PMH51 Differential Burden of Depression and Anxiety Among Caregivers of Adults with Mental Health or Neurological Disorders

F’INE Aotearoa, through Pasifika Futures Whānau Ora programme, is supporting Pacific Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) individuals and their families to transform their lives and achieve their aspirations. The LGBTQI community in New Zealand experience significant disadvantage across a range of areas affecting wellbeing, including higher rates of poor mental health, depression and anxiety 1,2,3. For Pacific LGBTQI, the disadvantages are compounded further. F’INE, an LGBTQI specific provider in New Zealand, is working to change this.

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A fully automated conversational agent with artificial intelligence capabilities (Youper) for treating depression and anxiety: A nonrandomized feasibility trial (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.12888 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jose Hamilton Vargas ◽

Thiago Antonio Marafon ◽

Diego Fernando Couto ◽

Ricardo Giglio ◽

Marvin Yan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Artificial Intelligence ◽

Financial Incentives ◽

Empirical Support ◽

Digital Technologies ◽

Feasibility Trial ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Conversational Agents ◽

Symptoms Of Depression ◽

Viable Solution

BACKGROUND Mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety disorders, are significant global concerns. Many people with these conditions don't get the help they need because of the high costs of medical treatment and the stigma attached to seeking help. Digital technologies represent a viable solution to these challenges. However, these technologies are often characterized by relatively low adherence and their effectiveness largely remains empirical unverified. While digital technologies may represent a viable solution for this persisting problem, they often lack empirical support for their effectiveness and are characterized by relatively low adherence. Conversational agents using artificial intelligence capabilities have the potential to offer a cost-effective, low-stigma and engaging way of getting mental health care. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of Youper, a mobile application that utilizes a conversational interface and artificial intelligence capabilities to deliver cognitive behavioral therapy-based interventions to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in adults. METHODS 1,012 adults with symptoms of depression and anxiety participated in a real-world setting study, entirely remotely, unguided and with no financial incentives, over an 8-week period. Participants completed digital versions of the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7) at baseline, 2, 4, and 8 weeks. RESULTS After the eight-week study period, depression (PHQ-9) scores of participants decreased by 48% while anxiety (GAD-7) scores decreased by 43%. The RCI was outside 2 standard deviations for 93.0% of the individuals in the PHQ-9 assessment and 90.7% in the GAD-7 assessment. Participants were on average 24.79 years old (SD 7.61) and 77% female. On average, participants interacted with Youper 0.9 (SD 1.56) times per week. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that Youper is a feasible, acceptable, and effective intervention for adults with depression and anxiety. CLINICALTRIAL Since this study involved a nonclinical population, it wasn't registered in a public trials registry.

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Childhood Material Hardship and Adolescent Mental Health

Youth & Society ◽

10.1177/0044118x211001896 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0044118X2110018

Author(s):

Chrisse Edmunds ◽

Melissa Alcaraz

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Adolescent Depression ◽

Adolescent Mental Health ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Fragile Families ◽

Depression Symptoms ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Material Hardship ◽

Critical Age ◽

The Relationship

Adolescent mental health has implications for current and future wellbeing. While a link exists between poverty and mental health, little is known about how experiencing material hardship, such as insecurity of food, housing, utilities, and medical care, throughout early childhood affects adolescent mental health. We examine the relationship between material hardship in childhood and adolescent mental health. We use Poisson regression to examine the effect of material hardship experienced at different stages of childhood on adolescent depression and anxiety outcomes at age 15. We use longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study ( N = 3,222). We find that recently experiencing material hardship during childhood is positively and significantly associated with anxiety and depression symptoms at age 15, even when controlling for material hardship at age 15. Additionally, we find that insecurity during mid-childhood and the stress of lacking basic needs during a critical age may influence mental health in adolescence.

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Trauma, Sleep and Mental Health Problems in Low-Income Young Adults

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18031145 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 1145

Author(s):

Rachel A. Fusco ◽

Yan Yuan ◽

Hyunji Lee ◽

Christina E. Newhill

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Young Adults ◽

Low Income ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Trauma Exposure ◽

Health Problems ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Poor Sleep ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

The Relationship

Low-income young adults are more likely to have exposure to trauma, which increases risk for mental health problems. Although adequate sleep promotes good health, people with histories of trauma are more likely to have sleep problems. The current study explored whether poor sleep mediated the relationship between trauma exposure and mental health. A sample of 143 low-income 18–24-year-old young adults completed depression, anxiety, and trauma exposure measures and wore sleep monitors for four nights. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine both direct and indirect effects of variables. Results showed that higher trauma exposure was associated with depression and anxiety. Mean sleep hours per night was fewer than six, far below recommended guidelines for optimal health and functioning. Fewer sleep hours partially mediated the relationship between both trauma exposure and depression and anxiety, and the direct effect from trauma remained significant after adjusting for the partial mediation from sleep.

