Risk of mental health and nutritional problems for left-behind children of international labor migrants

Wickramage, Kolitha; Siriwardhana, Chesmal; Vidanapathirana, Puwalani; Weerawarna, Sulochana; Jayasekara, Buddhini; Pannala, Gayani; Adikari, Anushka; Jayaweera, Kaushalya; Peiris, Sharika; Siribaddana, Sisira; Sumathipala, Athula

doi:10.1186/s12888-015-0412-2

Development of a country-specific food composition database for Sri Lanka (2025)
Journal Article
Opatha, J., Dissanayake, L., Herath, B., Jayaweera, K., Wijesinghe, H., Wijesinghe, H., …Jayawardena, R. (2025). Development of a country-specific food composition database for Sri Lanka. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 140, Article 107230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2025.107230

Country-specific Food Composition Data (FCD) could support nutritional research, and aid in making informed decisions to develop food and nutrition policies in a country. Sri Lanka is ethnically diverse, and its food culture and tre... Read More about Development of a country-specific food composition database for Sri Lanka.

Key to successful global health collaborations: research, ethics and community engagement and involvement. (2024)
Journal Article
Sumathipala, A., Jayasinghe, O. S., & Fernando, B. (in press). Key to successful global health collaborations: research, ethics and community engagement and involvement. BMJ Leader, leader-2023-000901. https://doi.org/10.1136/leader-2023-000901

Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people, according to the ancient Greeks and Abraham Lincoln. Similarly, health research needs to be of low- and middle-income country (LMIC) people, by LMIC people and for people in... Read More about Key to successful global health collaborations: research, ethics and community engagement and involvement..

"Building back better": Task shifting is the way forward for Sri Lanka to address maternal mental health in the economic crisis. (2024)
Journal Article
Jayasinghe, O. S., Hewamalage, A., Sikander, S., Rahman, A., & Sumathipala, A. (in press). "Building back better": Task shifting is the way forward for Sri Lanka to address maternal mental health in the economic crisis. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 102, Article 104234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2024.104234

Maternal mental health is a global priority. Like other low-and middle-income countries, maternal mental health issues are highly prevalent in Sri Lanka. While the country claims to have achieved a satisfactory level of maternal health care indicator... Read More about "Building back better": Task shifting is the way forward for Sri Lanka to address maternal mental health in the economic crisis..

Anticipated and experienced stigma and discrimination in the workplace among individuals with major depressive disorder in 35 countries: qualitative framework analysis of a mixed-method cross-sectional study (2024)
Journal Article
Van Bortel, T., Wickramasinghe, N. D., Treacy, S., Khan, N., Ouali, U., Sumathipala, A., …Cockayne, N. (2024). Anticipated and experienced stigma and discrimination in the workplace among individuals with major depressive disorder in 35 countries: qualitative framework analysis of a mixed-method cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 14(6), Article e077528. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-077528

Objectives: Workplace stigmatisation and discrimination are significant barriers to accessing employment opportunities, reintegration and promotion in the workforce for people with mental illnesses in comparison to other disabilities. This paper pres... Read More about Anticipated and experienced stigma and discrimination in the workplace among individuals with major depressive disorder in 35 countries: qualitative framework analysis of a mixed-method cross-sectional study.

International Representation in Psychiatric Literature: Has the Trend Changed? Review of 11 Leading Psychiatric Journals (2024)
Journal Article
Renjhen, R., Tajuria, G., Lamahewa, K., Sumathipala, A., & Patel, V. (2024). International Representation in Psychiatric Literature: Has the Trend Changed? Review of 11 Leading Psychiatric Journals. Archives of Psychiatry Research, 60(1), 7-14. https://doi.org/10.20471/feb.2024.60.01.01

Aim: A survey of six of the highest impact psychiatric journal articles (2001), revealed the underrepresentation of non-Western countries. The current study looked at the new trends in the representation of psychiatric literature. We aimed to quantif... Read More about International Representation in Psychiatric Literature: Has the Trend Changed? Review of 11 Leading Psychiatric Journals.

