Anxiety Disorder Symptoms Research Articles

Suicide literacy, suicide stigma, and help-seeking attitudes among men in a university setting in Ireland.

This study sought to explore the relationship between sociodemographic-, mental health-, knowledge-, attitudinal-, and conformity to masculine norms variables with suicide literacy, suicide stigma, and help-seeking attitudes among men in a university setting (n = 471) in Ireland. Multiple linear regression with backward elimination was used to determine the independent variables associated with suicide literacy, suicide stigma, and help-seeking attitudes. Lower suicide literacy was associated with an ethnic minority background, living in a rural community, postgraduate students compared to undergraduate students, no depression symptoms in the past year, decreasing loneliness, greater suicide stigma, more negative help-seeking attitudes, lower resilience, greater conformity to the masculine norm power over women and lower conformity to the masculine norm emotional control. Greater suicide stigma was associated with a non-ethnic minority background, all departments of study compared to health and sports science, lower suicide literacy, more negative help-seeking attitudes, and greater conformity to the masculine norms of power over women, dominance, and heterosexual self-presentation. More negative help-seeking attitudes were associated with no generalized anxiety disorder symptoms in the past year, depression symptoms in the past year, greater suicide risk, lower suicide literacy, greater suicide stigma, greater resilience, and greater conformity to the masculine norms emotional control, self-reliance, violence, and heterosexual self-presentation. Findings highlight a need for gender-responsive psychoeducational programmes to target suicide literacy, suicide stigma, and/or help-seeking attitudes among men in university settings. They also highlight that such initiatives need to be co-produced alongside ethnic minority and rural-dwelling men to ensure they are culturally sensitive and acceptable.

The Combined Effect of Multisensory Stimulation and Therapist Support on Physical and Mental Health of Older Adults Living in Nursing Homes: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Increasing life expectancy has led to a rise in nursing home admissions, a context in which older adults often experience chronic physical and mental health conditions, chronic pain, and reduced well-being. Nonpharmacological approaches are especially important for managing older adults' chronic pain, mental health conditions (such as anxiety and depression), and overall well-being, including sensory stimulation (SS) and therapist support (TS). However, the combined effects of SS and TS have not been investigated. This randomized controlled trial examines the specific and combined effects of brief SS and TS interventions on older adults' physical and mental health and pain intensity levels, among individuals living in nursing homes. A total of 96 patients aged 65-99 years from a nursing home were randomly assigned to 3 groups: SS, TS, and combined SS+TS interventions, each delivered as four 20-minute sessions. SS was implemented using a multisensory Snoezelen room. Pain intensity levels (per a Visual Analog Scale), blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and hand grip strength (using a Jamar hand dynamometer) were measured before and after each of the 4 weekly therapeutic sessions. In addition, life satisfaction (per the Satisfaction with Life Scale) and anxiety (per the 7-item General Anxiety Disorder Scale) were evaluated before and after the whole intervention. Mixed model analyses tested the relative efficacy of the 3 interventions, applying simple slope analysis with Tukey correction. Study rationale and analytical plans were preregistered. The combined intervention of SS and TS (SS+TS) resulted in reduced pain levels compared with SS (B=0.209, P=.006) and TS alone (B=0.23, P=.002) over 4 sessions (F6,266=2.62; P=.017; R2=0.23). Further, the combined SS+TS intervention resulted in reduced systolic blood pressure versus SS (B=0.09, P=.01) and TS alone (B=0.016, P<.001) groups (F6,272=5.42; P<.001; R2=0.29). In addition, the combined SS+TS intervention resulted in an increased grip strength versus SS (B=-0.35, P=.003) and TS alone (B=-0.032, P=.008) groups (F6,273=2.25; P=.04; R2=0.19). Moreover, combined SS+TS resulted in an improvement in life satisfaction (B=-4.29, P<.0001) compared with SS (B=-2.38, P=.0042) and TS alone (B=-1.20, P=.13) groups (F2,39=3.47; P=.04). Finally, SS+TS demonstrated greater improvement in symptoms of general anxiety disorder (B=10.64, P<.0001) compared with SS (B=3.30 P=.01) and TS alone (B=1.13, P=.37) (F2,38=13.5; P<.001) groups. No differences between the interventions were shown for blood oxygen saturation (F6,273=2.06; P=.06), diastolic blood pressure (F6,272=1.12; P=.35), and heart rate (F6,273=1.33; P=.23). The combined intervention of SS and TS showed therapeutic benefits for pain management and physical and mental health of older adults living in nursing homes, relative to each therapeutic component in isolation. This brief intervention can be readily implemented to improve well-being and optimize therapeutic resources in nursing home settings. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05394389; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05394389.

