Mental Ill-health Research Articles

No Longer a Sign of Weakness? Media Reporting on Mental Ill Health in Sport

This study analyzed media framing of athletes who have suffered mental ill health. The mass media play a crucial role in shaping public attitudes and perceptions surrounding mental health, and the present study aimed to examine the media reporting of athletes’ mental ill health and to further explore how this reporting has changed over time. We examined the reporting of elite athletes in three U.K. media outlets between January 2000 and December 2019, identifying 75 athletes from 26 different sports. From analysis, four themes were developed to consider the content of media reporting and how it has changed over three time phases. The analysis revealed that media reporting of mental ill health has increased over time, and changes were observed in terms of the specific terminology used, with greater depth in the articles, such as journalists speaking to other professionals to construct the articles. This study contributes toward our growing understanding of the reporting of mental ill health by providing empirical evidence of the increased attention to the topic and increasingly responsible reporting in the media.

Impact of mental health illness (MHI) prior to prostate cancer (PC) diagnosis (Dx) on treatment (Tx) received and PC outcomes.

Impact of mental health illness (MHI) prior to prostate cancer (PC) diagnosis (Dx) on treatment (Tx) received and PC outcomes.

Group-format, peer-facilitated mental health promotion interventions for students in higher education settings: a scoping review protocol

IntroductionYoung people in higher education face various stressors that can make them vulnerable to mental ill-health. Mental health promotion in this group therefore has important potential benefits. Peer-facilitated and group-format...

The nexus of minds unveiling the significance of AI in mental health and viable remedie

The world is evolving at a cutthroat rate, and the integration of mental well-being and technology can yield promising results. For this reason, I have created The Nexus of Minds, which focuses on exploring the role of AI in changing the dynamics and thought processes of how we address and approach mental health issues. I am focusing on the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence as a force for accessible, personalized, and effective mental healthcare. Mental healthcare has a huge spectrum, and I am exploring the multifaceted applications of AI, which have the potential to change the landscape. Machine Learning, Data Analytics, and Natural Language Processing have shown immense advancements, which is empowering AI to redefine how mental health issues are diagnosed and treated. Ranging from earlier intervention through continuous monitoring to all-time support, this book focuses on different ways in which AI solutions are improving the quality of mental healthcare and clinical results. It focuses on how AI is empowering people on their mental health journey. In addition to the technological innovation, I will navigate through the ethical considerations that need to be focused on, including but not limited to privacy, algorithmic bias, data privacy and security, and the role of human connection and empathy in mental healthcare. By understanding these essentials, I am offering insights into the responsible, ethical, and balanced integration of AI into mental health support. Moreover, this book focuses on apps and chatbots that are already providing help to people struggling with mental health illnesses and how they are benefiting from AI-centric mental health services. As a result, the readers will be able to gain an understanding of how AI will improve the quality of mental healthcare and destigmatize mental health conditions. With "The Nexus of Minds," I envision a future where AI won't be merely a tool but an absolute force in mental healthcare by breaking down the stigma and societal barriers to give hope to struggling people. This book will become a guiding beacon, providing information about the seamless coexistence of ethical and compassionate mental healthcare and tech advancement. I have taken an interdisciplinary approach, making it a promising resource for healthcare professionals, policymakers, researchers, and common people who want to see a bright future in the mental health industry.

Socioeconomic inequalities in pandemic-induced psychosocial stress in different life domains among the working-age population