The Colombo Twin and Singleton Study (COTASS): Piloting the Feasibility of Collecting Nutritional Data and Extension of the Sample to Include Children of Twins. (2024)
Journal Article
Dissanayake, L., Herath, B., Opatha, J., Jabir, S., Siriwardana, R., Sirisena, K., …Rijsdijk, F. (in press). The Colombo Twin and Singleton Study (COTASS): Piloting the Feasibility of Collecting Nutritional Data and Extension of the Sample to Include Children of Twins. Behavior Genetics, 54(1), 63–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-023-10171-w

Nutrition and diet are key modifiable risk factors for the rising burden of non-communicable diseases like cardio-vascular diseases and diabetes in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs). The nutritional transition in dietary behaviours in LMICs h... Read More about The Colombo Twin and Singleton Study (COTASS): Piloting the Feasibility of Collecting Nutritional Data and Extension of the Sample to Include Children of Twins..

Frequency of Consumption of Food Groups and Cardio-Metabolic Risk Factors: A Genetically Informative Twin Study in Sri Lanka. (2023)
Journal Article
Zavos, H. M. S., Riddleston, L., Jayaweera, K., Dissanayake, L., Jabir, S., Pannala, G., …Rijsdijk, F. V. (in press). Frequency of Consumption of Food Groups and Cardio-Metabolic Risk Factors: A Genetically Informative Twin Study in Sri Lanka. Behavior Genetics, 54, 73–85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-023-10165-8

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) globally have undergone rapid urbanisation, and changes in demography and health behaviours. In Sri Lanka, cardio-vascular disease and diabetes are now leading causes of mortality. High prevalence of their ris... Read More about Frequency of Consumption of Food Groups and Cardio-Metabolic Risk Factors: A Genetically Informative Twin Study in Sri Lanka..

Associations between socioeconomic factors and depression in Sri Lanka: The role of gene-environment interplay (2023)
Journal Article
Badini, I., Jayaweera, K., Pannala, G., Adikari, A., Siribaddana, S., Sumathipala, A., …Zavos, H. M. (2023). Associations between socioeconomic factors and depression in Sri Lanka: The role of gene-environment interplay. Journal of Affective Disorders, 340, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.07.084

Background: Low socioeconomic status is a risk factor for depression. The nature and magnitude of associations can differ cross-culturally and is influenced by a range of contextual factors. We examined the aetiology of so-cioeconomic indicators and... Read More about Associations between socioeconomic factors and depression in Sri Lanka: The role of gene-environment interplay.

Natural disaster and risk preferences: evidence from Sri Lankan twins (2023)
Journal Article
Kettlewell, N., Rijsdijk, F., Siribaddana, S., Sumathipala, A., Tymula, A., Zavos, H., & Glozier, N. (2024). Natural disaster and risk preferences: evidence from Sri Lankan twins. Applied Economics, 56(5), 558-581. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2023.2168616

Under-representation of low and middle income countries (LMIC) in the research literature: Ethical issues arising from a survey of five leading medical journals: have the trends changed? (2023)
Journal Article
Woods, W. A., Watson, M., Ranaweera, S., Tajuria, G., & Sumathipala, A. (2023). Under-representation of low and middle income countries (LMIC) in the research literature: Ethical issues arising from a survey of five leading medical journals: have the trends changed?. Global Public Health, 18(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2023.2229890

Exploring women's experiences of identifying, negotiating and managing perinatal anxiety: a qualitative study (2020)
Journal Article
Oh, S., Chew-Graham, C., Silverwood, V., Aksa Shaheen, S., Walsh-House, J., Sumathipala, A., & Kingstone, T. (2020). Exploring women's experiences of identifying, negotiating and managing perinatal anxiety: a qualitative study. BMJ Open, 10(12), Article e040731. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-040731

OBJECTIVES: Anxiety affects around 15% of women during the perinatal period and can adversely impact both mother and child, with potential implications for long-term health; few studies have examined women's experiences of perinatal anxiety (PNA). In... Read More about Exploring women's experiences of identifying, negotiating and managing perinatal anxiety: a qualitative study.

Healthcare professionals' perspectives on identifying and managing perinatal anxiety: a qualitative study. (2019)
Journal Article
Silverwood, V., Nash, A., Chew-Graham, C., Walsh-House, J., Sumathipala, A., Bartlam, B., & Kingstone, T. (2019). Healthcare professionals' perspectives on identifying and managing perinatal anxiety: a qualitative study. British Journal of General Practice (BJGP), 69(688), e768-e776. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp19X706025

BACKGROUND: Perinatal mental health problems are those that occur during pregnancy or up to 12 months postpartum, and affect up to 20% of women. Perinatal anxiety (PNA) is at least as common as depression during the perinatal phase and can adversely... Read More about Healthcare professionals' perspectives on identifying and managing perinatal anxiety: a qualitative study..