Psychological impact of an intensive care admission for COVID-19 on patients in the United Kingdom.

The psychological impact of surviving an admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) with COVID-19 is uncertain. The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in ICU survivors treated for COVID-19 infection, and identify risk factors for psychological distress. This observational study was conducted at 52 ICUs in the United Kingdom. Participants, treated for COVID-19 infection during an ICU admission of ⩾24 h, were recruited post-ICU discharge. Self-report questionnaires were completed at 3, 6 and/or 12 months. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were identified using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. PTSD was assessed using the Impact of Events Scale-6. Demographic, clinical, physical and psychosocial factors were considered as putative predictors of psychological distress. 1620 patients provided consent and 1258 (77.7%) responded to at least one questionnaire, with responses at 3 months (N = 426), 6 months (N = 656) and 12 months (N = 1050) following ICU admission. The following prevalence rates were found at 3, 6 and 12 months, respectively: anxiety in 28.8% (95% CI 24.6-33.1), 30.4% (95% CI 27.0-33.8) and 29.3% (95% CI 26.5-32.1); depression in 25.1% (21.0-29.3), 25.9% (22.7-29.3) and 24.0% (21.5-26.6); and PTSD in 43.5% (38.8-48.2), 44.3% (40.6-48.0) and 43.2% (40.2-46.1) of patients. Risk factors for psychological distress included a previous mental health diagnosis, unemployment or being on sick leave, and a history of asthma or COPD. Clinically significant symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD were common and persisted up to 12 months post-ICU discharge.

The effects of war-related experiences on mental health symptoms of individuals living in conflict zones: a longitudinal study

On October 7, 2023, a large-scale attack in southern Israel and the subsequent war resulted in extensive loss of life and injuries, with many individuals experiencing traumatic losses, such as family members or close friends being killed or kidnapped. This study aims to longitudinally examine its effects on mental health, specifically, clinical symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We anticipated greater symptom severity among individuals who experienced traumatic loss, were forcibly displaced, or suffered income loss, as well as among women and members of ethnic minorities. This three-wave online survey study assessed mental health symptoms in a sample of 1052 individuals, aged 18–40, residing in conflict zones in Israel from February 2024 (day 1), through March 2024 (day 30), to May 2024 (day 90). Symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD were measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Primary Care PTSD Screen (PC-PTSD). Individuals experiencing traumatic losses, forced displacement, or economic hardships, as well as females, consistently demonstrated higher rates of anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms compared to those without such experiences or to males, across all time points (F values ranged from 17.7 to 215.3, p < .001). For ethnic minorities (Arab and other), as compared to Jewish, anxiety and depression symptoms were higher at every time point (F = 8.3–97.1, p = .004 to < .001). This study highlights the urgent need for targeted mental health interventions in conflict zones, particularly for affected individuals. Further research should expand these findings to broader populations.

Maternal Social Phobia, but not Generalized Anxiety, Symptoms Interact with Early Childhood Error-Related Negativity to Prospectively Predict Child Anxiety Symptoms.

