German mental health care providers report to encounter many cases of NSSI in their professional context, but only around 50% know about the treatment guidelines for NSSI of children and adolescents. Many consider professional training about NSSI as necessary for themselves. In response to this need, within the project Star Train different strategies of dissemination of the content of the guidelines were developed.

This study aims at comparing the effectiveness of different strategies of dissemination: printed material, e-learning and blended-learning.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of three different learning formats: printed material, e-learning, and blended-learning. Via online-survey participants provide pre- and post-training self-assessments of their knowledge of NSSI, practical skills, self-efficacy in handling cases of NSSI and attitudes towards NSSI and those affected. Additionally a multiple-choice-test of NSSI is assessed. For data-analyses between-group and within-group comparisons were conducted using a mixed design ANOVA. To ensure quality of learning formats, user-satisfaction was surveyed.

Data of the pretest-posttest comparison group design show that knowledge, practical skills, and self-efficacy in handling cases of NSSI raise for all participants and that attitudes towards NSSI and those affected are improved. There is no difference between the learning formats, thus all participants profit equally from their education. User satisfaction is high.

Results of this study suggest that the developed different training strategies can contribute equally to a better understanding and enhance skills of professionals regarding NSSI. The choice of training method could be driven by considering which goals want to be achieved and cost-value ratio.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) struggle with communication, sensory sensitivities and social interaction. These difficulties can make hospital visits challenging. Every child with ASD is unique, and as such, some children can do well in clinical settings with minimal supports while others may require environmental modifications to achieve optimal care. ASD is prevalent worldwide and cultural differences can lead to varied care. Several hospitals, including Boston Medical Center in USA and Sidra Medicine and Research Center in Qatar, have attempted to address these challenges by developing strategies to create an ‘Autism Friendly’ environment.

This workshop will 1. Describe the 4 domains of an “Autism Friendly” environment 2. Describe practical steps for successful implementation of interventions and modifications to consider based on setting and culture.

Didactic section 1 will describe the 4 domains for greating an ‘Autism Friendly environment’. Didactic section 2 will describe implementation in an inpatient and outpatient setting focusing on modifications based on environmental differences. These didactic presentations will be followed by a hands on, interactive section where participants will break out in small groups to learn specific implementation skills.

Participants will learn how to improve care offered to children with ASD during hospital visits. Participants will develop the skills to implement similar interventions in their home institutions.

Hospitals can create an Autism Friendly environment by using 4 domains of intervention which could help improve provider skills and patient and family experience.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is one of the most widely used screening instruments in child and adolescent psychiatry. Studies have shown that the parent is a better informant than the adolescent, both for externalising and internalising disorders (Goodman et al, 1997, 2000).

Aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of parent and adolescent reported internalising problems in outpatient child and adolescent psychiatry setting using SDQ and examine the differences between parent and adolescent reports.

The study group was 101 adolescents (11-17 y.o.) and their parents, in 2 outpatient psychiatric care centres in Latvia. Internalising problems were assessed using SDQ parent and self-report version. When analyzing the score, 3rd and 4th band were defined as “high”.

The mean age of adolescent population was 14,04 years (SD 1,96) and N=54 were female. 60,4% of parents and 52,5% of adolescents reported high level of peer problems, 63,4% of parents and 51,5% of adolescents reported high level of emotional problems. Parent and adolescent report results were concordant in two thirds of cases. Adolescents reported high emotional and peer problems in 9% and 14% of cases respectively, when their parents did not. And on the contrary - 22% of parents reported high level of internalising problems when the adolescent did not.

More than half of reports showed high levels of internalising problems. Every fifth parent reported a higher level of internalising problems than their adolescent. This agrees with previous findings that single informant (parent) reports might be more informative than multi-informant reports.

Schoolchildren with ADHD have difficulties in different areas of their lives and sometimes need drug treatment. To comprehensively assess the response to treatment, it is interesting to use quality of life questionnaires where the child’s perspective is assessed.

To evaluate the quality of life in children with ADHD.

