Low testosterone levels may be associated with suicidal behavior in older men while high testosterone levels may be related to suicidal behavior in adolescents and young adults: a hypothesis

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Sher

Abstract Several lines of evidence suggest that there is an association between testosterone and suicidal behavior. A link between testosterone and the neurobiology of suicidal behavior may be related to: a) a direct effect of testosterone on suicidality via certain brain mechanisms; and/or b) a testosterone influence on aggression and, consequently, suicidality; and/or c) a testosterone effect on mood and, consequently, suicidality; and/or d) a testosterone effect on cognition and, consequently, suicidality. At least one study has demonstrated a relation between high levels of testosterone and suicide in young people. A significant number of studies suggest that high testosterone levels are associated with aggression in adolescents and adults. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that aggression is associated with suicidal behavior. The effect of high testosterone levels on suicidality in adolescents and young adults may be mediated by testosterone-related elevated aggression. It is also possible that, in young people, high testosterone levels are directly linked to suicidality via certain brain mechanisms. In older men, decreased testosterone levels are associated with depressive symptoms and reduced cognitive function, whereas higher blood levels of testosterone are associated with better mood and cognitive functioning. Depression and reduced cognition are associated with suicidal behavior and may mediate the effect of decreased testosterone levels on suicidality. Therefore, it is reasonable to propose that suicidal behavior in adolescents and young adults is associated with high testosterone levels, whereas suicidality in older men is associated with decreased testosterone secretion.

Author(s):  
Leo Sher

Abstract Many studies suggest that testosterone plays a role in the regulation of mood and behavior. Most but not all investigations of the relationship between testosterone and suicidality found relations between testosterone and suicidal behavior. The balance of evidence is in favor of the view that testosterone is involved in the pathophysiology of suicidality. The author has previously proposed that suicidal behavior in adolescents and young adults is associated with high testosterone levels, whereas suicidality in older men is associated with decreased testosterone levels. However, both high and low testosterone levels can be observed in adolescent, young, middle-aged and older men. In this article, the author proposes that both high and low testosterone levels may play a role in suicidal behavior in men of any age.


2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-42
Author(s):  
Anna Kostiukow ◽  
Wojciech Strzelecki ◽  
Mateusz W. Romanowski ◽  
Marta Rosołek ◽  
Ewa Mojs ◽  
...  

Introduction: The study is aimed at drawing the attention of the medical environment to the mental health aspects of young patients as a factor that significantly influences the efficiency of their rheumatic disease treatment. Aim: This paper is to check the risk of depression among a group of adolescents and young adults with rheumatic diseases. Material and Methods: The study was conducted among a group of 68 late adolescents and young adults (18-22 years old) with rheumatic diseases. The control group consisted of 102 young people (18-22 years old) without a diagnosed chronic disease. Risk of depression was measured using a screening tool – the Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale (KADS). Results: The analysis showed that the probability of depression in the study group was 35.3%. In the control group, this rate was 19.6%. The results were statistical significance (p=0.028). Conclusions: The results of this study prove that the risk of depression among adolescents and young adults with rheumatic diseases is significantly higher than in healthy young people. The highest risk of depression is related to feeling tired, fatigue, low energy levels and lack of motivation as well as feeling worried, nervous, panicky, tense, keyed-up and anxious.


Author(s):  
Aneta Przepiórka ◽  
Agata Błachnio ◽  
Tomasz Jankowski ◽  
Zena R. Mello ◽  
Frank C. Worrell

Abstract. In this paper, we examined the dimensionality, reliability, structural validity, and convergent validity of scores on the Adolescent and Adult Time Inventory – Time Attitude Scale (AATI-TA) in a sample of 989 Polish adolescents and young adults. Two studies were conducted. In Study 1, confirmatory factor analyses supported both the original 6-factor model (Past Positive, Past Negative, Positive Present, Negative Present, Future Positive, and Future Negative) and an alternative time-valence model with two factors related to valence (Positivity and Negativity) and three temporal factors (Past, Present, and Future). Study 1 results also provided evidence of invariance between adolescents and adults up to latent means. AATI-TA scores were also found to be invariant by gender and national context with scores from American adolescents. AATI-TA scores also yielded satisfactory reliability estimates. In Study 2, the incremental validity of AATI-TA scores over the contributions of ZTPI scores was assessed for and demonstrated with satisfaction with life and self-esteem. Overall, the results suggest that the Polish version of the AATI-TA yields psychometrically sound scores in Polish adolescents and adults.


2019 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2019-001959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Ing ◽  
Pandora Patterson ◽  
Marianna Szabo ◽  
Kimberley R Allison

