IMPORTANCE People exposed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and a series of imperative containment measures could be psychologically stressed, yet the burden of and factors associated with mental health symptoms remain unclear. OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence of and risk factors associated with mental health symptoms in the general population in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This large-sample, cross-sectional, population-based, online survey study was conducted from February 28, 2020, to March 11, 2020. It involved all 34 province-level regions in China and included participants aged 18 years and older. Data analysis was performed from March to May 2020. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and acute stress among the general population in China during the COVID-19 pandemic was evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Insomnia Severity Index, and Acute Stress Disorder Scale. Logistic regression analyses were used to explore demographic and COVID-19-related risk factors. RESULTS Of 71 227 individuals who clicked on the survey link, 56 932 submitted the questionnaires, for a participation rate of 79.9%. After excluding the invalid questionnaires, 56 679 participants (mean [SD] age, 35.97 [8.22] years; 27 149 men [47.9%]) were included in the study; 39 468 respondents (69.6%) were aged 18 to 39 years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rates of mental Author affiliations and article information are listed at the end of this article.

Context Antipsychotic drugs are limited in their ability to improve the overall outcome of schizophrenia. Adding psychosocial treatment may produce greater improvement in functional outcome than does medication treatment alone. Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of antipsychotic medication alone versus combined with psychosocial intervention on outcomes of early stage schizophrenia. Design, Setting, and Participants Randomized controlled trial of a clinical sample of 1268 patients with early stage schizophrenia, conducted at 10 clinical sites in China from 2005–2007. Intervention Patients were randomly assigned to antipsychotic medication treatment only or antipsychotic medication plus 12 months of psychosocial intervention, consisting of psycho-education, family intervention, skills training and cognitive-behavioral therapy, administered over 48 group sessions. Main Outcome Measures The rate of treatment discontinuation or change due to any cause, relapse or remission, and assessments of insight, treatment adherence, quality of life and social functioning. Results The rates of treatment discontinuation or change due to any cause were 32.8% in the combined treatment group and 46.8% in the medication alone group. Comparisons with medication treatment alone showed lower risk for any cause discontinuation with combined treatment (hazard ratios [HR], 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52–0.74; p<0.001); and lower risk for relapse with combined treatment (HR, 0.57; 95%CI, 0.44–0.74; p<0.001). The combined treatment group exhibited greater improvement in insight (p<0.001), social functioning (p=0.002), activities of daily living (p<0.001), and in 4 domains of quality of life as measured by Medical Outcome Study Short-Form 36-item questionnaire (all p-values<0.02). Furthermore, a significantly higher proportion of patients receiving combined treatment obtained employment or accessed education (p=0.001). Conclusions Compared to those receiving medications only, early stage schizophrenia patients receiving medications and psychosocial intervention had a lower rate of treatment discontinuation or change, lower risk of relapse, and improved insight, quality of life and social functioning.

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Depression and diabetes mellitus (DM) have existed since ages. Yet, the etiologies of both diseases are unclear till date. However, the effects resulting from these diseases are well documented. Comorbidity of both disorders leads to increase disability and mortality rates. Besides presenting the epidemiological status of depression in DM, this review aims to highlight the different hypotheses governing the association of depression in DM and summarize the current trend in detection and management of depression. A high index of suspicion is required to detect depression in diabetic patients. There seems to be higher prevalence of depression in type 2 diabetes than in type 1 diabetes. Treatment should be tailored as per the individual needs and presence of comorbidity. Though there is no gold standard treatment for depressive diabetics, combinations of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions are likely to improve outcomes. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are preferred to conventional antidepressants. Collaborative care, psychoeducation and behavioral interventions are helpful in motivating patients to maintain treatment and improve psychological well-being and quality of life. Untreated depression in diabetics is costly to the health care and economic system as there is an increase in functional impairment and mortality rate. More efforts need to be made to effectively screen, diagnose and treat patients with comorbidity of diabetes and depression.

Environmental stressors have effects on the genomic DNA methylation patterns of B lymphocytes in schizophrenia (SCZ), which may therefore perturb the immune homeostasis and trigger autoimmune responses. This study aimed to investigate the global genomic DNA methylation differences in remitters of SCZ (RSCZ) and non-remitters of SCZ (NRSCZ), further their effects on autoimmune responses of target genes. A total of 2722 Chinese Han origin subjects were recruited, including a follow-up cohort and a cross-sectional cohort. We found a DMS of cg14341177 in SCZ which inhibit the mRNA alternative splicing of BICD2, further leading to increased plasma anti-BICD2 IgG autoantibody levels. The levels of cg14341177 methylation and anti-BICD2 IgG decreased significantly in the endpoint samples of RSCZ, but not in NRSCZ. There are strong positive correlations between cg14341177 methylation, anti-BICD2 IgG, and PANSS scores. These data suggest that cg14341177 methylation and anti-BICD2 IgG levels may potentially serve as useful biomarkers.

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a kind of mental disorder with the greatest risk of suicide, but it is often misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder (MDD) clinically. This study aimed to analyze the sociodemographic factors and clinical characteristics associated with suicide attempts (SA) in patients with BD misdiagnosed with MDD in China. Methods: A total of 1487 MDD patients were consecutively enrolled in 13 mental health centers in China. Data on patients’ sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were collected using a standardized protocol. Of these, 306 BD patients were misdiagnosed with MDD according to the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Suicide attempters and non-attempters were classified by the suicidality module of the MINI. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association between the independent variables of interest and SA in BD patients misdiagnosed with MDD. Results: Of the 306 BD patients misdiagnosed with MDD, 225 (73.5%) were non-attempters and 81 (26.5%) were attempters. Compared to non-attempters, attempters were older (Z =2.2, p = 0.03) and had more admissions(χ2 =6.1, p = 0.013), more frequent depressive episodes, more atypical characteristics (e.g. increased appetite, weight gain, and more sleep time)(χ2 = 5.8, p = 0.016), more suicidal ideation (χ2 = 27.3, p < 0.001), more psychotic symptoms (χ2 = 7.4, p = 0.006) and more seasonal depressive episodes (χ2 = 5.6, p = 0.018). Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that attempters were characterized by more suicidal ideation (OR = 5.7, 95% CI: 2.6–12.5) and frequent depressive episodes (OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.3–4.6). The limitations of this study include its cross-sectional design and data collection by suicide attempters’ retrospective recall. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that BD patients misdiagnosed with MDD are at a higher risk of suicide, and more frequent depressive episodes and suicidal ideation are risk factors for attempted suicide. Early identification of and interventions for these risk factors might reduce the risk of suicide in BD patients misdiagnosed with MDD.