Antidepressants (AD) are one of the most prescribed pharmacological treatments in developed countries. AD efficacy is well-proven in anxiety, depressive and other mental disorders, but their use is also common in individuals without psychiatric health conditions. Indeed, recent evidence reported an increase in AD prescription over the latest years. Concern has been raised on the overuse of AD in several countries, and societal policies and national guidelines have been developed to regulate their use in the general population.

Several factor might be used to explain this increase, including the more safety profile of new AD classes (i.e. SSRI, or vortioxetine) compared to old AD, a possible overall increase in the incidence of depressive and anxiety disorders, or their inappropriate prescription in mild conditions which could be managed without pharmacological treatment as first-step option in primary care (PC).

Explore AD prescription patterns in relation to mental health diagnoses and identify the most relevant factors involved in PC health systems. Understanding the variables influencing AD prescription would allow designing strategies and guidelines to make appropriate use of this pharmacological group in PC. As part of the PRESTO project (www.prestoclinic.cat), here we investigated the changes in frequency and the variables associated with AD prescription in a population-representative sample of people attending PC between 2010 –2019 in Catalonia, Spain.

We retrieved AD prescription, sociodemographic, and health-related data using individual electronic health records from a population-representative sample (N=947.698) attending PC between 2010-2019. Prescription of AD was calculated using DHD (Defined Daily Doses per 1,000 inhabitants/day). We compared cumulative changes in DHD with cumulative changes in diagnoses with an indication for AD during the study period. We used Poisson regression to examine sociodemographic and health-related variables associated with AD prescription.

Both AD prescription and mental health diagnoses with an indication for AD gradually increased. At the end of the study period, DHD of AD prescriptions and mental health diagnoses with an indication for AD reached cumulative increases of 404% and 49% respectively. Female sex (incidence rate ratio (IRR)= 2.83), older age (IRR = 25.43), and lower socio-economic status (IRR= 1.35) were significantly associated with increased risk of being prescribed an AD.

Our results from a large and representative cohort of patients confirm a steady increase of AD prescriptions that is not explained by a parallel increase in mental health diagnoses with an indication for AD. A trend on AD off-label and over-prescriptions in the PC system in Catalonia can be inferred from this dissociation.

M. Gonzalez: None Declared, G. anmella Grant / Research support from: received CME-related honoraria, or consulting fees from Janssen-Cilag, Lundbeck, Lundbeck/Otsuka, and Angelini, with no financial or other relationship relevant to the subject of this article, E. vieta Grant / Research support from: received research support from or served as consultant, adviser or speaker for AB-Biotics, Abbott, Abbvie, Adamed, Angelini, Biogen, Celon, Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma, Ferrer, Gedeon Richter, GH Research, Glaxo SmithKline, Janssen, Lundbeck, Organon, Otsuka, Rovi, Sage pharmaceuticals, Sanofi-Aventis, Shire, Sunovion, Takeda, and Viatris, out of the submitted work, M. Primé-Tous: None Declared, X. Segú: None Declared, A. Mas: None Declared, D. Hidalgo Grant / Research support from: received CME-related honoraria or adviser from Abbott, Angelini, Janssen-Cilag and Ethypharm with no financial or other relationship relevant to the subject of this article.

A significant proportion of people attending Primary Care (PC) have anxiety-depressive symptoms and work-related burnout and there is a lack of resources to attend them. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened this problem, particularly affecting healthcare workers, and digital tools have been proposed as a workaround.

We present the development, feasibility and effectiveness studies of chatbot (Vickybot) aimed at screening, monitoring, and reducing anxiety-depressive symptoms and work-related burnout in PC patients and healthcare workers.

User-centered development strategies were adopted. Main functions included self-assessments, psychological modules, and emergency alerts. (1) Simulation: HCs used Vickybot for 2 weeks to simulate different possible clinical situations and evaluated their experience. (3) Feasibility and effectiveness study: People consulting PC or healthcare workers with mental health problems were offered to use Vickybot for one month. Self-assessments for anxiety (GAD-7) and depression (PHQ-9) symptoms, and work-related burnout (based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory) were administered at baseline and every two weeks. Feasibility was determined based on the combination of both subjective and objective user-engagement Indicators (UEIs). Effectiveness was measured using paired t-tests as the change in self-assessment scores.

