Aims This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms, and associated risk factors among a large-scale sample of adolescents from China after the pandemic and lockdown. Method A total of 57,948 high school students took part in an online survey from July 13 to 29, 2020. The mental health outcomes included anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms. Risk factors included negative family relationships, COVID-19 related exposure, and a lack of social support. Results The prevalence of anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms was 7.1%, 12.8%, and 16.9%, respectively. COVID-19 related exposure significantly linked to the mental health outcomes (all p < .001). The most important predictors for the mental health outcomes were family relationship and social support (all p < .001). Conclusion The pandemic may have long-term adverse mental health consequences among adolescents. Adverse family relationships and lack of social support could be the major risk factors for the post-pandemic mental health outcomes of adolescents.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) are different psychological outcomes triggered by exposure to extraordinarily traumatic events. In this study, we aimed to examine patterns of co-occurrence between DSM-5 PTSD symptoms and PTG, among natural disaster survivors, and to clarify whether empirically-based subgroups differed by several specific predictors.Methods: Latent profile analysis was used to examine patterns of self-reported PTSD symptoms and PTG in an epidemiological sample of 1063 Chinese earthquake survivors.Results: Three distinct profiles were identified, involving high PTSD/high PTG, mild PTSD/mild PTG, and mild PTSD/high PTG. Class membership was predicted by several variables, especially different sources of perceived social support.Conclusion: Our findings contribute to the knowledge about the coexisting patterns of PTSD and PTG, and provide suggestions for identifying high-risk individuals and providing effective interventions in clinical practice.

Background Berberine and Bifidobacterium have been reported to improve glucose tolerance in people with hyperglycemia or other metabolic disorders. This study aimed to assess the hypoglycemic effect and the regulation of the gut microbiota caused by berberine and Bifidobacterium and the possible additive benefits of their combination. Methods This was an 18-week, multi-center, randomized, double-blind, parallel-controlled study of patients newly diagnosed with hyperglycemia. After a 2-week run-in period, 300 participants were randomly assigned to the following four groups for 16 weeks of treatment: berberine (Be), Bifidobacterium (Bi), berberine and Bifidobacterium (BB), and placebo group. The primary efficacy endpoint was the absolute value of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) compared with baseline after 16 weeks of treatment. Results Between October 2015 and April 2018, a total of 297 participants were included in the primary analysis. Significant reductions of FPG were observed in the Be and BB groups compared with the placebo group, with a least square (LS) mean difference of − 0.50, 95% CI [− 0.85, − 0.15] mmol/L, and − 0.55, 95% CI [− 0.91, − 0.20] mmol/L, respectively. The Be and BB groups also showed significant reductions in 2-h postprandial plasma glucose. A pronounced decrease in HbA1c occurred in the BB group compared to the placebo group. Moreover, compared with the Bi and placebo groups, the Be and BB groups had more changes in the gut microbiota from the baseline. Conclusions Berberine could regulate the structure and function of the human gut microbiota, and Bifidobacterium has the potential to enhance the hypoglycemic effect of berberine. These findings provide new insights into the hypoglycemic potential of berberine and Bifidobacterium. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03330184. Retrospectively registered on 18 October 2017

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It has been well-documented that posttraumatic stress symptoms cause impairments in health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Until now we have little data on how DSM-5 PTSD symptom dimensions relate to different aspects of HRQoL. Clarifying this question would be informative to improve the quality of life of PTSD patients. This study aimed to investigate the effects of dimensions of a well-supported seven-factor model of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms on physical and psychosocial HRQoL. A total of 1063 adult survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake took part in this study nine years after the disaster. PTSD symptoms were measured by the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). HRQoL was measured by the Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form-36 (SF-36). The associations between PTSD symptom dimensions and HRQoL were examined using structural equation models. Dysphoric arousal symptoms were found to significantly relate to physical HRQoL. Other symptom dimensions were not associated with HRQoL. Our findings contribute to the relationship between DSM-5 PTSD and HRQoL, and carry implications for further clinical practice and research on trauma-exposed individuals.

The findings suggest that the 5-HTTLPR may have an important impact on the development of PTSD and add to the extant knowledge on understanding and treating of posttraumatic psychopathology.