The association between emotional eating and depressive symptoms: a population-based twin study in Sri Lanka (2019)
Journal Article
Herle, M. P., Kan, C., Jayaweera, K., Adikari, A., Siribaddana, S., Zavos, H. M. S., …Rijsdijk, F. (2019). The association between emotional eating and depressive symptoms: a population-based twin study in Sri Lanka. Global Health, Epidemiology and Genomics, 4, 699 - 699. https://doi.org/10.1017/gheg.2019.3

This study investigated the genetic and environmental contributions to emotional overeating (EOE) and depressive symptoms, and their covariation, in a Sri-Lankan population, using genetic model-fitting analysis. In total, 3957 twins and singletons in... Read More about The association between emotional eating and depressive symptoms: a population-based twin study in Sri Lanka.

Integrating mental health into primary care for post-conflict populations: a pilot study (2016)
Journal Article
Siriwardhana, C., Adikari, A., Jayaweera, K., Abeyrathna, B., & Sumathipala, A. (2016). Integrating mental health into primary care for post-conflict populations: a pilot study. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 10, Article 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-016-0046-x

Background
Mental health care in post-conflict settings is often not prioritized, despite its important public health role. There is a salient gap in integrating mental health into primary care, especially in post-conflict settings. In the post-conf... Read More about Integrating mental health into primary care for post-conflict populations: a pilot study.

The prevalence and correlates of alcohol use and alcohol use disorders: a population based study in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (2015)
Journal Article
Zavos, H. M., Siribaddana, S., Ball, H. A., Lynskey, M. T., Sumathipala, A., Rijsdijk, F. V., & Hotopf, M. (2015). The prevalence and correlates of alcohol use and alcohol use disorders: a population based study in Colombo, Sri Lanka. BMC Psychiatry, 15, Article 158. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-015-0549-z

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use is increasing in non-Western countries. However, the effects of this increase on the prevalence of alcohol use disorders (AUD) remains unknown, particularly in South Asia. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of alcohol... Read More about The prevalence and correlates of alcohol use and alcohol use disorders: a population based study in Colombo, Sri Lanka..

Common mental disorders among adult members of 'left-behind' international migrant worker families in Sri Lanka (2015)
Journal Article
Siriwardhana, C., Wickramage, K., Siribaddana, S., Vidanapathirana, P., Jayasekara, B., Weerawarna, S., …Sumathipala, A. (2015). Common mental disorders among adult members of 'left-behind' international migrant worker families in Sri Lanka. BMC Public Health, 15, Article 299. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1632-6

BACKGROUND: Nearly one-in-ten Sri Lankans are employed abroad as International migrant workers (IMW). Very little is known about the mental health of adult members in families left-behind. This study aimed to explore the impact of economic migration... Read More about Common mental disorders among adult members of 'left-behind' international migrant worker families in Sri Lanka.

Changes in mental disorder prevalence among conflict-affected populations: a prospective study in Sri Lanka (COMRAID-R) (2015)
Journal Article
Siriwardhana, C., Adikari, A., Pannala, G., Roberts, B., Siribaddana, S., Abas, M., …Stewart, R. (in press). Changes in mental disorder prevalence among conflict-affected populations: a prospective study in Sri Lanka (COMRAID-R). BMC Psychiatry, 15, Article 41. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-015-0424-y

BACKGROUND: Longitudinal data are lacking on mental health trajectories following conflict resolution and return migration. COMRAID-R is a follow-up study of Muslims displaced by conflict from Northern Sri Lanka 20 years ago who are now beginning to... Read More about Changes in mental disorder prevalence among conflict-affected populations: a prospective study in Sri Lanka (COMRAID-R).

Risk of mental health and nutritional problems for left-behind children of international labor migrants (2015)
Journal Article
Wickramage, K., Siriwardhana, C., Vidanapathirana, P., Weerawarna, S., Jayasekara, B., Pannala, G., …Sumathipala, A. (2015). Risk of mental health and nutritional problems for left-behind children of international labor migrants. BMC Psychiatry, 15, Article 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-015-0412-2

BACKGROUND: One-in-ten Sri Lankans are employed abroad as International Labor Migrants (ILM), mainly as domestic maids or low-skilled laborers. Little is known about the impact their migration has on the health status of the children they 'leave behi... Read More about Risk of mental health and nutritional problems for left-behind children of international labor migrants.

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