The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Those Supported in the Community with Long-Term Mental Health Problems: A Qualitative Analysis of Power, Threat, Meaning and Survival

Research suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on those already living with mental health problems, though there is also evidence of resilience. However, to date there has been limited in-depth qualitative investigation. We interviewed 15 people living with long-term mental health problems who, before the pandemic, were being supported by third sector organisations, to explore how they experienced lockdowns and accessing services remotely. Template analysis was informed by the Power Threat Meaning Framework and suggested that participants experienced significant threats to their mental wellbeing and recovery which were exacerbated by current or previous powerlessness and inequality. Although participants described positive coping strategies, several described a return of unhelpful behaviours that had contributed to the original difficulties. The findings illustrate the wider contributions of social and economic context to mental health problems and the importance of ensuring that people do not feel abandoned and are proactively supported.

Associations Between Physical Activity, Affect Regulation Difficulties, and Mental Health Among Canadian Adolescents at Two Different Points of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Although physical activity declined with social distancing measures and stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, youth who engaged in more physical activity experienced fewer mental health problems. If and how physical activity maintained its protective role throughout the ongoing pandemic remains unclear. This study models associations between three types of physical activity (indoor, outdoor, with parents), affect regulation, and anxious and depressive symptoms in two adolescent samples (W1: Summer 2020; W2: Winter 2020/21).

Socioeconomic and sex inequalities in parent-reported adolescent mental ill-health: Time trends in four British birth cohorts

BackgroundStudies using symptom-based screeners have suggested that mental health problems have increased in adolescents in recent decades, however, few studies have explicitly tested the equivalence of their instruments, which is critical for inferring changes in prevalence. In addition, few studies have explored whether changes in socioeconomic position (SEP) and sex inequalities across generations have impacted trends in adolescent mental health. MethodsUsing structural equation modelling, we explore sex differences in harmonised parent-reports of emotional and behavioural problems, using data from four UK birth cohorts: the 1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS’58; N= 11,398), the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS’70; N= 8,161), the 1991-92 Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC’91; N= 5,304), and the 2001 Millennium Cohort Study (MCS’01; N= 10,384). We also delineate associations between four harmonised indicators of childhood SEP and adolescent mental health, and test whether changes in SEP account for increases in mental ill-health over time. Results We found an increase in the latent means of parent-reported emotional and behavioural problems across time in both males and females in more recent cohorts, with the exception of ALSPAC’91. Sex-inequalities did not change over time, with females having consistently higher emotional problems. The associations between the four indicators of SEP and emotional problems were strongest in the MCS’01, with housing tenure having the strongest association. All four SEP indicators were associated with behavioural problems in all of the cohorts, with housing tenure again more strongly associated with problems in the MCS’01. Inconsistent mediation (i.e. regression suppression) suggested that the increases in mental health problems occurred despite broadly improving average socio-economic conditions. ConclusionsOur findings suggest that parent-reported adolescent mental health problems have risen in recent generations and that this trend is not due solely to reporting styles. A failure to address widening inequalities may result in further increases in mental ill-health amongst disadvantaged young people.

American Medical Sociology and Health Problems in the Global South

COVID-19 has focused global attention on disease spread across borders. But how has research on infectious and noncommunicable disease figured into the sociological imagination historically, and to what degree has American medical sociology examined health problems beyond U.S. borders? Our 35-year content analysis of 2,588 presentations in the American Sociological Association’s (ASA) Section on Medical Sociology and 922 articles within the section’s official journal finds less than 15 percent of total research examined contexts outside the United States. Research on three infectious diseases in the top eight causes of death in low-income countries (diarrheal disease, malaria, and tuberculosis [TB]) and emerging diseases—Ebola, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)—was nearly absent, as was research on major noncommunicable diseases. Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) received much more focus, although world regions hit hardest received scant attention. Interviews suggest a number of factors shape geographic foci of research, but this epistemic parochialism may ultimately impoverish sociological understanding of illness and disease.

Prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease and Variation of Its Risk Factors by the Regions in Okayama Prefecture

Objective: The prevention of chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression is an important issue from health and financial perspectives. We conducted a single-year cross-sectional study to clarify the prevalence of CKD and its risk factors along with variations in these factors among five medical regions in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Methods and Results: Data concerning the renal function and proteinuria as well as other CKD risk factors were obtained from the database of the Japanese National Health Insurance. The proportion of CKD patients at an increased risk of progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), classified as orange and red on the CKD heatmap, ranged from 6–9% and did not vary significantly by the regions. However, the causes of the increased severity differed between regions where renal dysfunction was predominant and regions where there were many patients with proteinuria. CKD risk factors, such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyper low-density lipoprotein-cholesterolemia, obesity, smoking and lack of exercise, also differed among these regions, suggesting that different regions need tailored interventions that suit the characteristics of the region, such as an increased health checkup ratio, dietary guidance and promotion of exercise opportunities. Conclusions: Approximately 6–9% of people are at an increased risk of developing ESRD (orange or red on a CKD heatmap) among the population with National Health Insurance in Okayama Prefecture. The underlying health problems that cause CKD may differ among the regions. Thus, it is necessary to consider intervention methods for preventing CKD progression that are tailored to each region’s health problems.

General Measurement Tools for Assessing Mental Health Problems Among Children and Adolescents with an Intellectual Disability: A Systematic Review

There is a need for more knowledge of valid and standardized measures of mental health problems among children and adolescents with intellectual disability (ID). In this study, we systematically reviewed and evaluated the psychometric properties of instruments used to assess general mental health problems in this population. Following PRISMA guidelines, we reviewed empirical research published from 1980 through February 2020 with an updated search in March 2021 in Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Health and Psychological Instruments, CINAHL, ERIC, and Web of Science databases. Forty-nine empirical articles were included in this review. Overall, the review indicated consistently better documentation of the reliability and validity of instruments designed for the ID population compared to instruments developed for the general child population.

Interactions between Human Gut Microbiome Dynamics and Sub-Optimal Health Symptoms during Seafaring Expeditions

Systemic and chronic diseases are important health problems today and have been proven to be strongly associated with dysbiotic gut microbiome. Studying the association between the gut microbiome and sub-optimal health status of humans in extreme environments (such as ocean voyages) will give us a better understanding of the interactions between observable health signs and a stable versus dysbiotic gut microbiome states.