The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the policies to contain it have been a near ubiquitous exposure in the US with unknown effects on depression symptoms.
To estimate the prevalence ...of and risk factors associated with depression symptoms among US adults during vs before the COVID-19 pandemic.
This nationally representative survey study used 2 population-based surveys of US adults aged 18 or older. During COVID-19, estimates were derived from the COVID-19 and Life Stressors Impact on Mental Health and Well-being study, conducted from March 31, 2020, to April 13, 2020. Before COVID-19 estimates were derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted from 2017 to 2018. Data were analyzed from April 15 to 20, 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic and outcomes associated with the measures to mitigate it.
Depression symptoms, defined using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 cutoff of 10 or higher. Categories of depression symptoms were defined as none (score, 0-4), mild (score, 5-9), moderate (score, 10-14), moderately severe (score, 15-19), and severe (score, ≥20).
A total of 1470 participants completed the COVID-19 and Life Stressors Impact on Mental Health and Well-being survey (completion rate, 64.3%), and after removing those with missing data, the final during-COVID-19 sample included 1441 participants (619 participants 43.0% aged 18-39 years; 723 50.2% men; 933 64.7% non-Hispanic White). The pre-COVID-19 sample included 5065 participants (1704 participants 37.8% aged 18-39 years; 2588 51.4% women; 1790 62.9% non-Hispanic White). Depression symptom prevalence was higher in every category during COVID-19 compared with before (mild: 24.6% 95% CI, 21.8%-27.7% vs 16.2% 95% CI, 15.1%-17.4%; moderate: 14.8% 95% CI, 12.6%-17.4% vs 5.7% 95% CI, 4.8%-6.9%; moderately severe: 7.9% 95% CI, 6.3%-9.8% vs 2.1% 95% CI, 1.6%-2.8%; severe: 5.1% 95% CI, 3.8%-6.9% vs 0.7% 95% CI, 0.5%-0.9%). Higher risk of depression symptoms during COVID-19 was associated with having lower income (odds ratio, 2.37 95% CI, 1.26-4.43), having less than $5000 in savings (odds ratio, 1.52 95% CI, 1.02-2.26), and exposure to more stressors (odds ratio, 3.05 95% CI, 1.95-4.77).
These findings suggest that prevalence of depression symptoms in the US was more than 3-fold higher during COVID-19 compared with before the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals with lower social resources, lower economic resources, and greater exposure to stressors (eg, job loss) reported a greater burden of depression symptoms. Post-COVID-19 plans should account for the probable increase in mental illness to come, particularly among at-risk populations.
The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences have been associated with an increase in poor population mental health. We assessed how depressive symptoms changed among U.S. adults over the course of the ...COVID-19 pandemic and identified the key risk factors for these symptoms.
Longitudinal panel study of a nationally representative group of U.S. adults ages 18 years and older surveyed in March-April 2020 (Time 1; N=1441) and March-April 2021 (Time 2; N=1161) in the COVID-19 and Life Stressors Impact on Mental Health and Well-being study (CLIMB). The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to define elevated depressive symptoms (cut-off ≥10) and depressive symptoms score (0-27).
The prevalence of elevated depressive symptoms persisted from 27.8% in 2020 (95% CI: 24.9, 30.9) to 32.8% in 2021 (95% CI: 29.1, 36.8). Over time, the central drivers of depressive symptoms were low household income, not being married, and experiencing multiple stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The odds ratio of elevated depressive symptoms for low income relative to high income persons increased from 2.3 (95% CI: 1.2, 4.2) in 2020 to 7.0 (95% CI: 3.7, 13.3) in 2021. Fewer people reported experiencing 4 or more COVID-19 stressors in 2021 than in 2020 (47.5% in 2020 vs 37.1% in 2021), but the odds ratio of elevated depressive symptoms associated with 4 or more stressors relative to 1 stressor or less increased from 1.9 (95% CI: 1.2, 3.1) in 2020 to 5.4 (95% CI: 3.2, 9.2) in 2021.
The burden of depressive symptoms in the U.S. adult population increased over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health gaps grew between populations with different assets and stressor experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CLIMB Time 1 was sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation-Boston University 3-D Commission. CLIMB Time 2 was sponsored by the de Beaumont Foundation.