The error-related negativity (ERN) has been called a putative neural marker of anxiety risk in children, with smaller ERN amplitudes denoting greater risk in early childhood. Children of anxious mothers are at elevated risk for anxiety problems compared to children of non-anxious mothers. Still unknown is whether discrete maternal symptoms interact with child ERN to predict different forms of child anxiety risk, knowledge ofwhich could increase our understanding of the specificity of known conditions and pathways for transgenerational effects. Targeting two of the most prevalent forms of anxiety problems across children and adults, we tested whether maternal generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and social phobia (SP) symptoms when children were 3 years old interacted with child ERN at age 4 years to predict child symptoms of overanxiousness and separation anxiety at age 5 years. We found that greater maternal SP, but not GAD, symptoms along with smaller (i.e., less negative) child ERN predicted more separation anxiety and overanxious symptoms in children, suggesting some specificity in prediction but less specificity in outcomes regarding the transmission of anxiety risk from mothers to offspring.

Self-Compassion Across Anxiety and Mood Disorders: Implications for Treatment.

This review summarizes recent studies examining average self-compassion scores in adults with symptoms of anxiety and mood disorders. We compare these findings with our own data to help establish norms for the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) and to explore treatment implications for patients with these disorders. Several studies have demonstrated that adults with symptoms of anxiety and mood disorders have lower self-compassion scores compared to control groups, though many of these studies have established findings based on self-reported symptoms. Our study, involving patients at a large academic medical center with diagnoses confirmed on clinical interview, aligns with these overall findings. This reinforces the conclusion that anxiety and mood disorders are associated with lower self-compassion scores. Adults with anxiety and mood disorders demonstrate lower self-compassion scores than control groups. Incorporating self-compassion interventions into treatment may reduce symptoms and improve outcomes for these individuals.

Fear Generalization Towards a Stimulus and Context and the Impact of Attention Bias.

Fear overgeneralization is a prevalent clinical symptom of anxiety disorders. Various research studies have demonstrated that attention plays a crucial role in fear generalization. Moreover, fear is not only generalized to the stimulus, but individuals may also exhibit a certain degree of fear generalization to the context. This research investigates whether fear generalizes to stimuli and context simultaneously and the potential impact of attentional bias. The study involved two conditioned fear factors, a stimulus and context, with visual image materials combining both elements. Participants were instructed to focus on global attention in Study 1, while in Study 2, they were divided into groups based on their attention bias direction towards either stimuli or context during the fear acquisition phase. This study found that participants exhibited generalized conditioned fear to both stimuli and context, regardless of attentional bias. Additionally, participants showed a lower degree of generalization in the area to which they directed their attention during the acquisition phase. The results of this research reveal the differing expressions of fear generalization towards context and stimuli, highlighting the important role of attention in this process.

Exploring the Relationship Between Attentional Bias and Symptoms of Adult Separation Anxiety Disorder

Purpose: Research has identified attentional bias towards threatening stimuli as a contributing factor to anxiety disorders, and treatment targeting this bias has been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety (Azriel &amp; Bar-Haim, 2020). Studies have found attentional bias to threats among children with separation anxiety disorder (SAD) when tested with dot-probe tasks, with a stronger bias seen when threats are disorder-congruent (Pergamin-Hight et al., 2015). No study has yet investigated this relationship among adults, despite growing recognition that separation anxiety is frequent in this population. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between SAD symptoms and attentional bias toward threatening stimuli (general and separation-specific) on a dot-probe task in a sample of adults, with the goal of informing targeted treatment for adult separation anxiety disorder (ASAD). Methods: Undergraduate participants (n = 57) completed a measure of ASAD symptom severity (ASA-27) and two versions of the dot-probe task, one with separation-specific threatening words and one with generally threatening words. Attentional bias was tested using detection latency. Results: Spearman’s rho correlations between ASA-27 and separation-specific threat trials (rs = -.07; p = .62) and general threat trials (rs = .07; p = .60) were not significant. However, ASAD symptoms were correlated with reduced accuracy on trials following ASAD-specific threat words (rs = -.38, p = .004), but not general threat words (rs = -.16, p = .22). Conclusions: We did not find that ASAD symptoms related to attentional bias. However, individuals with more ASAD symptoms were less accurate on trials that involved ASAD-threat words, suggesting an emotional interference effect of disorder-specific threats on task performance.

