Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Aug 2021
Multicenter StudyConsequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on admissions to general hospital psychiatric wards in Italy: Reduced psychiatric hospitalizations and increased suicidality.
The present investigation aimed at evaluating differences in psychiatric hospitalizations in Italy during and after the lockdown due to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), compared to the same periods in 2018 and 2019. ⋯ The COVID-19 lockdown was associated with changes in the number of psychiatric admissions, particularly for older patients and long-stay hospitalizations. Increased admission of patients reporting suicidal ideation in the post-lockdown period merits special attention. Further studies are required to gain insight into the observed phenomena.
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Aug 2021
Psychological distress and sleep problems in healthcare workers in a developing context during COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for workplace wellbeing.
Emotional wellbeing of healthcare workers is critical to the quality of patient care, and effective function of health services. The corona virus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic exerted unique physical and emotional demands on healthcare workers, however little is known about the emotional wellbeing of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in resource-restricted settings. This study investigated the prevalence of psychological distress, and sleep problems in healthcare workers in a COVID-19 referral hospital in Nigeria. ⋯ The prevalence rates of psychological distress and sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic were several folds the rates previously reported in similar contexts. Preventative psychosocial support services for healthcare workers are indicated. The creation of a culturally-sensitive interdisciplinary blueprint for locally-viable actions model are strongly suggested ahead of future emergency situations.
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Jul 2021
Younger people are more vulnerable to stress, anxiety and depression during COVID-19 pandemic: A global cross-sectional survey.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-ranging consequences for general physical and mental health. Country-specific research reveals a general reduction in mental and physical well-being, due to measures undertaken to stop the spread of COVID-19 disease. However, research is yet to examine the impact of the pandemic on global psychological distress and its effects upon vulnerable groups. ⋯ Age-based differences revealed that younger age-groups were more vulnerable to stress, depression and anxiety symptoms. Results show that these vulnerable individuals need more support. Age-specific interventions for modifiable factors that mediate the psychological distress need to urgently deployed to address the global mental health pandemic.
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Jul 2021
ReviewLarge-scale network dysfunction in youths with Internet gaming disorder: a meta-analysis of resting-state functional connectivity studies.
Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been defined as a specific behavioral disorder, associated with abnormal interactions among large-scale brain networks. Researchers have sought to identify the network dysfunction in IGD using resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC). However, results across studies have not reached an agreement yet and the mechanism remains unclear. ⋯ The results suggest that individuals with IGD show large-scale functional network alteration which underpins their core symptoms including poor emotional competence, cue-reactivity and craving, habitual addictive behaviors and impaired executive control. Whether the compensation mechanism exists in IGD is discussed, and further research is needed. The findings provide a neurocognitive network model of IGD, which may serve as functional biomarkers for IGD and have potentials for development of effective diagnosis and therapeutic interventions.
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Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry · Jun 2021
ReviewNutritional and therapeutic approaches for protecting human gut microbiota from psychotropic treatments.
Emerging evidence highlighted the essential role played by the microbiota-gut-brain axis in maintaining human homeostasis, including nutrition, immunity, and metabolism. Much recent work has linked the gut microbiota to many psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease. Shared gut microbiota alterations or dysbiotic microbiota have been identified in these separate disorders relative to controls. ⋯ Still, the antibiotic-like effect of psychotropic drugs, medications used for the treatment of these disorders, on gut microbiota is largely neglected. In this review, we summarize the current findings on the impact of psychotropics on gut microbiota and how their antimicrobial potency can trigger dysbiosis. We also discuss the potential therapeutic strategies, including probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal transplantation, to attenuate the dysbiosis related to psychotropics intake.