BackgroundPsychosocial stress is considered a risk factor for physical and mental ill-health. Evidence on socioeconomic inequalities with regard to the psychosocial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany is still limited. We aimed to investigate how pandemic-induced psychosocial stress (PIPS) in different life domains differed between socioeconomic groups.MethodsData came from the German Corona-Monitoring nationwide study – wave 2 (RKI-SOEP-2, November 2021–February 2022). PIPS was assessed using 4-point Likert scales with reference to the following life domains: family, partnership, own financial situation, psychological well-being, leisure activity, social life and work/school situation. Responses were dichotomised into “not stressed/slightly stressed/rather stressed” (0) versus “highly stressed” (1). The sample was restricted to the working-age population in Germany (age = 18–67 years, n = 8,402). Prevalence estimates of high PIPS were calculated by sex, age, education and income. Adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) were estimated using Poisson regression to investigate the association between education/income and PIPS; high education and income were the reference groups.ResultsThe highest stress levels were reported in the domains social life and leisure activity. Women and younger participants reported high stress levels more frequently. The highest inequalities were found regarding people’s own financial situation, and PIPS was higher in low vs. high income groups (PR 5.54, 95% CI 3.61–8.52). Inequalities were also found regarding partnerships with higher PIPS in low vs. high education groups (PR 1.68, 95% CI 1.13–2.49) – and psychological well-being with higher PIPS in low vs. high income groups (PR 1.52, 95% CI 1.14–2.04).ConclusionSocioeconomic inequalities in PIPS were found for different life domains. Generally, psychosocial support and preventive interventions to help people cope with stress in a pandemic context should be target-group-specific, addressing the particular needs and circumstances of certain socioeconomic groups.

Racial differences in the incidence of mental health illness among ovarian cancer patients: An analysis of SEER-Medicare data

BackgroundOvarian cancer (OC) patients have an increased risk for a mental health illness (MHI) after their cancer diagnosis, but limited research exists on whether this risk differs by race/ethnicity. Hence, we used SEER-Medicare data to evaluate racial/ethnic differences in MHI incidence among OC patients aged 65+. MethodsNon-Hispanic (NH) Black, NH White, and Hispanic women diagnosed with OC in 2008–2015 without a mental health history 12 months prior to their cancer diagnosis were identified from SEER-Medicare. Cox proportional hazards regression evaluated new MHI incidence in the first five years post diagnosis and the differences by race/ethnicity. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusted for demographic/clinical covariates and healthcare access (HCA) dimensions. ResultsWe identified 5441 OC patients, including 364 NH Black (6.7%), 4982 NH White (91.6%), and 95 Hispanic (1.7%) patients. About 41% of NH White, 33.3% of NH Black, and 37.2% of Hispanic OC patients were diagnosed with MHI during the follow-up period between 2008 and 2016. In the fully adjusted model, NH Black OC patients were less likely to be diagnosed with any MHI (aHR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.54, 0.82), depression (aHR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.51, 0.86), and anxiety disorder (aHR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.49, 0.84), while Hispanic OC patients were less likely to be diagnosed with anxiety disorder (aHR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.33, 0.95) compared to NH White OC patients. DiscussionNH Black OC patients are less likely to receive a clinical MHI diagnosis compared to NH White OC patients. Further studies on racial differences in MHI incidence after OC diagnosis in primary cohorts are needed to better estimate population-level prevalence less vulnerable to exposure misclassification and to account for patient-level factors impacting MHI.

#1218 Investigating the association of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with outcomes in patients with non-dialysis dependent chronic kidney disease

