Ransing, R. (Ramdas)

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    Associations of lockdown stringency and duration with Google searches for mental health terms during the COVID-19 pandemic: A nine-country study
    (Elsevier, 2022) Filippis, R. (Renato) de; Shoib, S. (Sheikh); Vadivel, R. (Ramyadarshni); Ransing, R. (Ramdas); Saeed, F. (Fahimeh); Nahidi, M. (Mahsa); Ullah, I. (Irfan); Turan, S. (Serkan); Jerotic, S. (Stefan); Ori, D. (Dorottya); Cowden, R.G. (Richard G.); Ramalho, R. (Rodrigo); Nagendrappa, S. (Sachin); Orsolini, L. (Laura); Rosa, P.A. (Pedro Antonio) de la; Pinto-da-Costa, M. (Mariana)
    Objectives: We examined the associations of lockdown stringency and duration with Google searches for four mental health concepts (i.e., “Anxiety,” “Depression,” “Suicide,” “Mental Health”) in nine countries (i.e., Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Paraguay, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We retrieved national-level data for each country from Google Trends and the Global Panel Database of Pandemic Policies. In our primary analysis, we used data from all countries to estimate a set of multilevel regression models examining associations of overall lockdown stringency and lockdown duration with relative search volumes for each mental health term. We repeated the models after replacing overall lockdown stringency with each of the lockdown stringency components. Results: A negative association was found between overall lockdown stringency and “Depression.” Lockdown duration and the most stringent stay-at-home requirements were negatively associated with “Anxiety.” Policies that recommended or required the cancelation of public events evidenced negative associations with “Depres- sion,” whereas associations between policies that required some or all levels of schooling to close and “Depression” were positive. Policies that recommended or required workplaces to close and those that enforced quarantines on non-citizens arriving from high-risk regions or closed borders entirely were negatively associated with “Suicide.”
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    Current state of cannabis use, policies, and research across sixteen countries: cross-country comparisons and international perspectives
    (2022) Jatchavala, C. (Chonnakarn); Filippis, R. (Renato) de; Handuleh, J.I.M. (Jibril I. M.); Shoib, S. (Sheikh); Pereira-Sánchez, V. (Víctor); Boujraf, S. (Said); Gupta, A.K. (Anoop Krishna); Vahdani, B. (Bita); Ransing, R. (Ramdas); Stowe, M.J. (M.J.); Sonmez-Gungor, E. (Ekin); Jaguga, F. (Florence); Rosa-Fernández-Pacheco, F.J. (Francisco Javier) de la; Karaliuniene, R. (Ruta); Peyron, E. (Eric); da-Silva, A.K. (Alexandre Kieslich); Dannatt, L. (Lisa); Jerotic, S. (Stefan); Yee, A. (Ane); Grandinetti, P. (Paolo)
    Introduction: Varying public views on cannabis use across countries may explain the variation in the prevalence of use, policies, and research in individual countries, and global regulation of cannabis. This paper aims to describe the current state of cannabis use, policies, and research across sixteen countries.Methods: PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for studies published from 2010 to 2020. Searches were conducted using the relevant country of interest as a search term (e.g., "Iran"), as well as relevant predefined keywords such as "cannabis," "marijuana," "hashish," "bhang "dual diagnosis," "use," "addiction," "prevalence," "co-morbidity," "substance use disorder," "legalization" or "policy" (in English and non-English languages). These keywords were used in multiple combinations to create the search string for studies' titles and abstracts. Official websites of respective governments and international organizations were also searched in English and non-English languages (using countries national languages) to identify the current state of cannabis use, policies, and research in each of those countries.Results: The main findings were inconsistent and heterogeneous reporting of cannabis use, variation in policies (e.g., legalization), and variation in intervention strategies across the countries reviewed. European countries dominate the cannabis research output indexed on PubMed, in contrast to Asian countries (Thailand, Malaysia, India, Iran, and Nepal).Conclusions: Although global cannabis regulation is ongoing, the existing heterogeneities across countries in terms of policies and epidemiology can increase the burden of cannabis use disorders disproportionately and unpredictably. There is an urgent need to develop global strategies to address these cross-country barriers to improve early detection, prevention, and interventions for cannabis use and related disorders.