This study aimed to examine the independent roles of various childhood maltreatment (CM) subtypes in the development of depression; quantify the joint mediation effect of social support and mastery in the association between subtypes of CM and depression and examine the additional contribution of mastery beyond the effect that is operating through social support to this relationship.

Data analysed were from the Zone d’Épidémiologie Psychiatrique du Sud-Ouest de Montréal, an ongoing longitudinal population-based study. In total, 1351 participants with complete information on the studied variables were included. The propensity score matching and inverse-probability weighted regression adjustment estimation methods were used to minimise the potential confounding in the relationship between CM and major depression. We then used inverse odds ratio-weighted estimation to estimate the direct effects of maltreatment and indirect effects of social support and mastery.

We found that exposures to all maltreatment subtypes increased the risk of subsequent depression. The joint mediating effect of social support and mastery explained 37.63–46.97% of the association between different maltreatment subtypes and depression. The contribution of these two mediators differed by maltreatment subtypes, with social support being the major contributor to the mediating effect.

The findings of the study not only provide scientific evidence on the importance of psychosocial attributes in the development of major depression but also suggest that prevention and invention strategies should focus on these psychosocial attributes to effectively break the vicious cycle of CM on major depression.

Early-life stressful circumstances (i.e. childhood maltreatment) coupled with stressful events later in life increase the likelihood of subsequent depression. However, very few studies have been conducted to examine the specific and cumulative effects of these stressors in the development of depression. There is also a paucity of research that simultaneously considers the role of biological factors combined with psychosocial stressors in the aetiology of depression. Guided by the biopsychosocial model proposed by Engel, the present study aims to examine to what extent the experience of stressors across the lifespan is associated with depression while taking into account the role of genetic predispositions.

Data analysed were from the Social and Psychiatric Epidemiology Catchment Area of the Southwest of Montreal (ZEPSOM), a large-scale, longitudinal community-based cohort study. A total of 1351 participants with complete information on the lifetime diagnoses of depression over a 10-year follow-up period were included in the study. Stressful events across the lifespan were operationalised as specific, cumulative and latent profiles of stressful experiences. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to explore the clustering of studied stressors including childhood maltreatment, poor parent–child relationship, and stressful life events. A polygenetic risk score was calculated for each participant to provide information on genetic liability. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association between specific, cumulative and latent profiles of stressors and subsequent depression.

We found that different subtypes of childhood maltreatment, child–parent bonding and stressful life events predicted subsequent depression. Furthermore, a significant association between combined effects of cumulative stressful experiences and depression was found [odds ratio (OR) = 1.20, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12–1.28]. Three latent profiles of lifetime stressors were identified in the present study and named as ‘low-level of stress’ (75.1%), ‘moderate-level of stress’ (6.8%) and ‘high-level of stress’ (18.1%). Individuals with a ‘high-level of stress’ had a substantially higher risk of depression (OR = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.08–3.00) than the other two profiles after adjusting for genetic predispositions, socio-demographic characteristics, and health-related factors.

While controlling for genetic predispositions, the present study provides robust evidence to support the independent and cumulative as well as compositional effects of early- and later-on lifetime psychosocial stressors in the subsequent development of depression. Consequently, mental illness prevention and mental health promotion should target the occurrence of stressful events as well as build resilience in people so they can better cope with stress when it inevitably occurs.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents an unprecedented threat to mental health. Herein, we assessed the impact of COVID-19 on subthreshold depressive symptoms and identified potential mitigating factors.

Participants were from Depression Cohort in China (ChiCTR registry number 1900022145). Adults (n = 1722) with subthreshold depressive symptoms were enrolled between March and October 2019 in a 6-month, community-based interventional study that aimed to prevent clinical depression using psychoeducation. A total of 1506 participants completed the study in Shenzhen, China: 726 participants, who completed the study between March 2019 and January 2020 (i.e. before COVID-19), comprised the ‘wave 1’ group; 780 participants, who were enrolled before COVID-19 and completed the 6-month endpoint assessment during COVID-19, comprised ‘wave 2’. Symptoms of depression, anxiety and insomnia were assessed at baseline and endpoint (i.e. 6-month follow-up) using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), respectively. Measures of resilience and regular exercise were assessed at baseline. We compared the mental health outcomes between wave 1 and wave 2 groups. We additionally investigated how mental health outcomes changed across disparate stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, i.e. peak (7–13 February), post-peak (14–27 February), remission plateau (28 February−present).

