Young people are most vulnerable to suicidal behaviours but least likely to seek help. A more elaborate study of the intrinsic and extrinsic correlates of suicidal ideation and behaviours particularly amid ongoing population-level stressors and the identification of less stigmatising markers in representative youth populations is essential.

Participants (n = 2540, aged 15–25) were consecutively recruited from an ongoing large-scale household-based epidemiological youth mental health study in Hong Kong between September 2019 and 2021. Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of suicidal ideation, plan, and attempt were assessed, alongside suicide-related rumination, hopelessness and neuroticism, personal and population-level stressors, family functioning, cognitive ability, lifetime non-suicidal self-harm, 12-month major depressive disorder (MDD), and alcohol use.

The 12-month prevalence of suicidal ideation, ideation-only (no plan or attempt), plan, and attempt was 20.0, 15.4, 4.6, and 1.3%, respectively. Importantly, multivariable logistic regression findings revealed that suicide-related rumination was the only factor associated with all four suicidal outcomes (all p < 0.01). Among those with suicidal ideation (two-stage approach), intrinsic factors, including suicide-related rumination, poorer cognitive ability, and 12-month MDE, were specifically associated with suicide plan, while extrinsic factors, including coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) stressors, poorer family functioning, and personal life stressors, as well as non-suicidal self-harm, were specifically associated with suicide attempt.

Suicide-related rumination, population-level COVID-19 stressors, and poorer family functioning may be important less-stigmatising markers for youth suicidal risks. The respective roles played by not only intrinsic but also extrinsic factors in suicide plan and attempt using a two-stage approach should be considered in future preventative intervention work.

It has been well known that air pollution and sleep deprivation individually have impacts on human health; however, the association between the two has not been well researched. The aim of this study was to investigate this relationship at a community level.

We collected sleep outcomes from the Korean Community Health Survey between years of 2008 and 2016. The data contained 1 130 080 selected adults aged ⩾ 19 years, from 141 communities. As sleep outcomes, annual chronic sleep deprivation (% of people who sleep ⩽ 5 h per day on average) and average values of daily mean sleep duration were used. Community-specific annual averages of particulate matter with a diameter ⩽ 10 μm (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) were collected and then applied to a linear mixed effects model to estimate the association between air pollution over the past 4 years and sleep outcomes. Population density, green space, health behaviour, and gross regional domestic product per capita variables were considered as confounders in all mixed effect models.

From the linear mixed effect models, we found that the chronic sleep deprivation % was positively associated with PM10 (0.33% increase with 95% CI 0.05–0.60; per 10 μg/m3) and NO2 (0.68% with 95% CI 0.44–0.92; per 10 ppm). Higher PM10 and NO2 were also associated with shorter sleep duration, with a reduction of 0.37 min (95% CI −0.33 to 1.07 min; per 10 μg/m3) and 2.09 min (95% CI 1.50–2.68 min; per 10 ppm), respectively. The associations between PM10 and sleep outcomes were higher in females than males and in the older age groups (⩾ 60-years) than in younger age groups (19–39 and 40–59 years). However, the association between NO2 and sleep outcomes were more higher in males than in females and in the younger age groups (19–39 years) than other age groups.

Our findings provide epidemiological evidence that long-term interventions to reduce air pollutions are anticipated to provide improvements in sleep deficiency.

In pharmacological doses, lithium successfully treats bipolar disorder and it can reduce violent crimes committed by individuals with this disorder.

To investigate whether naturally occurring lithium in drinking water lowers rates of violent crime in the general population.

We examined lithium levels in the drinking water of the 274 municipalities of Kyushu Island in Japan and compared these with the crime rates in each municipality.

We found that lithium levels were significantly and inversely associated with crime rates in 2009.

Our findings suggest that even very low levels of lithium in drinking water may play a role in reducing crime rates in the general population.

To examine the associations between adolescents’ diet quality and their perceived relatives’ and peers’ diet engagement and encouragement.

Cross-sectional study performed in European countries. Diet quality was scored using the Diet Quality Index for Adolescents (DQI-A) based on four components: quality, diversity, balance and meal frequency. Perceived diet quality engagement and perceived encouragement of the relatives/peers were assessed using the questions ‘How healthy is each of the following persons’ diet?’ and ‘How often does each of the following persons encourage you to eat a healthy diet?’

Vienna, Ghent, Lille, Athens, Heraklion, Pecs, Rome, Dortmund, Zaragoza and Stockholm.

Healthy adolescents (n 2943).

The perceived engagement level of the mother, father and sister was each positively associated with the DQI-A (P<0·05). A positive association was found for the perceived engagement level of siblings, father and mother with all specific components (P<0·05). DQI-A was negatively associated with the perceived encouragement level from a best friend and positively associated with the encouragement level of the mother and father (P<0·05). Diversity, balance and quality components were positively associated with the perceived encouragement level from the mother and father (P<0·05), whereas the best friend’s perceived encouragement was negatively associated with the meal frequency component (P<0·01).

These findings highlight the role of social engagement and encouragement of relatives and peers in adolescents’ diet quality. Intervention or promotion programmes aimed at enhancing diet quality in adolescents should target both family and peers.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are persistent disabling neurodevelopmental disorders clinically evident from early childhood. For the first time, the burden of ASDs has been estimated for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 (GBD 2010). The aims of this study were to develop global and regional prevalence models and estimate the global burden of disease of ASDs.

A systematic review was conducted for epidemiological data (prevalence, incidence, remission and mortality risk) of autistic disorder and other ASDs. Data were pooled using a Bayesian meta-regression approach while adjusting for between-study variance to derive prevalence models. Burden was calculated in terms of years lived with disability (YLDs) and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), which are reported here by world region for 1990 and 2010.

In 2010 there were an estimated 52 million cases of ASDs, equating to a prevalence of 7.6 per 1000 or one in 132 persons. After accounting for methodological variations, there was no clear evidence of a change in prevalence for autistic disorder or other ASDs between 1990 and 2010. Worldwide, there was little regional variation in the prevalence of ASDs. Globally, autistic disorders accounted for more than 58 DALYs per 100 000 population and other ASDs accounted for 53 DALYs per 100 000.

ASDs account for substantial health loss across the lifespan. Understanding the burden of ASDs is essential for effective policy making. An accurate epidemiological description of ASDs is needed to inform public health policy and to plan for education, housing and financial support services.

To describe geographical differences and time trends in the supply of the most important food components of the traditional Mediterranean diet.

Food supply data collected from national food balance sheets for the period 1961–2001.

Selected Mediterranean countries: Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey.

Differences of almost 30-fold and five-fold were found in the supply of olive oil and fruits and vegetables, respectively, among the Mediterranean countries studied during the 1960s. A favourable increasing trend for the supply of fruit and vegetables was observed in most Mediterranean countries. However, an increase in the supply of meats and dairy products and a decrease in the supply of cereals and wine were observed in European Mediterranean countries from 1961 until 2001. Only in African and Asiatic Mediterranean countries were cereals the base of food supply. During the 1990s, Greece's food supply pattern was closest to the traditional Mediterranean diet, while Italy and Spain maintained a high availability of fruits, vegetables and olive oil, but were losing the other typical components. Among African and Asiatic Mediterranean countries, only Turkey presented a traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern except with respect to olive oil, the supply of which was very low. France showed a Western dietary pattern, with a high supply of animal products and a low supply of olive oil.

Dietary supplies in the Mediterranean area were quite heterogeneous in the 1960s and have experienced a process of Westernization, especially in European Mediterranean countries.