Sample of 14 schoolchildren from 11 to 14 years of age who attended a primary care check-up and were diagnosed with ADHD under treatment with long-acting methylphenidate. Parent informed consent. AUQUEI questionnaire Spanish versión

Participants answered the questionnaire before starting treatment, at 3 months and 6 months. Four factors were differentiated with different scores: In the baseline results (before treatment), great difficulties were observed in academic performance in 90% (F4, mean 5), family life in 70% (F1, mean 5) and 30% % in leisure (F2, mean 10). After months of treatment, an improvement was observed in the scores regarding academic performance (F4, mean 13) and family life (F1, mean 9). The female sex presented better total scores in quality of life at six months evaluation.

The AUQUEI is an easy-to-apply questionnaire specific to the child population that provides us with a profile from the child’s point of view and can be very useful in the primary care consultation in the comprehensive assessment of the quality of life of the schoolchild with ADHD and pharmacological approach.

Today cocaine use is very frequently associated with adolescents with maladaptive personality traits and impulse control disorder. It requires a multidisciplinary approach and individualized treatments to improve the clinic and achieve the abandonment of consumption.

1. To assess the efficacy of monthly injectable paliperidone palmitate treatment in controlling impulsivity. 2. Determine the consumption of toxins after treatment.

Sample: Adolescents, 14-17 years old, with a diagnosis of Personality Limit T and cocaine consumption who start treatment with Paliperidone Palmitate LD IM (50-100mg / month) in monotherapy, with Diazepam 5mg if significant anxiety. Retrospective data collection. Plutchik impulsivity scale (IE) before starting treatment and at 3 months. Statistical analysis SPSS 20.0

Twelve adolescents who met the inclusion criteria were included and 12 adolescents, 83% male, 16% female, completed the questionnaires. After its application and correction through non-parametric tests (N <30), scores in the EI questionnaire of a mean of 37.42 points in the pretest were observed, corresponding to a severe level of impulsivity; and a mean of 26.28 points in the post-test, compatible with a mild-moderate degree of impulsive symptoms. A decrease in the consumption of toxins was observed in 65% of the cases.

In our experience, the management of toxic consumption in adolescent population with severe impulsivity symptoms has great limitations due to the scarce resources available. The Palpitate of Paliperidone long-term treatment has been useful in the approach of serious registered cases, being associated with symptomatic improvement and decrease in consumption.

Climate change is a major global public health challenge that will have wide ranging effects on human psychological health and wellbeing through the increased incidence of acute (e.g., storms, floods, wildfires), sub-acute (e.g., heat stress, droughts, lost agricultural yields) and long-term stressors (e.g., changes to landscapes and ecosystems). Children and adolescents are particularly at risk because of their rapidly developing brain, vulnerability to disease and limited capacity to avoid or adapt to climate change-related threats and impacts. They are also more likely to worry about climate change impacts than any other age group.

To produce a new conceptual framework that describes climate change-related threats to youth mental health from a developmental life course perspective.

We critically review and synthesis literature documenting the pathways, processes and mechanisms linking climate change to increased mental health vulnerability.

We show that climate change-related threats can additively and interactively increase psychopathology risk from conception onwards, that these effects are already occurring and that they constitute an important threat to mental health and therefore human capital worldwide. We then argue that birth cohort studies are uniquely positioned to examine climate change-related threats and that incorporating relevant measures into existing and planned birth cohorts is a matter of social justice and crucial long-term investment in mental health research.

Climate change is affecting the healthy psychological development of children and these risks are increasing worldwide. New theoretical and empirical work is urgently needed so that threats can be tracked and mitigated.

Child metal health is associated with prospective delinquent outcomes. However, this association might be confounded by genetic and other shared factors

We aimed to examine the association between the behavioral symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, conduct disorder, depression, and oppositional defiant disorder in childhood (age 4-12) and the prospective delinquent outcomes as measured by lifetime illicit drug use, criminal activities, and victimization prior to age 18, using the nationally representative U.S. survey that allowed us to compare siblings in the same mother.

Aged-adjusted subscales or ADHD, conduct disorder, depression, and ODD were obtained from the mother-reported survey responses. Within-family analyses were performed to control for family-specific unobserved factors as well as child-specific observed factors.

Antisocial scores in childhood were strongly associated with lifetime arrest, probation, and incarceration as well as lifetime illicit drug use in adolescence. ADHD scores are associated with lifetime victimization in physical attack and rape, but not with criminal activities or illicit drug use.

Conduct disorder consistently increases lifetime illicit drug use and criminal activities independently of genetic factors and gender. ADHD is not associated with lifetime illicit drug use or criminal activities, but is associated with lifetime victimization. No significant gender differences are found although anxiety/depression symptoms are often positively associated with delinquent outcomes only among females.

