Adolescent´s subjective well-being (SWB) can be improved through the training of emotional intelligence (EI).

The goal of this study is to determine the general link between EI and SWB in adolescents, to analyze the affective (AWB) and cognitive components (CWB) of SWB, and to investigate the moderating effect of EI models on both types of SWB.

We searched PsycINFO and WOS from inception to December 2020. Eligible studies reported an association between EI and SWB in adolescents aged from 10 to 19 years using instruments that directly measure SWB. Two meta-analyses were conducted, one for the relationship between EI and AWB and the other for EI and CWB.

A total of 41 studies were included, of which 37 were pooled in the meta-analyses. We obtained a significant positive relationship between EI and AWB (estimated effect size = 0.35) and between EI and CWB (0.29). Concerning EI models, self-report ability showed an estimated effect size of 0.33 for AWB and 0.28 for CWB. For the self-report mixed model, we found an estimated effect size of 0.42 for AWB and 0.38 for CWB.

Establishing a quantitative relationship between SWB and EI makes it possible to implement both clinical and educational prevention measures. Introducing EI training in educational and clinical settings can increase SWB, which could significantly impact the prevention of emotional disorders in adolescents.

No significant relationships.

Microorganisms distributed in our tissues and fluids make up the human microbiota. During our lifetime, gastrointestinal microbiota acts as an important modulator of brain development and, in turn, adult behavior and health. Immune response may be triggered by gut microbiota, releasing mediators that penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

Understanding if gut microbiota can influence schizophrenia pathogenesis. Clarifying how gut microbiota can influence schizophrenia treatment, and vice-versa.

PubMed database search, with “gut microbiota and schizophrenia” keyword expression. Eight articles published in the last ten years were selected among the most recent best match results. Reference lists of articles were reviewed to identify additional articles.

There could be an association between the development of gut microbiota starting during pregnancy and schizophrenia pathogenesis, through an immune-mediated process. Schwarz et al. (2018) investigated the differences in faecal microbiota between individuals with first-episode psychosis and controls. They found psychotic patients to have an increased amount of Lactobacillus bacteria. Yuan et al. (2018) studied microbiota changes in patients with schizophrenia, before and after treatment. Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia had less faecal Bifidobacterium, Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus. After treatment with risperidone, there was a significant increase in the amount of fecal Bifidobacterium and E. Coli.

Microorganisms living inside our gastrointestinal tract are vital for proper central nervous system (CNS) development. Patients with schizophrenia have anomalies in the composition of the microbiota. It remains unclear if microbiota changes after treatment further influence the course of the disease.

No significant relationships.

Somatic symptoms with the heterogeneous character that are not fully explained by a medical condition are common in bipolar disorder (BD) which might interfere with the choice of treatment, health care utilization, medical costs as well as functionality.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate somatic symptoms in remitted type 1 BD and to examine the association of somatization, functionality, and childhood trauma which is a known mediator of adult somatization.

After excluding patients with medical comorbidities, 61 patients diagnosed with BD type-1 according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V (DSM-V) participated in the study. We required at least 8 weeks of remission and confirm it with Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). Somatization Scale, Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST) and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) were administered to the participants.

Somatization scores were significantly correlated with CTQ (r=.310, p=.016), FAST- total (r=.307, p=.016), FAST-financial issues (r=.357, p=.005) and FAST-interpersonal relationships (r=.320, p=.012) subscale scores while inversely correlated with years in education (r=-,305, p=.017). When a partial correlation was run to determine the relationship between somatization and functioning whilst controlling for childhood trauma, there was no statistically significant correlation between somatization and functioning (p=.076).

Our study suggests childhood trauma may have a major influence on the relation between somatization and functionality in patients with type- 1 BD. When addressing physical symptoms in patients with type-1 BD, an integrated approach including childhood trauma should be considered.

No significant relationships.

Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) staff in humanitarian settings have limited access to clinical supervision and are at high risk of experiencing burnout. We previously piloted an online, peer-supervision program for MHPSS professionals working with displaced Rohingya (Bangladesh) and Syrian (Turkey and Northwest Syria) communities. Pilot evaluations demonstrated that online, peer-supervision is feasible, low-cost, and acceptable to MHPSS practitioners in humanitarian settings.

This project will determine the impact of online supervision on i) the wellbeing and burnout levels of local MHPSS practitioners, and ii) practitioner technical skills to improve beneficiary perceived service satisfaction, acceptability, and appropriateness.

MHPSS practitioners in two contexts (Bangladesh and Turkey/Northwest Syria) will participate in 90-minute group-based online supervision, fortnightly for six months. Sessions will be run on zoom and will be co-facilitated by MHPSS practitioners and in-country research assistants. A quasi-experimental multiple-baseline design will enable a quantitative comparison of practitioner and beneficiary outcomes between control periods (12-months) and the intervention. Outcomes to be assessed include the Kessler-6, Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8.

A total of 80 MHPSS practitioners will complete 24 monthly online assessments from May 2022. Concurrently, 1920 people receiving MHPSS services will be randomly selected for post-session interviews (24 per practitioner).

This study will determine the impact of an online, peer-supervision program for MHPSS practitioners in humanitarian settings. Results from the baseline assessments, pilot evaluation, and theory of change model will be presented.

No significant relationships.

Hepatic ones are some of the most described somatic complications in anorexia nervosa (AN) affected patients. They can be due to malnutrition, which is the more usual thing, or due to re-feeding. The first one can lead to more marked elevations of the hepatic enzymes, especially alanine-aminotransferase (ALT). It’s been also described the relation between a sharply decreased body mass index (BMI) and this kind of complications, but there are still to determine more predictors.

Identifying clinical predictors of hepatic complications in AN.

We analysed data from 71 AN affected patients hospitalized at Bellvitge Hospital from January 2016 to October 2021. We used IBM SPSS Statistics 22 to do all the statistics in this work.

The medium age of the sample was 27.66 years with 10.8 years of evolution of AN. The medium BMI was 13.88. 33.80% of them had some sort of hepatic enzymes elevation, two of them a several one. AST, ALT and ALP were significantly more elevated in those patients with lower BMI. GGT was significantly more elevated in patients with more years of disorder development. We didn’t identify correlation between any purgative method and hepatic alterations.

The elevation of ALT, AST and ALP seems to be related with the BMI of the patients, while the elevation of the GGT turns out to be related to the time of evolution of the eating disorder. Purgative methods don’t seem to be related to the development of hepatic alterations in AN.

No significant relationships.

Deficient emotion regulation is a common and impairing area of difficulty among children and adolescents with externalizing disorders. Emotion focused cognitive behavioral therapy ECBT is a form of CBT that is suggested to be employed to improve dysregulation of anxiety and other kind of emotions in anxious youth.

Examine the efficacy of an Emotion-focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (ECBT) inspired program on emotional regulation difficulties and behavioral problems in children and adolescents with externalizing disorders

We conducted a cross-sectional comparative experimental study. Subjects were 50 patients exhibiting behavioral disorders aged 9 to 18 years , with a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD).Participants were assigned to ECBT and control groups. ECBT group contributed in 12-h weekly sessions within ECBT-inspired program. The control group received standard care. To assess emotion-related competencies, children were administered the emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ-CA) and the alexithymia questionnaire for children(AQC). Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist(CBCL) to measure youth externalizing problems. Tests were administered in pre- and post-test to all subjects. Both groups were matched for age, sex and educationnal level. Comparison of pre- and post-test results was performed using the Student’s t-test.

ECBT demonstrated a significant difference in the reduction of behavioral problems. ECBT effectively increased adaptive emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal) in the post-test. ECBT also reduced alexithymia scores, particularly difficulty identifying feelings, and externally oriented thinking.