(1) Simulation: 17 HCs (73% female; mean age=36.5±9.7) simulated different clinical situations. 98.8% of the expected modules were recommended according to each simulation. Suicidal alerts were correctly activated and received by the research team. (2) Feasibility and effectiveness study: 34 patients (15 from PC and 19 healthcare workers; 77% female; mean age=35.3±10.1) completed the first self-assessments, with 34 (100%) presenting anxiety symptoms, 32 (94%) depressive symptoms, and 22 (64.7%) work-related burnout. Nine (26.5%) patients completed the second self-assessments after 2-weeks of use. No significant differences were found for anxiety [t(8) = 1.000, p = 0.347] or depressive [t(8) = 0.400, p = 0.700] symptoms, but work-related burnout was significantly reduced [t(8) = 2.874, p = 0.021] between the means of the first and second self-assessments. Vickybot showed high subjective-UEIs, but low objective-UEIs (completion, adherence, compliance, and engagement).

The chatbot proved to be useful in screening the presence and severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms, in reducing work-related burnout, and in detecting suicidal risk. Subjective perceptions of use contrasted with low objective-use metrics. Our results are promising, but suggest the need to adapt and enhance the smartphone-based solution in order to improve engagement. Consensus on how to report UEIs and validate digital solutions, especially for chatbots, are required.

None Declared

Lower parental education has been linked to adverse youth mental health outcomes. However, the relationship between parental education and youth suicidal behaviours remains unclear. We explored the association between parental education and youth suicidal ideation and attempts, and examined whether sociocultural contexts moderate such associations.

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis with a systematic literature search in PubMed, PsycINFO, Medline and Embase from 1900 to December 2020 for studies with participants aged 0–18, and provided quantitative data on the association between parental education and youth suicidal ideation and attempts (death included). Only articles published in English in peer-reviewed journals were considered. Two authors independently assessed eligibility of the articles. One author extracted data [e.g. number of cases and non-cases in each parental education level, effect sizes in forms of odds ratios (ORs) or beta coefficients]. We then calculated pooled ORs using a random-effects model and used moderator analysis to investigate heterogeneity.

We included a total of 59 articles (63 study samples, totalling 2 738 374 subjects) in the meta-analysis. Lower parental education was associated with youth suicidal attempts [OR = 1.12, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.04–1.21] but not with suicidal ideation (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 0.98–1.12). Geographical region and country income level moderated the associations. Lower parental education was associated with an increased risk of youth suicidal attempts in Northern America (OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.10–1.45), but with a decreased risk in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.54–0.96). An association of lower parental education and increased risk of youth suicidal ideation was present in high- income countries (HICs) (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.05–1.25), and absent in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) (OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.77–1.08).

The association between youth suicidal behaviours and parental education seems to differ across geographical and economical contexts, suggesting that cultural, psychosocial or biological factors may play a role in explaining this association. Although there was high heterogeneity in the studies reviewed, this evidence suggests that the role of familial sociodemographic characteristics in youth suicidality may not be universal. This highlights the need to consider cultural, as well as familial factors in the clinical assessment and management of youth's suicidal behaviours in our increasingly multicultural societies, as well as in developing prevention and intervention strategies for youth suicide.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a major public health concern all over the world. Little is known about the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in the general population. This study aimed to assess the mental health problems and associated factors among a large sample of college students during the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

This cross-sectional and nation-wide survey of college students was conducted in China from 3 to 10 February 2020. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess psychosocial factors, COVID-19 epidemic related factors and mental health problems. Acute stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms were measured by the Chinese versions of the impact of event scale-6, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, respectively. Univariate and hierarchical logistic regression analyses were performed to examine factors associated with mental health problems.

Among 821 218 students who participated in the survey, 746 217 (90.9%) were included for the analysis. In total, 414 604 (55.6%) of the students were female. About 45% of the participants had mental health problems. The prevalence rates of probable acute stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms were 34.9%, 21.1% and 11.0%, respectively. COVID-19 epidemic factors that were associated with increased risk of mental health problems were having relatives or friends being infected (adjusted odds ratio = 1.72–2.33). Students with exposure to media coverage of the COVID-19 ≥3 h/day were 2.13 times more likely than students with media exposure <1 h/day to have acute stress symptoms. Individuals with low perceived social support were 4.84–5.98 times more likely than individuals with high perceived social support to have anxiety and depressive symptoms. In addition, senior year and prior mental health problems were also significantly associated with anxiety or/and depressive symptoms.

