-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757894400000}}],"reference-count":22,"publisher":"F1000 Research Ltd","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,15]],"date-time":"2025-09-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757894400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["f1000research.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["F1000Res"],"abstract":"<ns3:p>Introduction Increased work pressure, lifestyle modifications, and deteriorated living conditions brought on by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can exacerbate mental health concerns such as anxiety, sleeplessness, depression, and stress-related illnesses. Recent studies have shown that a high burden of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety disorders, stress, panic attacks, impulsivity, irrational anger, somatization disorder, sleep disorders, emotional disturbance, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts, may be experienced by COVID-19 survivors. Due to differences in their susceptibility to infection and lifestyle factors, people with different medical conditions and social roles may have various kinds and severities of mental health problems. This study aimed to provide essential insights into the prevalence, types, and linkages of various mental health issues to improve patient outcomes, guide future treatments, and advance holistic well-being. Methodology This cross-sectional study examined the prevalence of common mental health issues among patients receiving treatment at Ayurvedic health centers in Udupi Taluk. Five Ayurvedic centers were chosen randomly from 275 Ayurvedic centers registered in Udupi Taluk. A total of 423 patients aged 18 years and above were selected for this study. The Perceived Stress Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) were used to collect data. Results and discussion The study revealed the presence of some level of perceived stress and depression among the participants. The factor associated with stress was the educational status of participants (p =0.01). The comparison between different stress levels revealed that moderate stress levels were significantly higher among participants with a lower educational status. Conclusion According to a study on perceived stress levels and educational status, participants with lower educational status reported feeling more stressed than those with higher educational status.<\/ns3:p>","DOI":"10.12688\/f1000research.165056.2","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,15]],"date-time":"2025-09-15T14:10:06Z","timestamp":1757945406000},"page":"749","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12688\/f1000research.crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Common mental health problems among patients accessing care at ayurvedic health centers in Udupi Taluk."],"prefix":"10.12688","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Surekha  D","family":"Shetty","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7371-0826","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vidya","family":"Prabhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3319-3075","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Varalakshmi","family":"Chandra Sekaran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ashwini","family":"Aithal p","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sapna","family":"Marpalli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9563-8549","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ravichandran","family":"Nair K","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shantha","family":"Kumari BR","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"2560","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1-10","DOI":"10.1155\/2019\/2940836","article-title":"Assessment of Anxiety, Depression, Stress, and Associated Psychological Morbidities among Patients Receiving Ayurvedic Treatment for Different Health Issues: First Study from Sri Lanka.","volume":"2019","author":"H Gunathilaka","year":"2019","journal-title":"Biomed. 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I appreciate the effort of authors in their interest on assessing mental health disorders among patients seeking care at the health facility. Although the topic was interesting I found major concerns associated with the article. Here is a consolidated comments attached below.  \n<b>1. Comment<\/b>  \n<b>Introduction and Rationale:&nbsp;<\/b>The&nbsp;introduction lacks a logical flow, with disconnected paragraphs that do not build a cohesive argument. It fails to provide sufficient background evidence on the prevalence of common mental health disorders (CMDs) and their contributing factors in the study population, which is essential for establishing context. Furthermore, the study location is inappropriately placed in the introduction rather than the methodology section.   \n<b>Response:<\/b> \n<i>We thank for your valuable feedback. We have revised the introduction to improve the logical flow and cohesiveness by restructuring the paragraphs. We have also included information on the prevalence of CMDs. Regarding the study location, we have moved this information from the introduction to the methodology section as suggested, ensuring that the introduction now focuses only on the rationale and background for the study.<\/i>  \n<b>2.Comment<\/b>  \n<b>Methodological Weaknesses:&nbsp;<\/b>The methodology section is notably brief and lacks critical details. It does not adequately describe the activities undertaken during the study, nor does it specify the standard tools or instruments used to assess mental health disorders, exposures, and outcomes. A crucial omission is the absence of a clear explanation of the sample size and the justification for its selection.   \n<b>Response:<\/b> \n<i>We thank the reviewer for this valuable comment. In the revised version, we have expanded this section to clearly describe the activities undertaken during the study, including the participant recruitment, data collection and analysis. We have also specified the standard tools used to assess mental health disorders, Furthermore, we have now provided a clear explanation of the sample size calculation, including the assumed prevalence, confidence level, and margin of error. <\/i>  \n<b>3.Comment<\/b>  \n<b>Data Analysis and Presentation of Results:&nbsp;<\/b>The results section is overly descriptive and could be simplified by focusing on the most significant findings rather than detailing every variable. The authors have not appropriately categorized the stress\/depression Additionally, data presented in Table 4 appears to be entirely new information, as it was not mentioned or justified within the methodology section.  \n<b>Response:<\/b> \n<i>We thank the reviewer for this valuable feedback. We have revised the Results section to highlight the most significant findings and avoid excessive descriptive detail, thereby improving clarity and readability. Regarding the categorization of stress\/depression, we have now restructured the presentation and aligned it with the methodology to ensure consistency. Also, we recognize the concern about Table 4. W<\/i>e have revised the Methods section and added explanation its inclusion.  \n<b>4. Comment<\/b>  \n<b>Inferences and Confounding Factors:<\/b>&nbsp;The most critical concern is the absence of logic when attributing the findings to COVID-19. The study's cross-sectional design only captures the patients' mental health at a single point in time. The method section does not distinguish them are Covid-19 patients or other patients. It fails to account for other potential confounding factors, such as the patients' pre-existing health conditions and its relationship with the stress of their current illness, all of which could independently contribute to their mental state. Therefore, the statement that the observed stress and depression levels were a direct result of COVID-19 is an unfounded inference that is not supported by the study's design.  \n<b>Response:<\/b> \n<i>We sincerely thank the reviewer for highlighting this important limitation. We agree that the cross-sectional design restricts causal inference, and therefore, it is not possible to attribute stress and depression solely to COVID-19 and acknowledged in the Limitations section that factors such as pre-existing health conditions and concurrent illness may have influenced participants\u2019 mental health status. We believe these revisions improve the scientific accuracy and transparency of the manuscript.<\/i>","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/14-749\/v2#referee-comment-14537","order":3,"name":"referee-comment-14537","label":"Referee Comment","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"10.5256\/f1000research.187956.r428988, Sangeeth Somanadhapai, Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Gurugram, Haryana, 13 Nov 2025, version 2, indexed","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/14-749\/v2#referee-response-428988","order":4,"name":"referee-response-428988","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"10.5256\/f1000research.187956.r428982, Ankur Kumar Tanwar, Kriya Sharir, Divya Jyoti Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi, 20 Nov 2025, version 2, indexed","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/14-749\/v2#referee-response-428982","order":5,"name":"referee-response-428982","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"The author(s) declared that no grants were involved in supporting this work","order":6,"name":"grant-information","label":"Grant Information"},{"value":"This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.","order":0,"name":"copyright-info","label":"Copyright"}]}}