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Article History

Received: 3 October 2025

Accepted: 24 January 2026

First Online: 6 February 2026

Declarations

:

: The study protocol was approved by the Institute Ethics Committee of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi on July 25, 2024 (Reference No. AIIMSA1701). In case any modifications are required, the ethics committee will be informed for their approval.Written informed consent will be obtained from all the participants prior to enrolment by the primary investigator. No invasive procedure(s) will be conducted on the participants. All the information gathered in the course of the study will be kept confidential. Participation or non-participation in the study would not affect the usual treatment of the participants. The participants can withdraw their consent for participation in the study at any point.

: We have not included any details, images or videos relating to an individual person in this research article. Participant information sheet and consent forms can be found in Additional file .

: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. Prof. Balhara has no conflict of interest with respect to the content of this manuscript. Prof. Balhara leads the Behavioral Addictions Clinic (BAC). He leads the Centre for Advanced Research on Addictive Behaviours (CAR-AB). He conducts research on addictive behaviors and other mental health issues. He reviews/edits journal articles and makes presentations on addictive behaviors. He offers advice as technical expert on addictive behaviors to various not-for-profit entities.