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Speaking of State of Mind: Maternal Mental Health Predicts Children's Home Language Environment and Expressive Language

Journal of Child Language ◽

10.1017/s0305000921000131 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-17

Author(s):

Brandon Neil CLIFFORD ◽

Laura A. STOCKDALE ◽

Sarah M. COYNE ◽

Vanessa RAINEY ◽

Viridiana L. BENITEZ

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Maternal Depression ◽

Maternal Mental Health ◽

Expressive Language ◽

Home Language ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Negatively Associated ◽

Children's Home ◽

Language Environment ◽

Home Language Environment

Abstract Maternal depression and anxiety are potential risk factors to children's language environments and development. Though existing work has examined relations between these constructs, further work is needed accounting for both depression and anxiety and using more direct measures of the home language environment and children's language development. We examined 265 mother-infant dyads (49.6% female, Mage = 17.03 months) from a large city in the Western United States to explore the relations between self-reports of maternal depression and anxiety and observational indices of the home language environment and expressive language as captured by Language Environment Analysis (LENA) and parent-reported language comprehension and production. Results revealed maternal depressive symptoms to be negatively associated with home language environment and expressive language indices. Maternal anxiety symptoms were found to be negatively associated with children's parent-reported language production. These findings provide further evidence that maternal mental health modulates children's home language environments and expressive language.

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Prevalence and predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety among hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in China

BMC Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s12888-021-03076-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yaru Chen ◽

Xin Huang ◽

Chengyuan Zhang ◽

Yuanyuan An ◽

Yiming Liang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Support ◽

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽

Posttraumatic Stress ◽

Stress Disorder ◽

Perceived Social Support ◽

Trauma Exposure ◽

Hospitalized Patients ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Negative News

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected more than 5 million people around the world and killed more than 300,000 people; thus, it has become a global public health emergency. Our objective was to investigate the mental health of hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Methods The PTSD checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), Trauma Exposure Scale, abbreviated version of the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS) and Demographic Questionnaire were used to examine posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, trauma exposure, resilience and perceived social support among 898 patients who were hospitalized after being diagnosed with COVID-19 in China. The data were analyzed with t tests, one-way ANOVA and multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results The results showed that the prevalence of PTSD, depression and anxiety was 13.2, 21.0 and 16.4%, respectively. Hospitalized patients who were more impacted by negative news reports, had greater exposure to traumatic experiences, and had lower levels of perceived social support reported higher PTSD, depression and anxiety. Conclusions Effective professional mental health services should be designed to support the psychological wellbeing of hospitalized patients, especially those who have severe disease, are strongly affected by negative news and have high levels of exposure to trauma.

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Mental health and preventive behaviour of pregnant women in China during the early phase of the COVID-19 period

Infectious Diseases of Poverty ◽

10.1186/s40249-021-00825-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Qian Wang ◽

Phoenix K. H. Mo ◽

Bo Song ◽

Jiang-Li Di ◽

Feng-Rong Zhou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Social Factors ◽

Early Phase ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Online Survey ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Face Mask ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Regression Analyses

Abstract Background The COVID-19 has caused significant toll over the globe. Pregnant women are at risk of infection. The present study examined the frequency of washing hands with soap and wearing face mask when going out, prevalence of depression and anxiety, and identified their associated factors among pregnant women during the early phase of COVID-19 outbreak in China. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between 24 February and 3 March 2020. A total of 15 428 pregnant women who were using maternal health care services in China completed a questionnaire which assessed their socio-demographic and pregnancy-related characteristics, contextual, cognitive and social factors related to COVID-19, frequency of washing hands and wearing face masks, and depression and anxiety. Logistics regression analyses were performed to identify the associated factors of preventive behaviours and mental health. Results The prevalence of probable anxiety and depression was 28.2% and 43.6% respectively. 19.8% reported always wearing face mask when going out, and 19.1% reported washing hands with soap for more than 10 times per day. Results from logistic regression analyses showed that older age was associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety (OR = 0.42–0.67) and higher frequency of washing hands (OR = 1.57–3.40). Higher level of education level was associated with probable depression (OR = 1.31–1.45) and higher frequency of wearing face mask (OR = 1.50–1.57). After adjusting for significant socio-demographic and pregnancy-related factors, place of residence being locked down (aOR = 1.10–1.11), being quarantined (aOR = 1.42–1.57), personally knowing someone being infected with COVID-19 (aOR = 1.80–1.92), perception that COVID-19 would pose long term physical harm to human (aOR = 1.25–1.28) were associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety, while the perception that the disease will be under control in the coming month was associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety (aOR = 0.59–0.63) and lower tendency of always wearing face mask (aOR = 0.85). Social support was associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety (aOR = 0.86–0,87) and higher frequency of washing hands (aOR = 1.06). Conclusions The mental health and preventive behaviours of pregnant women during COVID-19 outbreak was associated with a range of socio-demographic, pregnancy-related, contextual, cognitive and social factors. Interventions to mitigate their mental health problems and to promote preventive behaviours are highly warranted.

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