Post-Intensive Care Syndrome: functional impairments of critical illness survivors

With a decrease in mortality of critically ill patients in recent years, intensive care medicine research has shifted its focus on functional impairments of intensive care units (ICU) survivors. ICU survivorship is characterized by long-term impairments of cognition, mental health, and physical health. Since 2012, these impairments have been summarized with the umbrella term Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS). Mental health impairments frequently entail new are aggravated symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Beyond impairments in the three PICS domains, critical illness survivors frequently suffer from chronic pain, dysphagia, and nutritional deficiencies. Furthermore, they have ahigher risk for osteoporosis, bone fractures, and diabetes mellitus. Taken together, these sequelae reduce their health-related quality of life. Additionally, ICU survivors are challenged by social problems such as isolation, economic problems such as treatment costs and lost earnings, and return to previous employment. Yet, patients and caregivers have described post-ICU care as inadequate and fragmented. ICU follow-up clinics could improve post-ICU care, but there is insufficient evidence for their effectiveness. Thus far, large high-quality trials with multicomponent and interdisciplinary post-ICU interventions have mostly failed to improve patient outcomes. Hence, preventing PICS and minimizing risk factors by optimizing ICU care is crucial, e.g. by implementing the ABCDE bundle. Future studies need to identify effective components of post-ICU recovery interventions and determine which patient populations may benefit most from ICU recovery services.

Differing Effects of Alcohol Use on Epigenetic and Brain Age in Adult Children of Parents with Alcohol Use Disorder.

It is known that being the adult child of a parent with an alcohol use disorder (ACoA) can confer a wide variety of increased health and psychological risks, including higher rates of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Additionally, ACoAs are at greater risk of developing alcohol/substance use disorders (AUDs/SUDs) than individuals from families without a history of AUDs. ACoA individuals with risky hazardous alcohol use (n = 14) and those not engaged in hazardous use (n = 14) were compared to a group of healthy controls. We examined structural brain differences and applied machine learning algorithms to predict biological brain and DNA methylation ages to investigate differences and determine any accelerated aging between these groups. Hazardous and non-hazardous ACoA groups had lower predicted brain ages than the healthy control group (n = 100), which may result from neuro-developmental differences between ACoA groups and controls. Within specific brain regions, we observed decreased cortical volume within bilateral pars orbitalis and frontal poles, and the left middle temporal gyrus and entorhinal cortex within the hazardous alcohol ACoA group. When looking at the epigenetic aging data, the hazardous ACoA participants had increased predicted epigenetic age difference scores compared to the control group (n = 34) and the non-hazardous ACoA participant groups. The results demonstrate a decreased brain age in the ACoAs compared to control, concurrent with increased epigenetic age specifically in the hazardous ACoA group, laying the foundation for future research to identify individuals with an increased susceptibility to developing hazardous alcohol use. Together, these results provide a better understanding of the associations between epigenetic factors, brain structure, and alcohol use disorders.

Understanding risk factors for perinatal distress in Syrian refugee mothers: insights from Lebanon.

The perinatal period is a critical phase in a woman's life, marked by unique mental health challenges. This study focuses on Syrian mothers in Lebanon, a vulnerable population often exposed to displacement and conflict-related stressors. The aim is to identify risk factors for perinatal distress, including symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among Syrian mothers within one year of giving birth. Data collection included quantitative assessments using the Refugee Health Screener-13 (RHS-13), and qualitative insights from in-depth interviews. The assessment period was extended to cover the year following childbirth to provide a broader perspective on perinatal distress. The study revealed significant risk factors, specifically a history of mental illness and chronic disease. While maternal age and number of children were considered potential risk factors, they were not statistically significant in the quantitativeanalysis but were highlighted in the qualitative interviews. This research offers valuable insights for healthcare providers, policymakers, and organizations working with Syrian refugee women in Lebanon. Addressing these risk factors can improve mental health outcomes for perinatal women affected by war and displacement, underscoring the need for proactive mental health screening during pregnancy and postpartum.

