Longitudinal coupling of obsessive-compulsive symptoms with depressive and anxiety symptoms: A cross-domain latent growth curve analysis.

The relationship between shame, rumination, self-compassion, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder.

With population ageing and insufficient mental health workforce, there are huge treatment gaps for late-life depression. Real-world evidence of scalable preventive services is scarce. This study examines the effectiveness of an integrated selective and indicated prevention programme for late-life depression in a large group of older adults in Hong Kong. This was a pragmatic quasi-experimental trial of a new service ("JoyAge") for older people with risk factors for late-life depression or subsyndromal depressive symptoms. Participants were recruited and allocated, based on their district of residence, to receive JoyAge (N=2975) or usual care (N=441). The primary outcome was depressive symptoms (PHQ-9) at 12-month follow-up; secondary outcomes were anxiety symptoms (GAD-7) and loneliness (UCLA-3). Analyses were conducted in an intention-to-treat framework using mixed modelling, with subgroup analyses based on baseline depressive symptoms, and sensitivity analyses in a 1:1 (N=422 each group) propensity score-matched sample. The JoyAge participants had a greater reduction in depressive symptoms over the 12-month period compared to those assigned to usual care (adjusted mean difference [AMD]=1.65, 95% CI=1.24-2.07, p<.001), similarly in anxiety symptoms (AMD=1.47, 95% CI=1.01-1.93, p<.001), and loneliness (AMD=1.29, 95% CI=0.98-1.60, p<.001). Results were similar in propensity-score matched analyses. Subgroup analysis showed that JoyAge was particularly effective among people with moderate to moderately severe symptoms and those with risk factors only. Integrated late-life depression prevention can be effectively implemented at scale in rapidly ageing settings with a limited specialist mental health workforce. Economic analyses are needed to support further implementation.

Serotonergic psychedelics are re-emerging as therapeutic candidates across psychiatry, particularly for treatment-resistant depression. Their rapid and sustained antidepressant effects, alongside evidence for neuroplastic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic modulation, have prompted interest in whether they could address depressive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). This narrative review summarizes mechanistic, preclinical, and early clinical findings relevant to psychedelic use in SSDs. Schizophrenia and major depressive disorder share disturbances in dopamine, glutamate, and neuroplasticity, and both involve large-scale network abnormalities. Schizophrenia is associated with widespread dysconnectivity, mesocortical hypodopaminergia, and striatal hyperdopaminergia linked to NMDA receptor hypofunction. Depression is characterized by fronto-limbic and default mode network hyperconnectivity, mesolimbic hypodopaminergia, and reduced cortical glutamatergic tone. Depressive symptoms within SSDs may reflect an intermediate phenotype combining depressive-like hyperconnectivity with schizophrenia-related global dysconnectivity, suggesting that psychedelics' capacity to transiently increase network flexibility and recalibrate maladaptive connectivity may be clinically relevant. Preclinical studies show increased dendritic spine density, enhanced BDNF expression, restored reward sensitivity, and modulation of network dynamics after psychedelic administration. Clinically, uncontrolled exposure appears associated with increased psychosis-related presentations, whereas limited case reports suggest controlled administration may be tolerated in carefully selected, clinically stable individuals with SSDs. To date, only one early-phase trial (MDMA in schizophrenia) is ongoing, and no randomized trials have evaluated psilocybin or LSD in SSDs. Overall, psychedelics are biologically and mechanistically plausible but remain unproven for depressive and negative symptoms in SSDs, which partially overlap. Carefully designed, safety-focused early-phase studies in clinically stable patients are therefore a prerequisite for broader clinical application.

