Summary Background Data for front-line health-care workers and risk of COVID-19 are limited. We sought to assess risk of COVID-19 among front-line health-care workers compared with the general community and the effect of personal protective equipment (PPE) on risk. Methods We did a prospective, observational cohort study in the UK and the USA of the general community, including front-line health-care workers, using self-reported data from the COVID Symptom Study smartphone application (app) from March 24 (UK) and March 29 (USA) to April 23, 2020. Participants were voluntary users of the app and at first use provided information on demographic factors (including age, sex, race or ethnic background, height and weight, and occupation) and medical history, and subsequently reported any COVID-19 symptoms. We used Cox proportional hazards modelling to estimate multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of our primary outcome, which was a positive COVID-19 test. The COVID Symptom Study app is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT04331509 . Findings Among 2 035 395 community individuals and 99 795 front-line health-care workers, we recorded 5545 incident reports of a positive COVID-19 test over 34 435 272 person-days. Compared with the general community, front-line health-care workers were at increased risk for reporting a positive COVID-19 test (adjusted HR 11·61, 95% CI 10·93–12·33). To account for differences in testing frequency between front-line health-care workers and the general community and possible selection bias, an inverse probability-weighted model was used to adjust for the likelihood of receiving a COVID-19 test (adjusted HR 3·40, 95% CI 3·37–3·43). Secondary and post-hoc analyses suggested adequacy of PPE, clinical setting, and ethnic background were also important factors. Interpretation In the UK and the USA, risk of reporting a positive test for COVID-19 was increased among front-line health-care workers. Health-care systems should ensure adequate availability of PPE and develop additional strategies to protect health-care workers from COVID-19, particularly those from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds. Additional follow-up of these observational findings is needed. Funding Zoe Global, Wellcome Trust, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, National Institutes of Health Research, UK Research and Innovation, Alzheimer's Society, National Institutes of Health, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness.

We conducted genome-wide association studies of three phenotypes: subjective well-being (N = 298,420), depressive symptoms (N = 161,460), and neuroticism (N = 170,910). We identified three variants associated with subjective well-being, two with depressive symptoms, and eleven with neuroticism, including two inversion polymorphisms. The two depressive symptoms loci replicate in an independent depression sample. Joint analyses that exploit the high genetic correlations between the phenotypes (|ρ̂| ≈ 0.8) strengthen the overall credibility of the findings, and allow us to identify additional variants. Across our phenotypes, loci regulating expression in central nervous system and adrenal/pancreas tissues are strongly enriched for association.

Observational studies indicate that psychologic factors strongly influence the course of coronary artery disease (CAD). In this review, we examine new epidemiologic evidence for the association between psychosocial risk factors and CAD, identify pathologic mechanisms that may be responsible for this association, and describe a paradigm for studying positive psychologic factors that may act as a buffer. Because psychosocial risk factors are highly prevalent and are associated with unhealthy lifestyles, we describe the potential role of cardiologists in managing such factors. Management approaches include routinely screening for psychosocial risk factors, referring patients with severe psychologic distress to behavioral specialists, and directly treating patients with milder forms of psychologic distress with brief targeted interventions. A number of behavioral interventions have been evaluated for their ability to reduce adverse cardiac events among patients presenting with psychosocial risk factors. Although the efficacy of stand-alone psychosocial interventions remains unclear, both exercise and multifactorial cardiac rehabilitation with psychosocial interventions have demonstrated a reduction in cardiac events. Furthermore, recent data suggest that psychopharmacologic interventions may also be effective. Despite these promising findings, clinical practice guidelines for managing psychosocial risk factors in cardiac practice are lacking. Thus, we review new approaches to improve the delivery of behavioral services and patient adherence to behavioral recommendations. These efforts are part of an emerging field of behavioral cardiology, which is based on the understanding that psychosocial and behavioral risk factors for CAD are not only highly interrelated, but also require a sophisticated health care delivery system to optimize their effectiveness.

This review investigates the association between positive psychological well-being (PPWB) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We also consider the mechanisms by which PPWB may be linked with CVD, focusing on the health behaviors (e.g., smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, sleep quality and quantity, and food consumption) and biological functions (e.g., cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic processes) that are most relevant for cardiovascular health. Because PPWB is a broad concept, not all aspects of PPWB may be associated with cardiovascular health. Thus, we distinguish between eudaimonic well-being, hedonic well-being, optimism, and other measures of well-being when reviewing the literature. Findings suggest that PPWB protects consistently against CVD, independently of traditional risk factors and ill-being. Specifically, optimism is most robustly associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular events. In general, PPWB is also positively associated with restorative health behaviors and biological function and inversely associated with deteriorative health behaviors and biological function. Cardiovascular health is more consistently associated with optimism and hedonic well-being than with eudaimonic well-being, although this could be due in part to more limited evidence being available concerning eudaimonic well-being. Some similarities were also evident across different measures of PPWB, which is likely due to measurement overlap. A theoretical context for this research is provided, and suggestions for future research are given, including the need for additional prospective investigations and research that includes multiple constructs of psychological well-being and ill-being.Keywords: cardiovascular disease, health behaviors, biological function, eudaimonic well-being, hedonic well-being Scholars have long recognized the connection between mental health and physical health. From the ancient Roman poet Juvenal who declared, "A healthy mind in a healthy body," to early 20th century psychoanalysts who investigated the connection between mental states and physiology (Menninger & Menninger, 1936), and to researchers in the late 20th century seeking to identify disease-prone personalities (H. S. Friedman & Booth-Kewley, 1987;Rosenman et al., 1964), the complex relationship between psychological attributes and physical ailments has been the subject of fascination across time. Although past research has predominantly focused on the relationship between poor psychological functioning (e.g., anxiety, depression, hostility) and physical health, increasing research also suggests that a protective relationship exists between positive psychological functioning and physical health (Diener & Chan, 2011;Pressman & Cohen, 2005). Because the effects of psychological well-being and psychological ill-being are not merely opposites of one another and the absence of one does not necessarily indicate the presence of the other (Ryff et al., 2006;Ryff & Singer, 1998), it is critical to consider each separately in rel...