ObjectivesTo assess the availability and efficacy of interventions open to adolescents and young adults (AYAs; 15-25 years) bereaved by a parent’s or sibling’s cancer.MethodsA systematic review of peer-reviewed literature on interventions available to AYAs bereaved by a parent’s or sibling’s cancer was conducted through searches of six online databases (PsycINFO, Medline, Scopus, Embase, SWAB and Web of Science Core Collection).ResultsDatabase and reference searches yielded 2985 articles, 40 of which were included in the review. Twenty-two interventions were identified that were available for bereaved young people. However, only three were specific to young people bereaved by familial cancer, and none were specific to AYAs. Interventions primarily provided opportunities for participants to have fun, share their experiences and/or memorialise the deceased; psychoeducation about bereavement, grief and coping was less common. Only six interventions had been satisfactorily evaluated, and no intervention targeted or analysed data for AYAs separately. Overall, some evidence suggested that interventions (especially those that were theoretically grounded) had positive effects for bereaved young people. However, benefits were inconsistently evidenced in participants’ self-reports and often only applied to subgroups of participants (eg, older youths and those with better psychological well-being at baseline).ConclusionsConsidering the very limited number of interventions specific to bereavement by familial cancer and the lack of interventions targeting AYAs specifically, it is unclear whether currently available interventions would benefit this population. The population of AYAs bereaved by familial cancer is clearly under-serviced; further development and evaluation of interventions is needed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-528
Author(s):  
Charlotte Woody ◽  
Amanda Baxter ◽  
Eryn Wright ◽  
Kate Gossip ◽  
Elizabeth Leitch ◽  
...  

Objective: Severe, persistent and complex mental illness (SPCMI) affects a small proportion of young people but is associated with severe disability and a large burden on families and health services. This article identifies and describes service models for adolescents and young adults with SPCMI. Methods: A systematic search was conducted for services for young people aged 12–25 years with SPCMI. The review sought service models providing extended care and/or multidisciplinary services to meet the complex and long-term needs of this population. Results: A total of 43 sources were identified. Evidence of effectiveness was found for both community- and bed-based services. Specific components suggested as important in service delivery included care provided by multidisciplinary teams, consumer and family involvement in care planning, intensive case management and service integration through the continuum of care. Conclusion: Clinical frameworks for this population must incorporate effective community care integrated with inpatient treatment of short duration. Frameworks require consumer and family-centred care with flexibility to support progression through developmental stages and tasks while addressing issues related to risk management, fluctuation in illness severity and stages of recovery. A continuum of care is necessary to meet the needs that arise from SPCMI in adolescents and young adults.


Author(s):  
Juan J Carballo ◽  
Maria A Oquendo ◽  
Lucas Giner ◽  
Gil Zalsman ◽  
Ansley Μ Roche ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 90 (8) ◽  
pp. 1148-1156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olaf Verschuren ◽  
Manon Bloemen ◽  
Cas Kruitwagen ◽  
Tim Takken

BackgroundVery few objective data exist regarding aerobic performance in young people with cerebral palsy (CP). The characterization of aerobic fitness could provide baseline and outcome measures for the rehabilitation of young people with CP.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to provide reference values for aerobic fitness in a group of children, adolescents, and young adults who had CP and who were classified at Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level I or II. Data were collected with 10-m shuttle run tests.DesignThis investigation was a cross-sectional observational study conducted between August 2008 and June 2009.MethodsReference values were established using data from a total of 306 children, adolescents, and young adults who had CP, who were 6 to 20 years old, and who were recruited from 26 rehabilitation centers in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, and the United States. A total of 211 participants were classified at GMFCS level I (mean age=12.2 years, SD=3.0), and 95 were classified at GMFCS level II (mean age=12.4 years, SD=3.2); 181 were male, and 125 were female. Aerobic fitness was reflected by the level achieved on the 10-m shuttle run tests.ResultsOn the basis of a total of 306 assessments from the 10-m shuttle run tests, 4 reference curves were created.LimitationsThe limitation of this study is the cross-sectional nature of the design.ConclusionsThis study provided height-related reference values for aerobic fitness in children, adolescents, and young adults who had CP, who were 6 to 20 years old, and who were classified at GMFCS level I or II. Generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape were used to construct centile curves. These curves are clinically relevant and provide a user-friendly method for the prediction of aerobic fitness in young people with CP.


2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pandora Patterson ◽  
Anita Rangganadhan

AbstractObjective:Research into parental loss has led to an understanding of the types of reactions and responses that children, and to a lesser extent adolescents and young adults, have when a parent dies. Only limited studies, however, have directly investigated the psychosocial needs of young people during this period. The aim of the current study was to identify and better understand the needs of adolescents and young adults who have lost a parent to cancer, and to ascertain the extent to which these needs had been met.Method:As the study is exploratory in nature, a qualitative questionnaire was used to explore the needs and unmet needs of adolescents and young adults who have had a parent die of cancer. Sixty-two parentally bereaved young people aged 12–23 participated.Results:The data were thematically analyzed and seven conceptually distinct need themes emerged, namely: support and understanding; help coping with feelings; to talk to people who have had a similar experience; information; have a break/have fun; space and time to grieve; and help with household responsibilities.Significance of results:The research findings will assist health professionals in developing services and interventions which are more responsive to the needs of parentally bereaved young people.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Ferrari ◽  
Alice Patriccioli ◽  
Matteo Silva ◽  
Matteo Davide Bonvicini ◽  
Maura Massimino

AbstractThis commentary describes the unusual self-portrait contributed by a 26-year-old receiving treatment for relapsing medulloblastoma to a photography project undertaken by a group of patients as part of the Youth Project, a scheme dedicated to young cancer patients with the dual aim of optimizing medical aspects of their care and promoting a holistic approach to their needs. The article briefly describes how creative projects can play an important part in giving young people with cancer new ways to tell their stories and express their feelings. There is still a limited understanding of the specific needs of adolescents and young adults with cancer, and it is important to draw attention to them and to the need to devise a person-centered approach to cancer patients in this age group.


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