ECBT demonstrated promising initial effectiveness in addressing emotion regulation deficits of children with externalizing behaviors

No significant relationships.

No significant relationships.

Exposure to severe childhood trauma has been associated with the onset and the severity of bipolar disorder in adults.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between childhood trauma and functioning of patients suffering from bipolar disorder.

We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study, including sixty-one remitted patients with BD. We used the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF) to measure history of traumatic childhood experiences and the Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST) to assess functioning.

The mean age of patients was 43.4. The sex ratio was 2.4. Almost two-thirds of patients (64%) had experienced at least one type of childhood trauma. An overall functional impairment was found in 70.5% of participants. The CTQ total score was significantly associated with low educational level (p=0.001), low socio-economic status (P=0.034), a family history of psychosis (P=0.022), the number of mood episodes (P=0.001), the number of hospitalizations (P=0.04), the number of relapses with psychotic features (p=0.002) and that of depressive relapses (P<0.001), rapid cycling (P=0.012), higher rates of suicide attempts (P=0.04) and poor functioning (P<0.001).The logistic regression analyses showed a significant association of childhood trauma with low educational level (p=0.001), high number of depressive episodes (p=0.013) and poor functioning (p<0.001).

Our findings demonstrate that childhood abuse and neglect are risk factors associated with worsening clinical course of bipolar disorder and higher functional impairment. These findings press the urgency for preventive practices and early intervention strategies to diminish the prevalence of childhood trauma and minimize their impact.

No significant relationships.

TikTok is a free mobile application, that enables users to create short videos. TikTok has an estimated one billion monthly active users, comprised of a mostly younger audience. There has been a noticed rise in content discussing ADHD – hashtag ADHD on TikTok has 6.3 billion views. The discussions continue on Twitter, where users are reporting watching TikTok content explaining ADHD symptomatology, subsequently relating to the condition and requesting referrals to specialist psychiatry services. This study aims to identify key themes in discussions around TikTok and ADHD, and its ramifications.

This study’s objective is to discuss the relationship between viewing ADHD content of TikTok and self-diagnoses of ADHD in young people.

In our study, Twitter posts were identified with the words ‘ADHD’ and ‘TikTok’ and established key themes relating to self-diagnosis of ADHD.

Numerous tweets were found discussing individual’s experiences of self-diagnosis of ADHD after watching TikTok videos and relating with the symptomology. Furthermore, many users discussed their efforts to seek diagnosis from psychiatrists. These posts highlighted positive discussion of mental health, and the improvement in quality of life since diagnosis.

Many young people are self-diagnosing ADHD after viewing TikTok videos. This may improve mental health stigma, however the expertise of the video creators should be scrutinised. Furthermore, the impact on already stretched waiting lists should be considered, with individuals who’s perceived ADHD traits are not impacting on their quality of life.

No significant relationships.

There is increased migration of patients and physicians worldwide. In Norway, psychiatry is the medical discipline with highest proportion of foreign doctors (24%). We need empirical studies on transcultural clinical challenges among doctors training in psychiatry.

What perceived clinical challenges do foreign and native Norwegian young doctors meet when they treat patients from another culture, and what independent factors are associated with such challenges?

We developed a new 6-item instrument (alpha=0.80), Clinical Transcultural Challenges (CTC), with items about assessing psychosis, risk of suicide, violence etc. The doctors were recruited at mandatory training courses, and they filled in questionnaires about individual factors (age, gender, foreign/native) and work-related factors (training stage, frequency of transcultural meetings, number of working hours, work stress). Associations with CTC were analyzed by linear multiple regression.

The response rate was 93% (216/233), of whom 83% were native and 17% were foreign doctors, 68% were women. Native doctors reported higher levels of CTC than did foreign doctors, 28.8 (6.2) vs 23.8 (7.2), p<0.001, d=0.73. Both native and foreign doctors rated “assessing psychosis” and “lack of helping tools” as most demanding. Independent factors associated with CTC were being a native doctor, Beta 3.9, p<0.01, and high levels of work-home stress, Beta 0.29, p<0.05.