Introduction La dysfonction autonome cardiaque (DAC) contribue à l’élévation de la pression artérielle et du risque cardiovasculaire chez les diabétiques. L’obésité est souvent associée à une DAC. Le ...but était, chez les obèses sans diabète connu, d’évaluer le rôle de la DAC dans l’hypertension artérielle (HTA) et le rôle respectif de la DAC et de l’HTA dans l’augmentation du risque coronarien. Patients et méthodes Nous avons inclus 377 patients obèses ou en surpoids (IMC 39 ± 7 kg/m2 ), âgés de 38,3 ± 14,6 ans. Une charge en glucose a été effectuée. Une DAC a été définie par au moins un test anormal parmi 3 tests (respiration profonde, orthostatisme, Valsalva), sous dépendance vagale prédominante, évaluant la variabilité de la fréquence cardiaque. La DAC était considérée sévère si 2 ou 3 tests étaient anormaux. Le score UKPDS de risque d’évènements coronariens à 10 ans a été calculé. Résultats Une DAC était présente chez 158 patients (44 %) et l’HTA chez 131 patients (35 %). La prévalence de l’HTA était significativement plus élevée chez les patients avec DAC sévère (50 %) que chez ceux sans (30 %) ou un seul test (38 %) de DAC anormal (p = 0,01). Le score UKPDS était significativement différent entre les 4 groupes (p < 0,001) : le plus bas chez les patients normotendus sans DAC (2,3 ± 2,1 %), voisin chez les patients normotendus avec DAC (3,2 ± 4,5 %), significativement plus élevé chez les patients hypertendus sans DAC (6.0 ± 6,4 %) et le plus haut chez les patients hypertendus avec DAC (9,1 ± 5,5 %). Dans une analyse multivariée intégrant la DAC, la dysglycémie (diabète ou prédiabète défini par hyperglycémie à jeun et/ou intolérance au glucose) et la pression pulsée (index de rigidité artérielle non inclus dans le score), ces trois facteurs étaient liés indépendamment au score UKPDS. Conclusion Chez les obèses sans diabète connu, la présence d’une DAC pourrait, du fait d’une prédominance sympathique, contribuer à l’élévation tensionnelle et à aggraver le risque coronarien chez les hypertendus.
This article examines the association between mental health disorders and being identified as a bully among children between the ages of 6 and 17 years. Data from the 2007 National Survey of ...Children’s Health were examined. A total of 63,997 children had data for both parental reported mental health and bullying status. Bivariate analysis and logistic regression was performed to assess the association between mental health status and being identified as a bully with an age-stratified analysis and sub-analysis by type of mental health disorder. In 2007, 15.2% of U.S. children ages 6 to 17 years were identified as bullies by their parent or guardian. Children with a diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or depression had a threefold increased odds of being a bully. The diagnosis of depression is associated with a 3.31 increased odds (95% CI = 2.7, 4.07) of being identified as a bully. Children with anxiety and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had similar odds. The diagnosis of a mental health disorder is strongly associated with being identified as a bully. In particular, depression, anxiety, and ADHD are strongly associated with being identified as a bully. These findings emphasize the importance of providing psychological support to not only victims of bullying but bullies as well. Understanding the risk profile of childhood bullies is essential in gaining a better grasp of this public health problem and in creating useful and appropriate resources and interventions to decrease bullying.
Abstract Vagus nerve stimulation of afferents is used as an adjunctive treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy and depression. In addition, anti-inflammatory properties of vagus nerve stimulation have ...been reported in various experimental models of inflammation but not in colitis. These effects are thought to be mediated via peripheral release of acetylcholine from the vagus and subsequent activation of macrophages. Our aim was to evaluate in rats the anti-inflammatory effects of chronic vagus nerve stimulation on colonic inflammation. Colitis was induced by intracolonic instillation of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid. Vagus nerve stimulation (left cervical) was performed in freely moving animals 3 h per day for five consecutive days. Assessment of colonic inflammation was obtained using physiological (e.g. body weight, temperature and locomotor activity) parameters, macroscopical (area of lesions), histological, and biological parameters (e.g. myeloperoxidase activity, cytokine and cytokine-related mRNAs), both at the level of the damaged colon and the colon immediately above. A global multivariate index of colitis was then generated for a better characterization of colonic inflammation. Vagus nerve stimulation reduced the degree of body weight loss and inflammatory markers as observed above the lesion by histological score and myeloperoxidase quantification. This anti-inflammatory effect was also demonstrated by the improvement of the multivariate index of colitis. These data argue for an anti-inflammatory role of vagus nerve stimulation chronically performed in freely moving rats with colitis and provide potential therapeutic applications for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.
