Psychiatry research
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Psychiatry research · May 2021
Early auditory-evoked potentials in body dysmorphic disorder: An ERP/sLORETA study.
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is characterized by excessive preoccupation with imagined or slight physical defects in appearance. BDD is associated with cognitive impairments (attention, visual processing). Our study aims to evaluate the early neural responses (N100, P200) to prepulse inhibition (PPI) and prepulse facilitation (PPF), to investigate attentional processing of BDD in the auditory domain. ⋯ Scalp responses and source activations in PPI were decreased overall compared to PPF, confirming the gating effect of PPI. We provided evidence that the N100 may serve as an electrophysiological marker of BDD, predicting its severity. Our study demonstrated the potential of using ERPs combined with behavioural PPI and PPF protocols to advance our understanding of BDD pathophysiology.
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Psychiatry research · May 2021
Implementation lessons from the transition to telehealth during COVID-19: a survey of clinicians and young people from youth mental health services.
Whilst telehealth may overcome some traditional barriers to care, successful implementation into service settings is scarce, particularly within youth mental health care. This study aimed to leverage the rapid implementation of telehealth due to COVID-19 to understand the perspectives of young people and clinicians on how telehealth impacts service delivery, service quality, and to develop pathways for future uses. Youth mental health service users (aged 12-25) and clinicians took part in an online survey exploring service provision, use, and quality following the adoption of telehealth. ⋯ Across eight domains of service quality, the majority of young people reported that telehealth positively impacted service quality, and were significantly more likely to rate telehealth as having a positive impact on service quality than clinicians. There was high interest in continuing to use telehealth as part of care beyond the pandemic, supporting its permanent role in youth mental health care for a segment of service users. Future work should explore how best to support its long-term implementation.
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Psychiatry research · Mar 2021
Suicidal ideation during COVID-19 lockdown in Greece: Prevalence in the community, risk and protective factors.
The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of suicidal ideation in the community as well as the risk and protective factors of suicidal ideation during restriction measures in Greece, after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Α web-based anonymous survey was conducted during the first lockdown period. Participants completed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-2), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), the Systemic Clinical Outcome and Routine Evaluation (SCORE-15), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISK-2), and a self-report questionnaire for COVID-19 pandemic-related data. From a total of 5,116 adults included in the study, 5.20% reported suicidal thoughts, 14.17% were potential clinical cases of anxiety, and 26.51% of depression. ⋯ Unmarried or divorced marital status, mental health history, poor perceived quality of physical health, impaired family functioning, anxiety and depression symptoms were independently associated with higher odds of suicidal ideation, whereas higher resilience, positive feelings with regard to the lockdown measures, relationship with friends, and faith in a Supreme Being were associated with lower suicidal ideation odds. According to the findings, suicidal ideation prevalence might be considered elevated and its increase during the lockdown period alarming. The risk and protective factors identified in the study offer valuable information for the development of preventive strategies against suicidal ideation, especially in times of crisis.
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Psychiatry research · Mar 2021
Emotional awareness, affective dysregulation, and bipolar spectrum psychopathology: A path analysis.
Affective dysregulation is present in those with subsyndromal symptoms of hypomania and mania and prospectively predicts the development of bipolar spectrum disorders. A crucial, understudied area related to the experience and regulation of emotion in this population is emotional awareness - emotional clarity (Clarity) and attention to emotion (Attention). We examined whether scores on the Hypomanic Personality Scale (HPS) were associated with deficits in emotional awareness and whether these deficits were associated with heightened intensity and instability of negative (NA) and positive affect (PA). ⋯ High HPS scores were associated with greater high and low arousal NA intensity and instability only for those at low and mean levels of Attention. In contrast, there was a significant indirect association between HPS scores and intensity of high and low arousal NA and PA, as well as instability of high arousal NA, through low Clarity. Results highlighted that individual differences exist in the extent to which facets of emotional awareness differentially link scores on the HPS to emotional outcomes.
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Psychiatry research · Jan 2021
Meta AnalysisPrevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, posttraumatic stress disorder, and psychological distress among populations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the pooled prevalence of depression, anxiety, insomnia, PTSD, and Psychological distress (PD) related to COVID-19 among affected populations. ⋯ Findings suggest that the short-term mental health consequences of COVID-19 are equally high across affected countries, and across gender. However, reports of insomnia are significantly higher among HCWs than the general population.