Childhood behavioral problems are highly prevalent in school-aged children and are associated with poor long-term outcomes. Yet little is known about their association with patterns of partnering in adulthood.

To (1) describe patterns of partnering from age 18-35 years in a large population-based sample, and (2) examine the association between childhood behavioural problems and adult partnering patterns.

Behavioural ratings were prospectively obtained from teachers when children (n=2960) were aged 10-12 years – for inattention, hyperactivity, aggression-opposition, anxiety and prosociality – and linked to their tax return records from age 18-35 years. We used group-based trajectory modelling to identify distinct trajectories of partnering (married or cohabitating) and multinomial regression models to examine the association between childhood behaviour and trajectory group membership.

Five distinct trajectories of partnering were identified: early-partnered (n=420, 14.4%), mid-partnered (n=620, 21.3%), late-partnered (n=570, 19.2%), early-separated (n=460, 15.5%), and delayed-or-unpartnered (n=890, 30.0%). After adjustment for sex and family background, children rated as being anxious or inattentive were more likely to remain unpartnered from age 18 to 35 years, while those rated as aggressive-oppositional or inattentive were more likely to separate and return to unpartnered status. Prosocial behaviours were consistently associated with earlier and more sustained partnership. Participants in the early-separated and delayed-or-unpartnered trajectories were also more likely to have left high school without a diploma and to have lower earnings.

Childhood behavioural problems were associated with increased likelihood of being unpartnered and of partnership dissolution, which has implications for the psychological health and wellbeing of individuals and their families.

The Multi-Agency Autism Team (MAAT) diagnose Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in children and young people using a multi-stage assessment process. In March 2020, the UK went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting the MAAT’s ability to continue their typical diagnostic pathway.

This qualitative study aimed to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of a virtual ASD diagnostic pathway.

From March – September; one hundred detailed developmental history assessments were conducted over the telephone, fifteen socially-distanced BOSA (Brief Observation of Symptoms of Autism) assessments were piloted, twenty-five multi-disciplinary formulation meeting were held over a video platform, and sixty diagnosis feedback consultations were conducted via telephone or video call. Structured interviews were conducted with clinicians and service-users.

revealed that telephone developmental history assessments were generally preferable over face-to-face appointments, and video-based formulation meetings were effective, productive and resulted in higher clinician attendance. The qualitative data on feedback appointments was mixed. Clinicians felt that telephone appointments were less personable and ethical; whereas, video-based feedback appointments allowed for more empathy. However, the majority of service-users opted for tele-calls over video-calls for these appointments. Socially-distanced BOSAs obtained positive clinician feedback in general. Service-user feedback was mixed; some found the experience uncomfortable and unfamiliar, whilst others enjoyed the experience. Overall, service-users were content with the knowledge that it may support a diagnostic outcome for their child.

We concluded that the overall experience of the virtual ASD diagnostic pathway was a positive and informative process, identifying opportunities for permanent change to the service.

In order to understand etiopathogeny of any mental illness, it is important to be aware of the sequential emergence of symptoms, having presentations, that appear before, after or simultaneously. We could understand mental pathology as the sumatory of different factors and vulnerable cerebral substrates. Adverse external factors influence over them, causing relapses, that would lead to the evolution of diagnosis through time. However,patients usually come when pathology is already developed. Interventions are delayed, what is insufficient to modify the course of the illness.

Proving that replacing classic clinical evaluation by an open access/multiintervention model, would determine a better prevention and reduction of relapse tendency.

We have arranged a prospective descriptive study of 124 users along 2 years. The idea was to test a first sample which let us check the viability of our project. We adopted a qualitative approach, linking practice and research, which have implied to perform a structured clinical process based on a dynamic reevaluation performed for different professionals in various stages using Rodman’s model.

MultiIntervention model reduces the prognosis factor of delayed treatment thanks to reaching a high risk group in the early stages. That model allows us to determine the way each factor relates to each other, what facilitates multiple-intervention that tries to eliminate the symptom and also the relapse.

Late adolescence and early adulthood are stages in which many mental disorders start, however treatment delays some years. Rothman’s model may be a useful tool, what means a multiintervention treatment that mixes biological and psychosocial interventions.