Abstract Background and Aims Kidneys and lungs have a strong pathophysiological link. However, studies on the association between chronic conditions involving these two organs, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are limited. Nephrologists better understand the pathophysiology and management of acute manifestations of these two organs' dysfunction, i.e., pulmonary-renal syndrome accompanying vasculitis, compared to their chronic alterations. Our study aims to investigate the prevalence and association of COPD with adverse outcomes in patients with CKD (stages 3-5). Method This retrospective observational cohort study was conducted on CKD patients (stages 3-5) enrolled in the Global Collaborative Network (GCN) of the TriNetX research platform between the years 2003 and 2023. TriNetX provides access to anonymized electronic medical records across large healthcare organizations (HCOs). This report includes patients from 112 HCOs with different demographic backgrounds. The study compared outcomes of patients aged 18-80, with and without COPD, in a propensity score matched (PSM) cohort of CKD patients. The characteristics included in the PSM were age, sex, ethnicity, comorbidities (neurological, hematological, cardiovascular, gastroenterological, and endocrine conditions) and baseline serum creatinine. The proportional hazard assumption was tested using the generalized Schoenfeld approach built in the TriNetX platform. A 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was considered evidence of statistical significance throughout the analyses. The Kaplan- Meier (KM) method was used for the survival probability. Statistical significance was defined as p-value < 0.05. Outcome events were included 180 days after the index event (COPD diagnosis) and ended 3650 days after. Results Of the total of 1 045 536 CKD patients, 181 207 had a co-existent diagnosis of COPD (prevalence rate—17.3%). A PSM generated a matched cohort of 174 308 patients each. The mean age of the cohort was 66.7 ± 7.9 years, with a predominance of white ethnicity (65.8%) and an equal male-to-female ratio. 73.1%, 51.5%, 69.6%, 54.1%, and 37.2% had a history of cardiovascular, nervous system, endocrine, gastroenterological, and hematological disease, respectively. The mean serum creatine at baseline was 1.3 ± 1.2 mg/dL. The comparison of differences in the outcomes on follow-up between the matched cohorts is illustrated in Table 1. CKD patients with concomitant COPD had a higher all-cause mortality (17.3% vs 8.7%, p < 0.0001), higher all-cause hospitalizations (14.7% vs 12.7%, p < 0.0001), and higher cardiovascular events. Proportional hazard models showed that COPD is a strong risk factor associated with all-cause mortality (HR: 2.189; 95% CI (2.13-2.22, p < 0.0001)), hospitalizations (HR:1.39; 95% CI (1.36–1.44); p < 0.0001), and other cardiovascular and mental health illness (Table 1). KM chart illustrates the differences in survival probability between the two groups (Log-Rank p < 0.001) (Fig. 1). Conclusion Our ‘real-world data’ findings emphasize that patients with CKD and COPD are a cluster that requires special attention due to poorer outcomes. Given the high frequency of these associations between these two chronic conditions, an improved awareness is warranted among the nephrological community.

#1490 Long-term health outcomes in non-dialysis dependent chronic kidney disease patients with cognitive impairment or dementia

Abstract Background and Aims A decline in cognitive function, with a spectrum ranging from mild cognitive impairment to dementia (CI-D), is common in patients with chronic kidney diseases (CKD), rendering them frailer. Whether the coexistence of CKD and CI-D increases the health risk profile remains unclear. Our work aims to clarify how this association increases adverse outcomes for CKD patients (stages 3-5). Method This retrospective observational cohort study was conducted on CKD patients (stages 3-5) from the Global Collaborative Network (GCN) of the TriNetX research platform between 2004 and 2024. TriNetX provides access to anonymized electronic medical records from over half a million CKD patients in large healthcare organizations (HCOs) across the world. Our report includes patients from 110 HCOs with different demographic backgrounds. The study compared outcomes of patients with CKD stages 3-5, aged 18-70 years, with and without pre-existent CI-D (diagnosed within 5 years). The two cohorts were propensity score-matched (PSM) for age, sex, ethnicity, comorbidities (neurological, haematological, musculoskeletal, respiratory including smoking history, oncological, cardiovascular, gastroenterological and endocrine conditions) and CKD stage. The proportional hazard assumption was tested using the generalized Schoenfeld approach built in the TriNetX platform. A 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was considered evidence of statistical significance throughout the analyses. Kaplan- Meier (KM) was used for survival probability. Statistical significance was defined as p-value < 0.05. Outcome events were included from 1 day after the index event (CKD diagnosis) until 3650 days after. Results Of the total of 503,298 CKD patients, 7,891 had a co-existent diagnosis of CI-D made within 5 years (prevalence rate 1.56%). A PSM generated a matched cohort of 7,890 patients each. The mean age of the cohort was 60.7 ± 7.0 years, with a predominance of white ethnicity (53.7%) and an equal male-to-female ratio. Standardized difference (Std diff) was used to evaluate the balance of baseline characteristics in the PSM populations. Generally, Std diff < 0.1 is considered a small difference and all comorbidities fell below this threshold after PSM (Table 1). The comparison of the outcomes at follow-up between the matched cohorts is illustrated in Table 2. CKD patients with concomitant CI-D had higher all-cause mortality (18.4% vs 12.1%, p < 0.0001), a higher risk of cerebrovascular disease (10.8% vs 7.8%), malnutrition (6.7% vs 4.3%), mood disorders (13.7% vs 8.9%), anxiety (13.2% vs 10.9%), encephalopathy (9.6% vs 4.5%), epilepsy (4.3% vs 1.3%). All findings were statistically significant with a p < 0.0001. Proportional hazard models showed that CI-D was a strong risk factor associated with all-cause mortality (HR: 1.761; 95% CI (1.621-1.913, p < 0.0001)) and other cerebrovascular and mental health illnesses. Conclusion Our “real-world data” demonstrate that a concomitant CI-D diagnosis is a strong risk factor for negative health outcomes and mortality in patients with CKD stages 3-5. These results highlight the need for routine cognitive assessments in patients with advanced CKD to deliver personalised care.