Native doctors training in psychiatry report higher levels of transcultural clinical challenges than foreign doctors do. Both groups of doctors may need more training in transcultural assessment of psychotic disorders. They also report needs for more helping tools, and we should explore this further.

No significant relationships.

Adolescence, when physical body image changes occur, is highly vulnerable to the development of eating disorders. At this age, there is an acute task of accepting oneself as another - an adult who has changed.

To study the features of the image of an adult in young people with eating disorders.

The study involved 58 girls (from 17 to 22 years old). The main group included 31 people with a high risk of eating disorders, the control group - 27 people with an average and low risk. Respondents filled in: Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, Eating behavior rating scale, projective drawing of an adult and child, association test about words «adult» and «child»

1. A high level of personal anxiety was revealed in the main group; 2. The visualized image of an adult in the main group has more distortions and fewer signs of gender identification than in the normal group; 3. Semantic ideas about adulthood in the main group are negatively emotionally colored and include categories related to eating behavior; 4. Semantic ideas about childhood in the main group are more negatively emotionally colored, and ideas about the present are more connected with appearance than in the control group. Semantic ideas about the future in this group are often negatively colored.

Figurative and semantic ideas about childhood, adulthood and about oneself in the present and in the future in girls with eating disorders have qualitative characteristics in comparison with the control group.

No significant relationships.

While alcohol-induced psychotic disorder (AIPD) is a well-recognised clinical disorder, relativery little is known about aspects such as epidemiology, course and treatment of the condition. Current evidence suggests AIPD can be clinically distinguised from alcohol-withdrawal delirium and schizophrenia. AIPD is associated with high comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders, high re-hospitalization and mortality rate, namely suicidal behaviour.

The objetive of the study was to examine the correlates, clinical features, psycopathology, and short-term response in an inpatient sample with alcohol-induced psychotic disorder, predominant hallucinations (ICD-10 F10.52) admitted to Centro Hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa.

We collected retrospectively data from all admitted patients to our Alcohol Unit between January 2010 and January 2020 with the diagnosis of AIPD. The exclusion criteria were: presence of preexisting psychotic disorder, delirium, or other substance use disorders. We characterized our sample in Demographic categories, Clinical categories, Treatment and Short-term course.

A total of 113 subjects were included in the study. The prevalance of alcoholic hallucinosis was found to be 1.3% of all patients who received inpatient treatment. Most individuals reported auditory hallucinations, that iniciated when they decrease their alcohol intake, and 1 in 4 had past episodes of AIPD.

There are specific challenges in studiyng AIPD, such as the relatively rarity of the disorder, its often transient nature and high levels of comorbidity. A high degree of recurrence and morbidity indicates a need to prevent, and intervene early with an abstinent-oriented management goal.

No significant relationships.

Gene-environment interactions (GxE) are considered to make a substantial impact on the risk of alcohol dependence (AD).

The aim of the study: to test the associations between the functional polymorphism Val158Met (rs6265) in the catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) gene, affecting dopamine neurotransmission, and adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and their GxE interactions with AD risk.

The study included 149 AD inpatients (mean age 29.9 (SD=3.91), 16.1% females) and 201 healthy volunteers (23.3 (2.48), 30.1% females). The Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) was used for assessing ACE. COMT Val158Met polymorphism was detected by RT-PCR.