The Ukrainian version of the Perceived Injustice Questionnaire: A psychometric evaluation.

Perceived injustice is increasingly recognized as a key factor influencing mental health in war survivors. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Ukrainian translation of the Perceived Injustice Questionnaire (PIQ) among individuals directly exposed to the war in Ukraine. 170 war-exposed Ukrainians completed the Ukrainian PIQ and measures of post-traumatic tress disorder (PCL-5), depression (PHQ-9), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7), and potentially traumatic life events (LEC-5). Internal consistency, factor structure, and criterion validity were assessed. While the factor structure of the English version could not be reproduced, indicating an issue with factor validity in the Ukrainian version, the Ukrainian PIQ demonstrated strong correlations with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (r = .71, p <.01), moderate associations with depression (r = .62, p <.01) and generalized anxiety disorder (r = .61, p <.01), and a weaker link with potentially traumatic life events (PTLEs, r = .35, p <.01). It significantly predicted PTSD, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms beyond PTLE exposure, explaining 33% of variance in depression, 31% in GAD, and 45% in PTSD These findings provide evidence supporting the construct validity of the PIQ in terms of its relationships with mental health outcomes. The Ukrainian PIQ also demonstrated excellent overall reliability (α = .90), with factor reliabilities ranging from α = .74 to α = .81. The Ukrainian version of the PIQ demonstrates promising psychometric properties and emerges as a highly significant correlate of mental health outcomes. This underscores its potential utility in clinical practice for assessing the treatment needs of Ukrainians affected by the consequences of war. Moreover, the findings highlight the importance of developing therapy modules specifically tailored to address perceived injustice. Further research is warranted to investigate the cross-cultural adaptability and comparability of the PIQ.

How strongly are trait positive and negative affectivity associated with anxiety symptoms? A multilevel meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies in anxiety disorders.

There are well-established theoretical and empirical foundations for a negative association between trait positive affectivity and anxiety symptoms in anxiety disorders and a positive association between trait negative affectivity and anxiety symptoms, respectively. However, no previous meta-analysis systematically estimated to what extent trait positive and negative affectivity are associated with anxiety symptoms in anxiety disorders. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to obtain an evidence-based estimate of the associations between trait positive and negative affectivity with anxiety symptoms in anxiety disorders. We performed a systematic search including studies reporting estimates of the associations between trait positive and negative affectivity measures and anxiety measures in clinical populations that suffer from at least one anxiety disorder. We identified 13 and 14 eligible studies, documenting 19 and 21 mainly unpublished effect sizes from 1489 individuals that suffer from an anxiety disorder. We estimated an overall correlational effect size (r) using multilevel meta-analytic models accounting for within- and between-study variance components. The results of the omnibus models showed a small to moderate negative association between positive affectivity and anxiety symptoms (r = -0.19, 95 % CI [-0.30, -0.09]) and a strong positive association between negative affectivity and anxiety symptoms respectively (r = 0.53, 95 % CI [0.44, 0.61]). These associations are different from each other (r = .35, p < .001). The results are consistent with theoretical claims that anxiety disorders are highly associated with negative affectivity but to a lesser extent with positive affectivity. More research and systematic documentation are necessary to determine moderators of these overall associations.

Concurrent and prospective prediction of community-dwelling adults' psychosocial functioning with the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms-II (IDAS-II).

Mood and anxiety disorders involve defining symptoms (e.g., dysphoria, anhedonia) that can impair psychosocial functioning (e.g., self-care, work, social relationships). The present study evaluated the validity of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms-II (IDAS-II; Watson et al., 2012) via convergence with a semistructured interview assessing mood and anxiety disorder symptoms and, moreover, prediction of psychosocial functioning. Community-dwelling adults (N = 601) completed the self-report IDAS-II, a semistructured diagnostic interview, and self-report and interview measures of psychosocial functioning. A retest subsample (ns = 497-501) completed the functioning measures again, on average 8 months later. Supporting our hypotheses, the IDAS-II converged robustly with interview-assessed symptoms and predicted psychosocial functioning significantly, both concurrently and prospectively. Moreover, the IDAS-II predicted functioning significantly better than did the diagnostic interview. These findings support use of the IDAS-II in research and clinical settings to assess mood and anxiety symptoms and their connections to psychosocial impairment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Role of Looming Cognitive Style in Health Anxiety through the Mediation of Anxiety Sensitivity and Intolerance of Uncertainty