Chronic musculoskeletal pain is reported by 1 of 4 adolescents worldwide. Pain-related functioning is negatively affected by pain itself but also related to depressive symptoms. Although the association between pain-related functioning and depressive symptoms is established, there is a lack of longitudinal studies that establish the direction of the association. The aim was to analyse the temporal association between depressive symptoms and pain-related functioning among adolescents with recurrent musculoskeletal pain. This longitudinal sample comprised 604 adolescents in seventh and eighth grade (M = 13.7 y) who reported recurrent musculoskeletal pain at baseline, defined as occurring at least every week over the previous 6 months. The adolescents were followed yearly for 2 consecutive years (T1, T2, and T3). Temporal associations of self-reported pain-related functioning and depressive symptoms were analysed. Using cross-lagged panel modelling, 4 models were estimated: autoregressive; depressive symptoms predicting pain-related functioning; pain-related functioning predicting depressive symptoms; and a bidirectional model. Pain intensity was entered as a covariate. The results indicate high stability of depressive symptoms and pain-related functioning over time. Although the strength of the prediction was strongest in the autoregressive paths, cross-lagged paths revealed that depressive symptoms at T1 and T2 significantly predicted pain-related functioning at T2 and T3, respectively. Conversely, pain-related functioning at T1 and T2 did not predict depressive symptoms at T2 and T3, respectively. The model where depressive symptoms predict pain-related functioning provided the best model fit and thus, in this general population sample, depressive symptoms drive pain-related functioning more than vice versa. Screening for and targeting depressive symptoms might be essential in affecting the functional consequences of pain.

The bidirectional dynamic relationship between depression symptoms and activities of daily living disability among the elderly: Evidence from three-wave longitudinal data.

To assess the impact of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and muscle strength on depression and individual depression symptoms. Mendelian randomisation (MR) analysis was conducted in up to 341,326 participants of European ancestry from UK Biobank (aged 37-73years). Genetic variants from previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of CRF and grip strength (to proxy overall muscle strength) were utilised to instrument exposures. A broad depression phenotype based on self-report and hospital records, as well as individual measures of depression symptoms from the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were used as outcomes. Analysis was repeated stratifying by sex and using summary statistics from a major depressive disorder (MDD) GWAS. There was no clear evidence for association between CRF and any depression outcome. There was robust evidence suggesting greater grip was associated with lower odds of broad depression (OR per 0.1kg increase in weight adjusted grip: 0.86, 95% CI:0.80,0.93), as well as the PHQ-9 items appetite changes (OR:0.56, 95% CI:0.49,0.65), and anhedonia (OR:0.79, 95% CI:0.69,0.90), a core symptom of depression. There was also some evidence for associations between greater grip and lower odds of depressed mood (OR:0.85, 95% CI:0.74,0.97), psychomotor changes (OR:0.79, 95% CI:0.64,0.97), fatigue (OR:0.83, 95% CI:0.74,0.93) and concentration problems (OR:0.85, 95% CI:0.74,0.98) in the MR-inverse variance weighted analysis. Effects were mostly driven by stronger associations in females and results replicated in the two-sample MR for MDD. Muscle strength may represent an important modifiable factor for preventing and treating depression and several specific symptoms, including core symptoms such as anhedonia.

Food insecurity and depressive symptoms among miners in Ghana: The role of psychosomatic factors

The time-varying effect of fitness on change in anxiety and depression during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: A seven-wave longitudinal study of physically active women and men

Moderating effect of interoceptive sensibility on the relationship between depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation.

Early childhood neural reward-related reactivity concurrently and prospectively associates with depressive symptom severity.

The mediating role of obesity in the relationship between sleep duration and depressive symptoms: A population-based cross-sectional study.