An international interdisciplinary approach to developing video educational materials promoting mental health literacy among adolescents in the Philippines.

Adolescent mental ill-health is a common international challenge affecting both high- and lower-middle-income countries. The Republic of the Philippines enacted its first mental health law in 2019, underlining the importance of the promotion of adolescent mental health education in schools. In Japan, course instructions about mental ill-health were formulated in a Course of Study that reflects governmental curriculum guidelines. Embedded since 2022, the Course of Study aimed to promote an understanding of current issues of adolescent health. The National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Japan has been sharing experience of promoting public health practices and advancing medical technology in low- and middle-income countries, especially in the Western Pacific region. This paper describes the development process and content of these resources by an interdisciplinary team from Japan and the Philippines. The interdisciplinary team created an embedded mental health education programme using animated videos for the Philippine school curriculum to improve mental health literacy in adolescents. Two six-minute animated videos of age-relevant stories were created. The animation scenarios illustrate: 1) mental health problems and recovery; and 2) major symptoms of mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. Each animated video presents several items for discussion among students and/or teachers, both in class and online for students unable to attend school. Our efforts may provide good opportunities for enhancing adolescents' mental health activities in the Philippines. In the following steps, we should investigate the effectiveness of school-based MHL using these animated videos with rigorous evaluation methods.

Evaluation of the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of nanodispersible cannabidiol oral solution (150 mg/mL) versus placebo in mild to moderate anxiety subjects: A double blind multicenter randomized clinical trial

BackgroundAnxiety disorders, an increasingly prevalent global mental health illness, affected approximately 301 million individuals worldwide in 2019. There is an unmet need for the treatment of anxiety disorders, as current therapies are associated with limited response rates, residual symptoms, and adverse effects. ObjectivesTo evaluate the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of nanodispersible cannabidiol (CBD) oral solution versus placebo for the treatment of mild to moderate anxiety disorders. MethodsThis phase 3 prospective, randomized, double blind, parallel group, placebo-controlled, 15-week cohort study took place at multiple sites across India. Eligible participants were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment arms (CBD or placebo) in a 1:1 ratio. Results178 participants were randomized to receive CBD (n=89) or placebo (n=89). The study met both primary (GAD-7 and HAM-A scores) and secondary outcomes (CGI-I, CGI-S, PHQ-9 and PSQI scores). The GAD-7 score difference between the end of treatment and baseline for the CBD versus the placebo was −7.02 (S.E: 0.25, 95% CI −7.52; −6.52), p<0.0001. Similarly, the HAM-A score difference at the end of treatment compared to baseline for the CBD versus the placebo was −11.9 (S.E: 0.33, 95% CI −12.6; −11.3), p<0.0001. ConclusionsNanodispersible CBD was therapeutically safe with no serious adverse events, well tolerated, and effective for the treatment of mild to moderate anxiety disorders, as well as associated depression and sleep quality disturbances. These results pave way for probable prospective use of nanodispersible CBD formulation for various psychiatry disorders alone or in conjunction with other drugs.

A Scoping Review of the Prevalence of Eating Disorders in Spain.