Socially isolated women had an elevated risk of mortality after a diagnosis of breast cancer, likely because of a lack of access to care, specifically beneficial caregiving from friends, relatives, and adult children.

In this review we summarize the results and conclusions of five studies as presented in a symposium at the 42nd annual meeting of the International Society for Psychoneuroendocrinology, in New York in September 2012. Oxytocin administration has received increasing attention for its role in promoting positive social behavior and stress regulation, and its potential as a therapeutic intervention for addressing various aspects of psychiatric disorders. However, it has been noted that the observed effects are not uniformly beneficial. In this paper we present five new studies each concluding that contextual and interindividual factors moderate the effects of oxytocin, as well as peripheral oxytocin levels. These findings are in accordance with the recent idea that oxytocin administration may increase sensitivity to social salience cues and that the interpretation of these cues may be influenced by contextual (i.e. presence of a stranger versus friend) or interindividual factors (i.e. sex, attachment style, or the presence of psychiatric symptoms). When social cues in the environment are interpreted as "safe" oxytocin may promote prosociality but when the social cues are interpreted as "unsafe" oxytocin may promote more defensive and, in effect, "anti-social" emotions and behaviors. Likewise, oxytocin appears to promote such agonistic tendencies in individuals who are chronically pre-disposed to view the social milieu in uncertain and/or in negative terms (e.g., those with borderline personality disorder, severe attachment anxiety and/or childhood maltreatment). In all, these studies in pre-clinical animal, healthy humans and patients samples further reinforce the importance of considering both contextual and interindividual factors when trying to understand the role of oxytocin as a biological substrate underlying social bonding and stress regulatory processes and when studying the effects of oxytocin administration in particular in patients with (increased risk for) psychiatric disorders.

Objective-Cognitive reserve has been proposed as important in the etiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, tests of the association between premorbid IQ and adult mental disorders other than schizophrenia have been limited and inconclusive. The authors tested the hypothesis that low childhood IQ is associated with increased risk and severity of adult mental disorders.Method-Participants were members of a representative 1972-1973 birth cohort of 1,037 males and females in Dunedin, New Zealand, who were followed up to age 32 with 96% retention. WISC-R IQ was assessed at ages 7, 9, and 11. Research diagnoses of DSM mental disorders were made at ages 18, 21, 26, and 32.Results-Lower childhood IQ was associated with increased risk of developing schizophrenia spectrum disorder, adult depression, and adult anxiety. Lower childhood IQ was also associated with greater comorbidity and with persistence of depression; the association with persistence of generalized anxiety disorder was nearly significant. Higher childhood IQ predicted increased risk of adult mania.Conclusions-Lower cognitive reserve, as reflected by childhood IQ, is an antecedent of several common psychiatric disorders and also predicts persistence and comorbidity. Thus, many patients who seek mental health treatment may have lower cognitive ability; this should be considered in prevention and treatment planning.Cognitive reserve has been proposed as an important etiologic factor in the development and severity of neuropsychiatric disorders (1). The construct of cognitive reserve refers to individual differences in brain structure (e.g., density of neuronal synapses) and function (e.g., processing efficiency) thought to buffer the effects of neuropathology. Evidence has emerged from the rapidly evolving field of cognitive epidemiology (2) showing that IQ, a marker of cognitive reserve, is inversely related to risk of total psychiatric illness (3). However, with the exception of research on schizophrenia (4), surprisingly few studies have examined the relation Correspondence to: Karestan C. Koenen.Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Koenen, Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Kresge 613, 677 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115; E-mail: kkoenen@hsph.harvard.edu (e-mail). The authors report no competing interests. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptAm J Psychiatry. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 January 1. between IQ early in life and the risk of other specific adult psychiatric disorders. Among those studies that have examined other disorders, the results have been inconclusive. We report a longitudinal study of the 20-year predictive association between childhood IQ and adult mental disorders among members of the Dunedin, New Zealand, birth cohort.In the earlier studies, low IQ at military entry increased the risk of hospitalization for depression in male Swedish conscripts (5) but not male Danish conscripts (6). Studies of bipolar disorder have largely shown no associa...

We conclude by suggesting opportunities for future work that we see as most fruitful based on the presented framework.