In this large-scale survey of college students in China, acute stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms are prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple epidemic and psychosocial factors, such as family members being infected, massive media exposure, low social support, senior year and prior mental health problems were associated with increased risk of mental health problems. Psychosocial support and mental health services should be provided to those students at risk.

Sensory system information is thought to play an important role in drug addiction related responses. However, how somatic sensory information participates in the drug related behaviors is still unclear. Many studies demonstrated that drug addiction represents a pathological usurpation of neural mechanisms of learning and memory that normally relate to the pursuit of rewards. Thus, elucidate the role of somatic sensory in drug related learning and memory is of particular importance to understand the neurobiological mechanisms of drug addiction.

In the present study, we investigated the role of somatosensory system in reward-related associative learning using the conditioned place preference model. Lesions were made in somatosensory cortices either before or after conditioning training. We found that lesion of somatosensory cortices before, rather than after morphine conditioning impaired the acquisition of place preference.

These results demonstrate that somatosensory cortices are necessary for the acquisition but not retention of morphine induced place preference.

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.

It is to estimate the trend of suicide rate changes during the past three decades in China and try to identify its social and economic correlates.

Official data of suicide rates and economic indexes during 1982–2005 from Shandong Province of China were analyzed. The suicide data were categorized for the rural / urban location and gender, and the economic indexes include GDP, GDP per capita, rural income, and urban income, all adjusted for inflation.

We found a significant increase of economic development and decrease of suicide rates over the past decades under study. The suicide rate decrease is correlated with the tremendous growth of economy.

The unusual decrease of Chinese suicide rates in the past decades is accounted for within the Chinese cultural contexts and maybe by the Strain Theory of Suicide.

The relative effect of the atypical antipsychotic drugs and conventional agents on neurocognition in patients with early-stage schizophrenia has not been comprehensively determined.

The present study aimed to assess the cognitive effects of atypical and conventional antipsychotic drugs on neurocognition under naturalistic treatment conditions.

In a 12 months open-label, multicenter study, 698 patients with early-stage schizophrenia (< 5 years) were monotherapy with chlorpromazine, sulpiride, clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine or aripiprazole. Wechsler Memory Scale--Revised Visual Reproduction Test, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised Digit Symbol Test and Digit-span Task Test, Trail Making Tests Part A and Part B, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test were administered at baseline and 12 months follow-up evaluation. The primary outcome was change in a cognitive composite score after 12 months of treatment.

Compared with scores at baseline, the composite cognitive test scores and individual test scores had significant improvement for all seven treatment groups at 12-month follow-up evaluation (all p-values ≤ 0.013). However, olanzapine and quetiapine provided greater improvement than that provided by chlorpromazine and sulpiride in the composite score, processing speed and executive function (all p-values ≤ 0.045).

Both conventional and atypical antipsychotic medication long-term maintenance treatment can benefit congitive function in patients with early-stage schizophrenia, but olanzapine and quetiapine may be superior to chlorpromazine and sulpiride in improving some areas of neurocognitive function.

Research integrating neuroimaging and molecular genetics has yielded important insights into how variability in brain chemistry predicts brain function and structure, behaviour and risk for psychopathology. Disrupted neurotransmission of glutamate within corticalstriatal-thalamocortical circuitry has been hypothesized to play a role in the pathogenesis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Candidate gene studies have identified associations between variants in glutamate system genes and OCD, particularly for SLC1A1, although these results remain controversial after GWAS and meta-analytical approaches.

To examine the effects of multiple polymorphisms of the glutamatergic pathway on frontostriatal connectivity, measured by resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), in OCD.

Individual multilocus genetic profile scores (MGPS) reflecting the additive effects of multiple alleles of the glutamatergic pathway, analysed by the Affymetrix GeneticChip® SNP array, were compiled for 134 OCD patients and 63 healthy controls. Association between these genetic scores and brain functional connectivity patterns between the dorsal and ventral striatal regions and limbic cortical areas including the orbitofrontal cortex and surrounding areas, such as the anterior prefrontal and perigenual anterior cingulate cortex, were investigated.

In the entire group, glutamatergic MGPS were significantly associated with connectivity patterns involving the ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex. Distinct relationships between MGPS and functional connectivity between the ventral striatum, amygdala, ventromedial frontal cortex and insula between OCD and healthy subjects emerged.

Glutamatergic genetic risk variants are related to normal frontostriatal connectivity; a fact that might explain the role of glutamatergic pathway disruptions in the susceptibility to develop OCD.

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.