COVID-19 increased the risk for three mental outcomes: (1) depression (odds ratio [OR] = 1.30, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04–1.62); (2) anxiety (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.16–1.88) and (3) insomnia (OR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.07–1.77). The highest proportion of probable depression and anxiety was observed post-peak, with 52.9% and 41.4%, respectively. Greater baseline resilience scores had a protective effect on the three main outcomes (depression: OR = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.19–0.37; anxiety: OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.14–0.33 and insomnia: OR = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.11–0.28). Furthermore, regular physical activity mitigated the risk for depression (OR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.79–0.99).

The COVID-19 pandemic exerted a highly significant and negative impact on symptoms of depression, anxiety and insomnia. Mental health outcomes fluctuated as a function of the duration of the pandemic and were alleviated to some extent with the observed decline in community-based transmission. Augmenting resiliency and regular exercise provide an opportunity to mitigate the risk for mental health symptoms during this severe public health crisis.

Lifestyle interventions are an important and viable approach for preventing cognitive deficits. However, the results of studies on alcohol, coffee and tea consumption in relation to cognitive decline have been divergent, likely due to confounds from dose–response effects. This meta-analysis aimed to find the dose–response relationship between alcohol, coffee or tea consumption and cognitive deficits.

Prospective cohort studies or nested case-control studies in a cohort investigating the risk factors of cognitive deficits were searched in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane and Web of Science up to 4th June 2020. Two authors searched the databases and extracted the data independently. We also assessed the quality of the studies with the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Stata 15.0 software was used to perform model estimation and plot the linear or nonlinear dose–response relationship graphs.

The search identified 29 prospective studies from America, Japan, China and some European countries. The dose–response relationships showed that compared to non-drinkers, low consumption (<11 g/day) of alcohol could reduce the risk of cognitive deficits or only dementias, but there was no significant effect of heavier drinking (>11 g/day). Low consumption of coffee reduced the risk of any cognitive deficit (<2.8 cups/day) or dementia (<2.3 cups/day). Green tea consumption was a significant protective factor for cognitive health (relative risk, 0.94; 95% confidence intervals, 0.92–0.97), with one cup of tea per day brings a 6% reduction in risk of cognitive deficits.

Light consumption of alcohol (<11 g/day) and coffee (<2.8 cups/day) was associated with reduced risk of cognitive deficits. Cognitive benefits of green tea consumption increased with the daily consumption.

Chinese men who have sex with men (MSM) are at high risk for depression, anxiety and suicide. The estimated prevalence of these problems is essential to guide public health policy, but published results vary. This meta-analysis aimed to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and suicide among Chinese MSM.

Systematic searches of EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, CNKI and Wanfang databases with languages restricted to Chinese and English for studies published before 10 September 2019 on the prevalence of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, suicidal ideation, suicide plans and suicide attempts among Chinese MSM. Studies that were published in the peer-reviewed journals and used validated instruments to assess depression and anxiety were included. The characteristics of studies and the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms, suicidal ideation, suicide plans and suicide attempts were independently extracted by authors. Random-effects modelling was used to estimate the pooled rates. Subgroup analysis and univariate meta-regression were conducted to explore potential sources of heterogeneity. This study followed the PRISMA and MOOSE.

Sixty-seven studies were included. Fifty-two studies reported the prevalence of depressive symptoms, with a combined sample of 37 376 people, of whom 12 887 [43.2%; 95% confidence interval (CI), 38.9–47.5] reported depressive symptoms. Twenty-seven studies reported the prevalence of anxiety symptoms, with a combined sample of 10 531 people, of whom 3187 (32.2%; 95% CI, 28.3–36.6) reported anxiety symptoms. Twenty-three studies reported the prevalence of suicidal ideation, with a combined sample of 15 034 people, of whom 3416 (21.2%; 95% CI, 18.3–24.5) had suicidal ideation. Nine studies reported the prevalence of suicide plans, with a combined sample of 5271 people, of whom 401 (6.2%; 95% CI, 3.9–8.6) had suicide plans. Finally, 19 studies reported the prevalence of suicide attempts, with a combined sample of 27 936 people, of whom 1829 (7.3%; 95% CI, 5.6–9.0) had attempted suicide.

The mental health of Chinese MSM is poor compared with the general population. Efforts are warranted to develop interventions to prevent and alleviate mental health problems among this vulnerable population.

There seems to be geographical differences in decisions about breast conserving surgery (BCS) in breast cancer patients. This study was to evaluate patients’ attitude to BCS and to assess the factors affecting cancer practice in West China.

A structured questionnaire was distributed to 184 patients, eliciting information about the patients’ characteristics, occupation, education, family life, recognition of illness, knowledge about BCS, the main means of gaining surgery information, selecting surgery approaches, preferences to breast reservation.