First, COMT Val158Met polymorphism was associated only with adverse childhood experience referring o parental relationship (ACE-IQ), but differently in two groups. Healthy minor Met158 carriers have lower scores on the subscale “relationship with parents/guardians” (P) (p=0.025) and “physical neglect” (PN) (p=0.059) vs. homozygous Val158 carriers. However, AD patients - Met158carriers have a tendency to a higher score on the subscale “one or no parents, parental separation or divorce” (PSD) (p=0.078). Then logistic regression revealed associations of these ACE scores with increased AD risk: P (p=0.001, OR=1.186, 95%CI [1.069-1.315]), PN (p=0.024, OR=1.254, 95%CI [1.030-1.526]), and PSD (p=0.016, OR=1.499, 95%CI [1.080-2.082]). No associations of COMT Val158Met alone or in interactions with these ACE-IQ scores with the AD risk were found.

Adverse childhood experience referring to parental relationship is associated with alcohol dependence risk and separately with COMT Val158Met, but no clear interactions in frame of GxE has been supported.

No significant relationships.

Since the work of R.H. Rosenman and Meyer Friedman in 1959, a correlation has been established between type A behavioral patterns and the occurrence of coronary heart disease. Type A personality has been found to be more of a coronary risk factor than a poor prognostic factor once coronary disease has set in. Subsequent studies have not supported such a relationship.

The objective of our work was to investigate the association between type A personalities and coronary heart disease.

We conducted a retrospective study involving a sample of 200 patients recruited at the Mohamed Tahar Maâmouri Hospital in Nabeul. Our sample was composed of 100 coronary patients hospitalized or followed as outpatients in the cardiology department and 100 controls hospitalized or followed as outpatients in the general surgery or orthopedics department respectively. The study was conducted between April 15 and June 30, 2014. Personality type A was assessed according to the Bortner questionnaire.

After performing a binary logistic regression to adjust for the associations looked for, and taking into account confounding factors, we did not observe a statistically significant association between type A personality and coronary pathology (p=0.123). In addition, type A personality was significantly associated with the following factors: diabetes (p=0.040), hypertension (p=0.049), and age <49 years (p=0.002) in coronary heart disease.

Future large-scale, multicenter, longitudinal studies with follow-up over time of patients would be necessary to consolidate our findings.

No significant relationships.

Cardiovascular events (CVE) are infrequent adverse effects in patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Nonetheless, it constitutes a threat for patient’s life and may compromise continuing ECT.

To describe a case of acute-onset atrial fibrillation under combined therapy with ECT and venlafaxine.

We present a 76-year-old man diagnosed of delusional disorder and without any previous CVE, who was hospitalized in our acute psychiatric unit by major depressive episode with psychotic symptoms resistant to pharmacological treatment (valproic-acid 100mg/d, haloperidol 6mg/d, venlafaxine 300mg/d). ECT was initiated presenting atrial fibrillation after first session of ECT, requiring amiodarone and anticoagulant treatment for stabilization. Second session of ECT was delayed for three-weeks, worsening the psychiatric symptoms. Haloperidol was discontinued initiating lurasidone with better cardiovascular profile.

CVE occur in 2% of the patients receiving ECT, being acute arrhythmia the most frequent one. Among them, few cases of atrial fibrillation (AF) under ECT have been reported. It has been hypothesised that initial vagal response followed by catecholamine surge secondary to ECT could facilitate the development of AF. In addition venlafaxine, an antidepressant drug, may also predispose to arrhythmia in high-risk individuals. High doses of venlafaxine (>300mg/d) combined with ECT have been related with an increment of CVE.

Although clinically effective for the treatment of major depression disorder, combined therapy of ECT and venlafaxine could precipitate the start of a CVE in genetically susceptible individuals. Therefore, identify and clarify potential risk factors other than previous history of CVE is critical to reduce morbidity and mortality in these patients.

No significant relationships.

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgency for innovative vaccine strategies since the best of vaccines cannot be useful if people do not accept vaccinations. The current situation suggests that vaccinology has been ignored in the medical curriculum and needs more representation in teaching.

What, where and how vaccinology is taught during medical studies in Heidelberg and development of an interdisciplinary revised syllabus and practice-oriented teaching methods.