Since looming cognitive style is conceptualized as a distal cognitive vulnerability to anxiety and anxiety disorder symptoms, it was aimed to test whether looming cognitive style predicts health anxiety through the mediation of anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty. In this cross-sectional study, the data of 241 adult participants whose ages were between 18 and 65 years were analyzed. Four self-report measures were administered, which were the Looming Maladaptive Style Questionnaire-Revised, Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3, Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, and Short Health Anxiety Inventory. The data was analyzed with a mediation model. Analyses yielded that looming cognitive style predicted health anxiety significantly, positively, and indirectly. This prediction was observed through the mediation of anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty after controlling for the effect of having a diagnosis of a chronic illness or a psychological disorder since health anxiety scores of participants were found to differ depending on the levels of these variables in the preliminary analyses. Findings suggest that looming cognitive style is potentially a distal cognitive vulnerability to health anxiety, and this finding is compatible with what the etiological model of looming cognitive style suggested. Considering the results, looming cognitive style might be a contributing cognitive process to work on in treating health anxiety.

Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Depressive Symptom Presentation and Change Throughout Routine Eating Disorder Treatment.

The present study examined whether patients with binge/purge and restricting anorexia nervosa (AN-BP and AN-R), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED), avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), and other specified feeding and eating disorder (OSFED) differ in generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and depression symptom patterns and overall comorbid symptom severity at admission. We also assessed between-group differences in the patterns of change and overall comorbid symptom severity change from admission to discharge from routine eating disorder (ED) treatment at higher levels of care (HLOC). The initial sample included 3730 adults routinely assessed for GAD, depression, and OCD at admission and discharge from treatment. ED diagnostic groups exhibited somewhat different symptom patterns (e.g., AN-R and ARFID were more prone to GAD and OCD than depression symptoms; BED exhibited the opposite pattern) and overall symptom severity at admission (i.e., AN-BP and OSFED had the highest overall comorbid symptom severity; BED had the lowest). Although the overall symptom improvement was significantly greater in ARFID and BED than in AN-BP, AN-R, and OSFED, ED patients collectively and within each diagnostic group improved significantly in GAD, OCD, and depression symptoms following routine ED treatment at HLOC.

Growing Up with a Narcissistic Mother: Mediating Role of Self-Criticism in the Relationship of Maternal Narcissistic Traits with Depression and Anxiety

Objective: This study aims to examine the mediating role of self-criticism in the relationship between narcissistic traits perceived from the mother in childhood and symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders in adulthood. Method: A total of 512 adults aged between 18 and 45 years (mean age= 31.47, SD= 10.37) were included in the study. Participants completed the Socio-demographic Information Form, Scale of Narcissitic Traits Perceived from Mother, Forms of Self-Criticism and Self-Relief Scale, and Brief Symptom Inventory. Results: In the model tested using Structural Equation Modeling, perceived maternal narcissism during childhood predicted self-criticism, depression and anxiety disorder symptoms. In addition, self-criticism predicted both depression and anxiety disorder symptoms. Indirect effects were examined with the bootsrap method and self-criticism was found to have a mediating role. Conclusion: The results suggest that self-criticism mediates the relationship between narcissistic traits perceived from the mother in childhood and symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders. These findings suggest that a mother's narcissistic traits may have a negative impact on mother-child interaction and influence the child's development of a self-critical style. Moreover, high maternal narcissistic traits may increase the risk of depression and anxiety disorder symptoms by contributing to a self-critical thinking style.