Case of a 17yo patient with high functioning ASD and OCD with obsessions about being a pedophile, with suicidal ideation and self-harming behaviors. He was followed in outpatient care for one year since his first contact with Mental Health, following an inpatient admission for suicidal ideation.

Differential diagnosis between OCD, ASD and possible pedophilia. Learn about different levels of care involved, and other possibilities. Therapy resources used.

Description of the case report: description of initial and final Mental Status Exam Differential Diagnosis: ASD vs OCD vs Pedophilia vs Depressive Disorder Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Therapy: family based therapy, and Exposure response prevention therapy.

Intrusive images, and reassurance seeking, helped with OCD diagnosis. ASD made symptoms harder to manage with SSRIs alone, which drove to add Aripiprazol at low doses in outpatient care. CY-BOCS showed obsessions other than doubts about being a pedophile. He participated in Exposure response prevention therapy with response, especially when antipsychotic medication was added. Family based therapy worked with his parents in not providing excessive reassurance, and with the patient in gaining insight about his OCD. Decreased anxiety, decreased self-deprecation and no new suicidal thoughts Functionality of the patient in the community improved, with possibility of going college next year.

Recommendation of good assessment of sexuality in ASD population Importance of individual and family therapy for OCD and specially when there is poor judgement and insight in the patient. Importance of combined treatment: pharmacology + therapy

Alicia Koplowitz Foundation

Learning from a case of a 13 year old patient with auditory hallucinations for 2 months, admitted to the hospital due to suicidal ideation. Her mother had been diagnosed with Lupus and OCD. Her mood had been low for several months, probable mild intellectual disability.

Learn how to assess auditory hallucinations and possible new onset psychotic symptoms in teenagers. Learn about different levels of care involved. Discuss differential diagnosis and future directions and treatment.

Description of the case. Differential diagnosis: Obsessive compulsive disorder, Major depressive disorder with Psychotic features, schizophrenia spectrum disorder, epilepsy or other neurologic disease, autoimmune disease, post-traumatic stress disorder… Tests and consults conducted by Neurology team Psychopharmacology description.

Differential diagnosis: Obsessive compulsive disorder, Major depressive disorder with Psychotic features, schizophrenia spectrum disorder, epilepsy, autoimmune diseases like Lupus, post-traumatic stress disorder etc. Video EEG: normal. Brain MRI: normal Blood work unremarkable with positive ANA (titer 1:80). Work up, including lumbar puncture with autoimmune encephalitis and MS panels was negative. Psychopharmacology: Fluoxetine up to 40mg, and Aripiprazol up to 20mg without a good response. Possible sexual trauma was disclosed in a second hospitalization, months later.

Recommendation of assessing new onset of psychotic symptoms in detail to get a good diagnosis. Psychotic symptoms in young teenagers may occur as part of different presentations and it is important to provide a good follow up of the patient in order to provide the most accurate treatment.

Alicia Koplowitz Foundation

Villa Ratti is a therapeutic community dedicated to the treatment of Personality Disorder with a particular focus on Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), but this diagnosis may manifest in very different clinical conditions (Bayer & Parker, 2017; Scott, 2017).

Since the second most common diagnosis we encounter from referring psychiatrists is Personality Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDNOS) (26,4%) and this diagnosis serves sometimes as a skeleton key for complex or unclear diagnostic scenarios (Verheul & Widiger, 2004), our main goal is to investigate how the variability within this category is reflected in terms of diagnostic accuracy, different development of the therapeutic and rehabilitative course, and of different outcomes at the end of the treatment.

To reach this goal, we collected data on all patients referred with a PDNOS diagnosis and compared their treatment program. scenarios.

Our data showed how a PDNOS diagnosis hid in most cases complex personality disorders and comorbidities that reflected different specific difficulties and interventions during their treatment and, consequently, resulted in different outcomes.

Our experience led us to give additional attention to referred PDNOS diagnosis and to observe how much a clear diagnostic picture of a patient is crucial to correctly plan a treatment program and adapt local service interventions both for personality disorder and comorbidity

Psoriazis and major depressive disorder (MDD) have a high degree of overlap, and inflammatory citokines like tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukins 1, 2, 6 and 10, and C-reactive protein have been involved in their common pathogenesis. The prevalence of MDD in patients with psoriazis has been reported to range between 28% to 67%.