Eating disorders (EDs) are mental health illnesses with a multifactorial origin. At present, no review of indexed publications studying their prevalence in Spain is available. A scoping review (PROSPERO -CRD42019140884-) was carried out through systematic searches (MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO) until January 2022. Papers published in Spanish/English analysing the prevalence of EDs in Spain (population < 65 years) were selected. A total of 766 articles were identified (186 eliminated as duplicates). A total of 580 articles were analysed on the basis of title and abstract, and 67 articles were selected for full-text analysis. A total of 37 studies analysed the prevalence of EDs in Spain. This is the first scoping review to analyse the prevalence of EDs in Spain. Puberty and adolescence are the most extensively studied stages. There is a high heterogeneity in the use of ED screening tools and a paucity of information on diagnostic tools.

From a dark place to a blue space: open water swimming transformed our lives

This study focused upon two individuals who used open water swimming (OWS) as a therapeutic means of recovery from a significant period of acute mental ill-health, in which both had attempted suicide. A case study approach was utilised to explore the participant’s backstories, mental ill-health, and subsequent recovery. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in the field where each individual typically participates in OWS. In addition, the field researcher kept reflexive notes on his interaction with each swimmer. Both case study profiles−with very different causal factors that led to attempted suicide - are detailed and parallels drawn between the individuals’ experiences of mental health recovery and the role of OWS within this. Whilst findings are not generalisable, they provide important insight into the potential therapeutic role of OWS in alleviating the impact of acute mental ill-health in relation to suicide and how OWS facilitated a more positive future for individuals. The study also explores how and why such enhancements to mental health might occur.

The occurrence of and factors associated with mental ill-health amongst humanitarian aid workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Humanitarian crises and disasters affect millions of people worldwide. Humanitarian aid workers are civilians or professionals who respond to disasters and provide humanitarian assistance. In doing so, they face several stressors and traumatic exposures. Humanitarian aid workers also face unique challenges associated with working in unfamiliar settings. To determine the occurrence of and factors associated with mental ill-health among humanitarian aid workers. CINAHL plus, Cochrane library, Global Health, Medline, PubMed, Web of Science were searched from 2005-2020. Grey literature was searched on Google Scholar. PRISMA guidelines were followed and after double screening, studies reporting occurrence of mental ill-health were included. Individual narratives and case studies were excluded, as were studies that reported outcomes in non-humanitarian aid workers. Data on occurrence of mental ill-health and associated factors were independently extracted and combined in a narrative summary. A random effects logistic regression model was used for the meta-analysis. Nine studies were included with a total of 3619 participants, reporting on five types of mental ill-health (% occurrence) including psychological distress (6.5%-52.8%); burnout (8.5%-32%); anxiety (3.8%-38.5%); depression (10.4%-39.0%) and post-traumatic stress disorder (0% to 25%). Hazardous drinking of alcohol ranged from 16.2%-50.0%. Meta-analysis reporting OR (95% CI) among humanitarian aid workers, for psychological distress was 0.45 (0.12-1.64); burnout 0.34 (0.27-0.44); anxiety 0.22 (0.10-0.51); depression 0.32 (0.18-0.57) and PTSD 0.11 (0.03-0.39). Associated factors included young age, being female and pre-existing mental ill-health. Mental ill-health is common among humanitarian aid workers, has a negative impact on personal well-being, and on a larger scale reduces the efficacy of humanitarian organisations with delivery of aid and retention of staff. It is imperative that mental ill-health is screened for, detected and treated in humanitarian aid workers, before, during and after their placements. It is essential to implement psychologically protective measures for individuals working in stressful and traumatic crises.

Trends in Health-Risk Behaviors and Psychological Distress among Australian First-Year University Students.

University students are recognized as a high-risk population group who experience greater rates of poor health outcomes and mental ill-health. Commencing university is recognized as a major life transition, where students experience new financial, academic, environmental, and social pressures that can cause changes in their normal behaviors. This study explored trends in health-risk behaviors and psychological distress in commencing university students over four survey years. First-year undergraduate students, aged 17-24, from an Australian university were included. A secondary analysis was performed on data collected via cross-sectional surveys on four occasions (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020). Crude logistic regression models were utilized to investigate the association between meeting guidelines and survey year. Odds ratios for the pairwise comparison between each year are reported. In this analysis, 1300 (2016), 484 (2017), 456 (2019), and 571 (2020) students were included. Analyses showed two clear trends: students' probability of being at high/very high risk of psychological distress (35-55%) and consuming breakfast daily (44-55%) consistently worsened over the four survey years. These findings suggest that the odds of psychological distress and daily breakfast consumption worsened over time, whilst the proportion of students engaging in some health-risk behaviors was high, highlighting the importance of early intervention during the transition to university.