Critical Assessment of the Role of Diet and Nutrition in Mental Health Treatment Plans

It has been the focus of research for the last decade as to how nutritional intake interacts with the diet, and lots of faith is being given to dietary intervention in the management of mental health disorders. This paper critically examines the current evidence regarding the relationship between diet nutrition and mental health and discusses how nutritional therapies may be applied. Based on literature analysis and the present data, this paper is aimed at bringing insight into the promising effects of diets to manage some of the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric disorders. Moreover, the paper presents the limitations of the present study and directions for further research in nutritional psychiatry. It ends by arguing that diet and nutrition may or ought to be considered part of the fundamental care for mental health issues and could be useful additions to medication.

Long-Term Outcomes After Severe Acute Brain Injury Requiring Mechanical Ventilation: Recovery Trajectories Among Patients and Mental Health Symptoms of Their Surrogate Decision Makers.

Long-term outcomes of patients with severe acute brain injury (SABI) and their surrogate decision makers (SDMs) are insufficiently explored. We conducted a prospective, single-center, observational study of patients with SABI who required mechanical ventilation between September and November 2021. Two telephonic interviews were conducted at 6-12months and 18-24months post SABI. Patients' functional outcomes at both time points were measured on the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended and categorized as dead (1), dependent (2-4), or independent (5-8). SDMs were interviewed at 18-24months using validated screening tools for depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder and qualitative questions about the hardest challenges during their recovery journey. We included 103 patients (median age 58years, 28% female, 77% White, 51% with stroke, 49% with traumatic brain injury); in-hospital mortality was 46%. At 6-12months and 18-24months, 34% and 36% were independent, respectively; the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended score improved ≥ 1 point for 32% between time points. Quality of life was perceived as acceptable for 47% of all survivors and 58% of independent patients by their SDMs. At 18-24months, we reached 56 SDMs (median age 58years, 71% female, 72% White). Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder were reported in 18%, 30%, and 7%, respectively (23%, 34%, and 9% in the 35 SDMs of survivors and 10%, 24%, and 5% in the 21 SDMs to deceased patients). Main themes about challenges for patients and SDMs included extrinsic factors related to the health care system, and intrinsic factors related to the brain injury: difficulties in adapting to a new state, mental health symptoms, and social isolation. Mental health symptoms among SDMs of patients with SABI were frequent at 18-24months, and the patients' quality of life was deemed unacceptable for 42% of SDMs to independent survivors. Our findings underscore the need for psychosocial support to SDMs, the importance of addressing modifiable barriers to patient and SDM well-being, and the need for more patient/family-centric outcome measures.

Long-term psychopathology rates of children and adolescents and associated factors in the worst-sticken area of 2023 Kahramanmaras earthquake

Introduction Earthquakes are natural disasters that can have significant psychological impacts on individuals, particularly children. While physical injuries are often the immediate focus following an earthquake, the psychological effects can be long-lasting and profound. Understanding the psychiatric effects of traumatic experiences in children following earthquakes is crucial for developing effective interventions and support systems. Method One hundred fifty three children and adolescents who experienced the earthquake were evaluated in the first year of the earthquake. Depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were measured using standardized assessment tools. Factors that may be related to psychopathology, such as sleep disturbance, the extent of trauma, and where one lived after the earthquake, were also evaluated. The anxiety, depression and stress levels of the mother and father separately and their relationship with the child’s psychopathology were evaluated. Results The frequency of depression risk among participants was found to be 24.8%, while the frequency of anxiety risk was 62.8%. The frequency of PTSD risk was 97.4%. Children who migrated to another province after the earthquake had higher scale scores. Parental depression anxiety stress level was positively correlated with children’s scale scores. Disruption in sleep patterns increased the risk of depression by 2.38 times. Experiencing the loss of friends in the earthquake increased PTSD score by 6.27. Discussion The findings of this study highlight the importance of addressing the psychiatric needs of children following earthquakes. Psychosocial support and access to appropriate treatment should be prioritized to mitigate the long-term psychological effects of traumatic experiences in children.