Although the association between depressive symptoms and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been extensively studied, evidence for a long-term causal relationship remains sparse. This research employed advanced causal inference techniques to evaluate this longitudinal effect and its potential reversibility. We analyzed data from 37,668 participants across three prospective cohorts: CHARLS (China), HRS (USA), and KLoSA (South Korea). Applying the Longitudinal Targeted Maximum Likelihood Estimation (LTMLE) method across five time points, we assessed the causal effect of depression (defined by CES-D scale cutoffs) on self-reported physician-diagnosed CVD. Subgroup analyses were conducted by gender and age. Multiple sensitivity analyses were conducted to validate the robustness of the findings. Across all cohorts, the risk of CVD significantly increased with longer follow-up durations under persistent depressive symptoms. For example, in CHARLS, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) increased from 1.570 (95% CI: 1.398-1.798) at Year 2 to 2.097 (95% CI: 1.659-2.651) by Year 9. Further analysis of different exposure sequences of depressive symptoms revealed that the risk of CVD increased gradually with a greater cumulative number of waves with depressive symptoms, whereas it decreased correspondingly with more waves without depressive symptoms, demonstrating a pattern consistent with reversible association. This multi-cohort study provides evidence for a longitudinal causal relationship between depressive symptoms and CVD, showing temporal cumulative effect and a risk pattern consistent with reversible association. These results highlight the need to integrate mental health care into CVD prevention.

Bidirectional associations between socioeconomic status, physical activity, and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults: A cross-lagged prospective cohort study.

Depressive symptoms and sleep problems are prevalent among older adults with depression. To reduce their adverse impact, it is important to understand the changes in symptom patterns as the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emerged. This longitudinal study examined the interactive changes between depressive symptoms and sleep problems among older adults with depression before and during the COVID-19 pandemic from a network perspective in the USA. This network analysis study was based on data from the three waves (2016, 2018, and 2020) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Depressive symptoms were measured using the eight-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-8), and sleep problems were assessed with the four-item Jenkins Sleep Scale (JSS-4). The study examined central symptoms and bridge symptoms within the network model. A total of 2905 older adults with depression were included in the analyses. The prevalence of depressive symptoms did not significantly change in the study wave during the COVID-19 compared to the pre-pandemic waves. "Feeling Depressed" was the most central symptom of the depression-sleep problems network in the 2016 wave, while "Feeling Sad" was the most central symptom in both the 2018 and 2020 waves. Additionally, "Feeling Loneliness" was the key bridge symptom of the depression-sleep problems network in the 2016 wave, while "Not Enjoying Life" was the key bridge symptom in the 2018 wave, and "Feeling Rested in Morning" was the key bridge symptom in the 2020 wave. The findings highlighted that central and bridge symptoms were potential targets in treating depressive symptoms and sleep problems among older adults with depression across the study period in the USA.

Liquidity shock mitigation and mental health: Evidence from pension withdrawals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile.

Implementation and effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for mild depression in primary care: Protocol for a stepped-wedge cluster RCT

This study aimed to examine whether engagement in weekly walking moderates the relationship between frailty and depressive symptoms among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, a population known to be vulnerable to both physical and psychological decline. This cross-sectional observational study used data from the 2016 and 2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. The sample included 206 adults aged 45 years or older who were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Survey-weighted multivariable linear regression analyses accounting for the complex sampling design were employed to examine the moderating effects of walking frequency on the frailty-depression relationship. Subsequently, the conditional effect of the moderator was examined using the Johnson-Neyman technique to identify the levels of weekly walking days at which the relationship between frailty and depressive symptoms varied. Frailty emerged as a significant predictor of depressive symptoms. A significant interaction was found between frailty and walking frequency, indicating a buffering effect of walking (β = -3.68, p = 0.010). The Johnson-Neyman analysis revealed that the positive association between frailty and depressive symptoms emerged when individuals walked less than approximately 3.5 days per week. Engagement in weekly walking attenuated the relationship between frailty and depressive symptoms among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. These findings highlight the importance of promoting even low levels of physical activity, such as short walking sessions, to support mental health and reduce the risk of depression in frail patients with rheumatoid arthritis. However, the cross-sectional design, self-reported data, and lack of control for clinical factors limit causal interpretation.

The role of change in peripartum heart rate variability in the prediction of depressive symptoms 18 months after childbirth: a follow-up study.

Early risk factors for metabolic dysfunction in young people with major mood disorders: Longitudinal path analysis of a prospective birth cohort using structural equation modelling.