Curricular mapping of courses on the topic of “vaccination”, defining new learning objectives for designing innovative teaching units in consultation with teachers and students, redevelopment and updating of teaching materials.

In preliminary work, an OSCE has been created by students. Initial findings on the status of teaching on vaccinations and related communication skills in medical schools of Germany with respect to student needs and the national guidelines on learning goals for future physicians are submitted in journal ‘Vaccine’. In collaboration with the elective track Digital Medicine, two tele-OSCEs, an online knowledge quiz on vaccination education and a corresponding evaluation tool will be developed in WS 2021/22. Students will learn how to create modern teaching methods and evaluate them scientifically, using a concrete and relevant topic as an example, and will gain an insight into teaching.

The findings will be integrated into the Heidelberg medical school curriculum (HeiCuMed) on a long-term basis by developing a comprehensive interdisciplinary module ‘Vaccination and Vaccines’, which can either be integrated into various existing courses (e.g. virology, medical Communication, global health, etc) or as a separate elective interprofessional course.

No significant relationships.

Epidemiological studies suggested that antidepressant usage amongst pregnant women increased by 3- to 7-fold in the past 2 decades and that up to 13% of fetuses are exposed to antidepressants. There are concerns regarding the impact of prenatal antidepressant use on the offspring.

We aim to review more recent evidence of antidepressant use during pregnancy and the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the offspring.

Non-systematic review based on the PubMed® database.

A recent meta-analyses suggested children of mothers who used antidepressants during their pregnancy may be at a higher risk of ASD, compared to mothers who do not use these medications. Other suggested that the use of any antidepressants in the first 2 trimesters was related to significantly risk of developing ASD. Despite higher risks with the use of antidepressants, the absolute risk appears to be low. In addition, confounding factors should be considered while interpreting the results. Studies concluded that the comparator group selection strongly influences the observed antidepressant-ASD relationship. Associations derived from general population studies might have been mediated by unmeasured maternal psychiatric burden or transdiagnostic genetic liability. The observed increase in risk may also be associated with depression, not its treatment.

The findings of these studies have important implications, and often result in drug discontinuation with a significant impact on maternal and infant health. Future research should include investigation of the severity of depression in this association, assessment of antidepressant dose and use of antidepressants in pregnant women with other pathologies.

No significant relationships.

No significant relationships.

PTSD is a chronic, debilitating condition with limited treatment efficacy. Accessing traumatic memories often leads to overwhelming distress, impacting treatment process. Current approved pharmacological treatments have exhibited small to moderate effects when compared with placebo. Evidence suggests 3,4,-methylene-dioxymethamphetamine(MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy as a viable option for refractory PTSD.

Comprehensive review of early clinical research, proposed mechanisms, safety and emerging therapeutic models.

Eligible studies will be identified through strategic search of MEDLINE.

Pre-clinical and imaging studies suggest memory reconsolidation and fear extinction as candidate psychological and neurological mechanisms, involving MDMA’s combined effects of increasing serotonergic activity, as well the release of oxytocin and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in key memory and emotional circuits. Resulting reduction in amygdala and insula activation and increasing connectivity between the amygdala and hippocampus may create a “tolerance window” of neuroplasticity for emotional engagement and reprocessing of traumatic memories during psychotherapy. Early clinical trials report impressive and durable reduction in PTSD symptoms, with a safety profile comparable to that of SSRIs. A recently completed randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial reported full remission of PTSD symptoms in 67% of patients at 2 months, with no increase in suicidality, cardiovascular events or abuse behavior. Emerging treatment models underline the importance of unmedicated therapeutic sessions for preparation for the experience and subsequent integration as essential for full benefit and safety of the clinical context.

The psychological impact associated with the COVID-19 pandemic is an reminder of the emotional and economic burden associated with PTSD. MDMA-assisted therapy may be a breakthrough approach meriting further multidisciplinary investment and clinical research.

No significant relationships.

No significant relationships.