In all, 163 patients completed the questionnaire. The results indicated that only 7.4% of patients received BCS and 23% of the remaining patients desired to have BCS and the affecting factors were significantly associated with their family life, recognition of illness and the main means of gaining surgery information (P < 0.05). No associations were between BCS selecting and the other variables studied. The most frequent reasons for selecting BCS were keeping the female shape and improving quality of life (71%), the second most were postoperative recovery, minimal influence of physical function (47%) and patients’ knowledge about BCS (42%). The most frequent reasons for not selecting BCS were uncertainty about BCS results and worry about recurrence (81%), the second most was the elderly age unnecessary for BCS (40%).

The findings indicate that breast cancer patients in West China do not take BCS as the first choice as the best treatment method. It is warranted that further study of more patients, attitude of patients’ partners and physicians to BCS.

White matter abnormalities have been repeatedly reported in both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (BD) diseases from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies respectively, while the empirical evidences about the diagnostic specificity of white matter abnormalities in these disorders are still limited.

25 patients with paranoid schizophrenia and 18 patients with bipolar mania were recruited from the in-patient unit of the Mental Health Centre, West China Hospital, China.

Patients were diagnosed according to the criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Version IV (DSM- IV). 30 healthy controls were recruited from the community by means of leaflets distributed throughout Chengdu city.

This study sought to investigate the alterations in fractional anisotropy (FA) in white matter throughout the entire brain of patients from Chengdu, China with paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar mania.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to assess white matter integrity in patients with paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar mania, as well as in normal controls. The differences in FA were measured by use of voxel-based analysis.

Reduced FA was found in the left posterior corona radiate (PCR) in patients with bipolar mania and paranoid schizophrenia compared to the controls. Patients with bipolar mania also showed a significant reduction in FA in right posterior corona radiate and in right anterior thalamic radiation (ATR).

Common abnormalities in the left PCR might imply an overlap in white matter pathology of both diseases and might be related to the shared risk factors for both disorders.

This study examines the association between the incidence of drug abuse (DA) and linking (communal) social capital, a theoretical concept describing the amount of trust between individuals and societal institutions.

We present results from an 8-year population-based cohort study that followed all residents in Sweden, aged 15-44, from 2003 through 2010, for a total of 1,700,896 men and 1,642,798 women. Social capital was conceptualized as the proportion of people in a geographically defined neighborhood who voted in local government elections. Multilevel logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and between-neighborhood variance.

We found robust associations between linking social capital and DA in men and women. For men, the OR for DA in the crude model was 2.11 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.02-2.21] for those living in areas with the lowest vs. highest level of social capital. After accounting for neighborhood level deprivation, the OR fell to 1.59 (1.51-1-68), indicating that neighborhood deprivation lies in the pathway between linking social capital and DA. The ORs remained significant after accounting for age, family income, marital status, country of birth, education level, and region of residence, and after further accounting for comorbidities and family history of comorbidities and family history of DA. For women, the OR decreased from 2.15 (2.03-2.27) in the crude model to 1.31 (1.22-1.40) in the final model, adjusted for multiple neighborhood-level and individual-level variables.

Our study suggests that low linking social capital may have important independent effects on DA.

To investigate the difference of visual pattern memory among first-episode treatment-naive patients with deficit and nondeficit schizophrenia.

199 first-episode treatment-naive patients with schizophrenia, and 148 controls were recruited. Schedule for the Deficit Syndrome (SDS) was used to categorize the patients into deficit or nondeficit subtype. Pattern Recognition Memory (PRM) was used to test the immediate and delayed mode of visual pattern memory. Positive and Negative Symptom Scale PANSS was used to assess the degree of patients symptoms.

The PRM immediate mode and delayed mode percent correct was significant lower and time latency was significant longer in two subtypes of patients. There were no significant difference in the performance of immediate mode of PRM between deficit and nondeficit patients[(86.49 ± 15.34) vs. (87.28 ± 16.00), P=0.960]. But the impairment was more severe in patients with deficit schizophrenia [percent correct (63.10 ± 19.17) vs. (70.69 ± 15.34), P< 0.001 time latency 5086.80 ± 7528.54 vs. 3527.40 ± 3649.08 P=0.024] in the delayed mode. and PRM has no significant correlation with the negative symptoms of deficit schizophrenia.

There were significant difference in the performance of immediate and delayed mode of PRM between patients and controls. The difference between first-episode treatment-naïve deficit schizophrenia and nondeficit schizophrenia was only in delayed mode of PRM, and has no correlation with the primary negative symptoms. The deficit schizophrenia is a subtype of schizophrenia with unique impairment of cognitive functions.