To monitor the core symptoms evolution in patients diagnosed with psoriazis and MDD during antidepressant treatment.

Four patients diagnosed with psoriazis and MDD (according to the DSM-5 criteria) were monitored during 6 months using Physician Static Global Assessment (PSGA), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS)-17 items, and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). All patients underwent specific psoriazis and antidepressant treatment (with flexible dose of sertraline 100-200 mg daily, n=2, or escitalopram 10-20 mg/day, n=2).

All patients significantly improved their depressive symptoms during sertraline or escitalopram treatment (-8.7 points on HAMD at week 24, p<0.001), while their global functioning increased (+24.7 on GAF, p<0.001). The PSGA score decreased and reached a level of signifiance at week 24 (-1.2, P<0.01). The duration of active periods of psoriazis was less longer during the 6 months of monitoring than in the 6 months previous to the antidepressant initiation (by self-report, -10.5 days). No treatment discontinuation due to low tolerability was reported.

Antidepressant treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors is efficient and well tolerated in patients with MDD and psoriazis. The duration of active symptoms of psoriazis tends to be less longer than previous to the antidepressant initiation.

In the Danish social welfare system, few people are homeless solely for economic reasons. In fact, 38% of homeless people suffer from both substance use and a psychiatric disorder, making diagnostic assessment and treatment difficult. This patient group, with dual diagnoses, often fail to receive effective treatment, and the consequences are far reaching and detrimental. A more comprehensive grasp of the history and patterns of substance use in these patients may contribute to improve their treatment.

To identify the role and patterns of substance use in mentally ill, homeless people.

50 homeless, mentally ill patients are examined in comprehensive interviews, exploring the relationship between substance use, homelessness, and suffering from a mental disorder. The data are analyzed quantitatively as well as qualitatively using thematic analysis.

Preliminary results indicate that substance use in mentally ill homeless patients is a complex phenomenon. On the one hand, substance use seems to contribute to keep the patient homeless and makes it difficult for the patient to get the necessary psychiatric help. On the other hand, substance use also appear to play an important part in coping with life on the streets by offering some kind of social contact and some relief from a desperate situation.

It seems that the triad of substance use, mental illness, and homelessness somehow reinforce each other and simultaneously locks the situation. New approaches for disentangling this locked situation and avoiding this ‘Bermuda triangle’ is needed.

Caffeine is the worldwide most frequently consumed psychostimulant. Its availability is nearly unlimited and in Europe it is not subject to state regulation. n the DSM-5 “caffeine use disorder” is categorized as a possible future disorder that currently needs further study.

To describe clinical evaluation, diagnosis, treatment and evolution of a 24 years old female patient.

A 24-year-old woman admitted to the Dual Pathology Unit with a diagnosis of: unspecified psychotic disorder, mild intellectual disability and borderline disorder. In week 17 of admission, she decided to suspend the medication, with significant improvement. Therapeutic permits increase and Wais-III is repeated, resulting in having a limited intellectual capacity. Two months after being discharged, she was readmitted with manic symptoms. The nursing staff discover that she was drinkiing a large amount of caffeine (up to 4 liters / day). After gradually stopping caffeine intake, she was discharged without psychopharmacological treatment, being able to lead a normalized life, even studying a medium degree. No more incomes were need.

Caffeine produces psychomotor-activating, reinforcing, and arousing effects.

The pattern of caffeine use of patients should be considered in the medical practice. The psychostimulant properties of caffeine are reviewed and compared with those of prototypical psychostimulants able to cause substance use disorders.

Epilepsy is associated with a wide range of psychiatric manifestations. Forced normalization occurs when the establishment of improved seizure control in a patient with previous uncontrolled epilepsy leads to the emergence of psychiatric symptoms, which include, among others, psychotic phenomena.

We aim to review the literature regarding the phenomenon of forced normalization and its association with psychosis.

We performed an updated review in the PubMed database using the terms “forced normalization” and “psychosis”. The included articles were selected by title and abstract.

Psychosis is the most common behavioural disturbance in forced normalization, usually manifested as delusions and hallucinations. Forced normalization is more frequent in young female patients with drug‐resistant focal epilepsy. Antiepileptic drug treatment and epilepsy surgery are the most common triggers. Institution of antipsychotics and management of antiepileptic drugs are part of the treatment. Prognosis seems to be better in women, children and patients with generalized epilepsy, among other factors.