A Curriculum on Digital Psychiatry for a US-Based Psychiatry Residency Training Program: Pilot Implementation Study.

Digital psychiatry, defined as the application of health technologies to the prevention, assessment, and treatment of mental health illnesses, is a growing field. Interest in the clinical use of these technologies continues to grow. However, psychiatric trainees receive limited or no formal education on the topic. This study aims to pilot a curriculum on digital psychiatry for a US-based psychiatry residency training program and examine the change in learner confidence regarding appraisal and clinical recommendation of digital mental health apps. Two 60-minute sessions were presented through a web-based platform to postgraduate year 2-4 residents training in psychiatry at a US-based adult psychiatry residency program. Learner confidence was assessed using pre- and postsession surveys. Matched pre- and postsession quizzes showed improved confidence in multiple domains aligning with the course objectives. This included the structured appraisal of digital mental health apps (P=.03),assessment of a patient's digital health literacy (P=.01), formal recommendation of digital health tools (P=.03), and prescription of digital therapeutics to patients (P=.03). Though an improvement from baseline, mean ratings for confidence did not exceed "somewhat comfortable" on any of the above measures. Our study shows the feasibility of implementing a digital psychiatry curriculum for residents in multiple levels of training. We also identified an opportunity to increase learner confidence in the appraisal and clinical use of digital mental health apps through the use of a formal curriculum.

Serving Those Who Served: Enhancing Colorectal Surgery Care for Veterans

AbstractThe Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the largest provider of integrated health care services in the United States and its mission is to honor veterans by providing timely, effective, and high-quality health care that improves individuals' health and functionality. The VA provides comprehensive primary and specialty care, including colorectal surgery services, to eligible veterans who suffer from a disproportionately high burden of medical comorbidities and often belong to vulnerable populations, including individuals of low socioeconomic status, those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning, racial minorities, and those suffering from severe mental health illness. There are many challenges to caring for a population of veterans with benign and malignant colorectal disease due to both patient and system level factors. Despite these challenges, the VA has demonstrated a commitment to ensuring culturally competent, equitable, and inclusive care and to conducting research that establishes evidence-based best practices in the management of colorectal diseases. These efforts have led to outcomes for patients undergoing care for colorectal diseases within the VA that are par with or better than civilian outcomes. The VA is uniquely positioned on a system level to provide nationwide efforts that improve care delivery and serve those who served.

Will Including Health at COP28 Mean Transformation of Global Mental Health Action? And will Mental Health Professionals transform to help achieve it?

Introduction: For the first time COP28 have included Public Health in their climate change discussions. Given progress on climate change has many hurdles, from domestic, economic and corporate pressures, it is pertinent to explore what impact this inclusion might have and what specific challenges there might be in relation to global mental health.Purpose: This positioning paper considers whether the implication of the inclusion of Health at COP28 might bring about transformation in the way Global Mental Health is addressed. It also considers how it might transform how mental health professionals, but also all others involved in working with people with mental health issues, transform mental health. The paper considers challenges to be faced going forward and potential solutions. The author acknowledges they are sharing their position on this subject, but in doing so, hopes to generate wider discussion.Methodology: As this is a positioning paper, data has been derived from the argument and counter argument within the paper. Therefore, there is a possibility of the risk of bias. Results: Plans to improve mental health globally have focused on replicating a Western, Global North model. Despite over 10 years of the WHO Mental Health Action Plan, there continues to be a growing mental health pandemic, worsened by Covid-19. Mental ill- health is caused by multiple factors, many are national, regional and even localized. The Western Global North model does not factor this in sufficiently to bring about improvement.Conclusion: This paper evaluated whether by including ‘Health’ at the recent COP28, it would help transform Global Mental Health. What became clear, after reviewing previous policies and action plans, was that significant change and improvement had not occurred. Policy makers and professionals approach needs to focus on preventing mental ill-health rather than treating after the event. Additionally, decolonisation of policies and professionals education is required to co-create sustainable resilience with people/communities and reduce mental ill-health.