Forced normalization is an overlooked entity, the pathophysiology of which remains largely uncertain. The recognition of forced normalization by psychiatrists is crucial for adequate patient treatment including pharmacological management and consultation with a neurologist

With regard to glycemic control in type 2 diabetes (T2D), treatment with antidepressant drugs is a double-edged sword. Real-world, population-based data on the impact of antidepressant treatment on glycemic control in T2D is absent from the literature.

To estimate the impact of treatment initiation or termination with an antidepressant on HbA1c levels in individuals with T2D.

Population-based, within-subject, study design examining HbA1c levels in the 16 months leading up to - and the 16 months following - antidepressant treatment initiation or termination, respectively. All individuals with newly developed T2D between 1 January 2000 and 31 October 2016 were identified. Study population 1 consisted of individuals that initiated antidepressant treatment after incident T2D and age- and sex matched individuals with T2D and without antidepressant treatment. Study population 2 consisted of individuals with prevalent antidepressant use at the time of incident T2D, who terminated antidepressant treatment during follow-up, and age- and sex matched individuals with T2D and without antidepressant treatment.

Antidepressant treatment initiation was associated with a decrease in HbA1c levels (7.05% to 6.89%). The age- and sex matched individuals did not have a change in mean HbA1c levels after the matched date. Antidepressant treatment termination was associated with a decrease in HbA1c levels (7.05% to 6.73%). Age- and sex matched individuals did not see a change in HbA1c levels after the matched date.

These findings suggest that antidepressant treatment initiation is not associated with adverse effects with regard to glycemic control in T2D. Rather, the data are indicative of a beneficial effect.

Aarhus University funded the study. CR was supported by the Danish Diabetes Academy, funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, grant number NNF17SA0031406. The funders had no role in the study design, data analysis, interpretation of data, or writing of the

The most frequent and severe non-cognitive disorders in dementia are hallucinatory-paranoid disorders (HPD), which cause social dysfunction and financial burden of this pathology.

To study the features of HPD in vascular dementia (VD), an approach using clinical-psychopathological, psychometric, psychodiagnostic and mathematical-statistical methods was used.

The study was based on the examination of 75 patients with HPD in VD and 63 patients with VD without HPD.

In patients with VD in the middle stage of development in the structure of clinical manifestations was dominated by frequent paranoid and paranoid disorders (in 75.6% of patients, p <0.05) with a systemic delusional plot (in 70.1% of patients, p <0.01) material damage, robbery, theft (in 26.8% of patients, p <0.01), relationships (in 21.9% of patients, p <0.01) and jealousy (in 17.1% of patients, p <0, 01), which ran in the form of paranoid delusional disorder (63.4%), acute paranoia (12.2%) and hallucinations (24.4%). In patients with VD in the late stage of development, the clinical and psychopathological structure of GPR was characterized by a predominance of frequent, hallucinatory disorders (82.4% of patients, p <0.01) in the form of healthy (23.5%, p <0.1), tactile (20.6%, p <0.01) and auditory (26.5%, p <0.5) hallucinations, which took the form of hallucinations (44.2%, p <0.05), confusion (61.5 %, p <0.05) and paranoid delusional disorder (17.6%, p <0.01).

The study of the clinical and psychopathological structure of HPD in patients with dementia of different stages of development revealed their dependence on the stage of development of the pathological process.

Depression and anxiety are among the most common comorbid illnesses in people with end-stage renal disease. They are under-recognized in hemodialysis (HD) patients.

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders among HD patients and its associated factors.

A cross-sectional study including patients on hemodialysis at the dialysis unit of the University Medical Center of Mahdia, Tunisia, conducted from December 2016 to January 2017. A standard self-administered questionnaire-the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used in the study to measure the presence and severity of anxiety and depression in the study population.

were collated from 55 patients. Overall, 32.7% of patients reported depression and 23.6% reported anxiety. Among symptoms, depression had a significant correlation with diabetes, high blood pressure, and duration of dialysis (p<0.05). Regarding anxiety, this significant correlation was only seen with the duration of dialysis.

The current study showed that the prevalence of depression and anxiety in hemodialysis patients is important and correlates with clinical variables, so effective interventions for mental health should be taken into consideration and the impact of these interventions should be investigated.