Analysis of Mental Health and Drug Use in the Top 21 Most Populated U.S. States

Introduction: Most people in the United States live busy stressful lives which can lead to significant health challenges, especially to one’s mental health. After years of being ignored and stigmatized, mental illness has been given the recognition it deserves. It is now associated with the overall health of a person and treated seriously. The same could be said about substance abuse disorder though on a lesser scale. This paper attempts to understand the relationship between drug use and mental health illness differentiated across age groups. The understanding of these causations and relationships could help us better understand the rate and triggers of mental illness in the United States. Methods: We used data from a 2023 survey, which contains a total of 69,850 completed interviews. The data collected were taken from each state individually with each of them implementing the same survey to collect responses. Instead of looking at all fifty states, we decided to analyze only the highest twenty- one most populated states. Various non-parametric tests were used to analyze age groups and their rate of mental health illnesses and drug use within the country. Results: We found that tobacco use is associated with mental illness, while alcohol use is associated with attempted suicide. It appears that indicators of drug use are not homogeneous across states for either age group. We also found that the alcohol consumption is related to a declining proportion of attempted suicides. Conclusion: In this research we found a significant association between drug use and inidcators of mental illness. The association differed across different age groups and also across states. Since we found that the alcohol consumption is related to a declining proportion of attempted suicides, it will be interesting to explore why this is the case and what could be observed to decrease suicidal rates.

Parental cancer: mediating and moderating roles of psychological inflexibility in the links between illness severity and parental quality of life and family outcomes

The challenges of parental cancer while caring for young offspring are often neglected by researchers and healthcare providers. Focusing on parents with cancer, this cross-sectional study examines the mediating and moderating roles of a malleable risk factor, psychological inflexibility, in the relationships between perceived illness severity and parental quality of life (QoL) and family outcomes. Psychological inflexibility was conceptualized using the acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) framework. A total of 86 parents with cancer caring for young offspring (aged 11–24 years; M = 17.94, SD = 3.68) completed a survey that assessed psychological inflexibility, parental mental and physical health QoL, family outcomes (family functioning, parenting concerns, and openness to discuss cancer), socio-demographics, and illness variables. Mediation analyses indicated that higher perceived illness severity was associated with higher levels of psychological inflexibility, which in turn were related to higher detrimental impacts on parental QoL and family outcomes. Results of moderation analyses were non-significant. Findings highlight the detrimental impacts of illness severity on psychological inflexibility, suggesting that it is a psychosocial risk factor in parents dealing with cancer. ACT-based interventions which foster psychological flexibility are likely to enhance parental QoL and family outcomes.

Developing a typology of interventions to support doctors’ mental health and wellbeing

BackgroundThe problem of mental ill-health in doctors is complex, accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and impacts on healthcare provision and broader organisational performance. There are many interventions to address the problem but currently no systematic way to categorise them, which makes it hard to describe and compare interventions. As a result, implementation tends to be unfocussed and fall short of the standards developed for implementing complex healthcare interventions. This study aims to develop: 1) a conceptual typology of workplace mental health and wellbeing interventions and 2) a mapping tool to apply the typology within research and practice.MethodsTypology development was based on iterative cycles of analysis of published and in-practice interventions, incorporation of relevant theories and frameworks, and team and stakeholder group discussions.ResultsThe newly developed typology and mapping tool enable interventions to be conceptualised and/or mapped into different categories, for example whether they are designed to be largely preventative (by either improving the workplace or increasing personal resources) or to resolve problems after they have arisen. Interventions may be mapped across more than one category to reflect the nuance and complexity in many mental health and wellbeing interventions. Mapping of interventions indicated that most publications have not clarified their underlying assumptions about what causes outcomes or the theoretical basis for the intervention.ConclusionThe conceptual typology and mapping tool aims to raise the quality of future research and promote clear thinking about the nature and purpose of interventions, In doing so it aims to support future research and practice in planning interventions to improve the mental health and wellbeing of doctors.