The Daya Bay, Double Chooz and RENO experiments recently observed a significant distortion in their detected reactor antineutrino spectra, being at odds with the current predictions. Although such a ...result suggests to revisit the current reactor antineutrino spectra modeling, an alternative scenario, which could potentially explain this anomaly, is explored in this letter. Using an appropriate statistical method, a study of the Daya Bay experiment energy scale is performed. While still being in agreement with the γ calibration data and B12 measured spectrum, it is shown that a O(1%) deviation of the energy scale reproduces the distortion observed in the Daya Bay spectrum, remaining within the quoted calibration uncertainties. Potential origins of such a deviation, which challenge the energy calibration of these detectors, are finally discussed.
Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE
ν
NS), detected for the first time more than 40 years after its prediction, represents an experimental challenge because of its signature: a single ...nuclear recoil with energy in the range of 10 eV to a few 10’s keV on average. One of the main features of CE
ν
NS is its cross section, around two orders of magnitude higher compared with the inverse
β
decay. BASKET (Bolometers At Sub keV Energy Threshold) project aims at investigating cryogenic calorimeters for the CE
ν
NS detection, able to maintain the background level below the expected signature while being operated in above ground conditions in close vicinity to a nuclear reactor. The main requirements for such detectors are a low enough energy threshold of O(10 eV), and a fast signal rise time in the range of 0.1–1 ms to achieve good timing resolution and hence good mitigation of pile-up events. In this article, we report on the first tests of a prototype detector coupling a Li
2
WO
4
crystal to a magnetic metallic calorimeter (MMC) thermal sensor.
Objective
To examine the qualitative literature on low‐income women's perspectives on the barriers to high‐quality prenatal and postpartum care.
Data Sources and Study Setting
We performed searches ...in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, SocIndex, and CINAHL for peer‐reviewed studies published between 1990 and 2021.
Study Design
A systematic review of qualitative studies with participants who were currently pregnant or had delivered within the past 2 years and identified as low‐income at delivery.
Data Collection/Extraction Methods
Two reviewers independently assessed studies for inclusion, evaluated study quality, and extracted information on study design and themes.
Principal Findings
We identified 34 studies that met inclusion criteria, including 23 focused on prenatal care, 6 on postpartum care, and 5 on both. The most frequently mentioned barriers to prenatal and postpartum care were structural. These included delays in gaining pregnancy‐related Medicaid coverage, challenges finding providers who would accept Medicaid, lack of provider continuity, transportation and childcare hurdles, and legal system concerns. Individual‐level factors, such as lack of awareness of pregnancy, denial of pregnancy, limited support, conflicting priorities, and indifference to pregnancy, also interfered with the timely use of prenatal and postpartum care. For those who accessed care, experiences of dismissal, discrimination, and disrespect related to race, insurance status, age, substance use, and language were common.
Conclusions
Over a period of 30 years, qualitative studies have identified consistent structural and individual barriers to high‐quality prenatal and postpartum care. Medicaid policy changes, including expanding presumptive eligibility, increased reimbursement rates for pregnancy services, payment for birth doula support, and extension of postpartum coverage, may help overcome these challenges.
Coherent elastic neutrino–nucleus scattering (CEνNS) offers a unique way to study neutrino properties and to search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. Nuclear reactors are promising sources ...to explore this process at low energies since they deliver large fluxes of anti-neutrinos with typical energies of a few MeV. In this paper, a new-generation experiment to study CEνNS is described. The NUCLEUS experiment will use cryogenic detectors which feature an unprecedentedly low-energy threshold and a time response fast enough to be operated under above-ground conditions. Both sensitivity to low-energy nuclear recoils and a high event rate tolerance are stringent requirements to measuring CEνNS of reactor anti-neutrinos. A new experimental site, the Very-Near-Site (VNS), at the Chooz nuclear power plant in France is described. The VNS is located between the two 4.25 GWth reactor cores and matches the requirements of NUCLEUS. First results of on-site measurements of neutron and muon backgrounds, the expected dominant background contributions, are given. In this paper a preliminary experimental set-up with dedicated active and passive background reduction techniques and first background estimations are presented. Furthermore, the feasibility to operate the detectors in coincidence with an active muon veto at shallow overburden is studied. The paper concludes with a sensitivity study pointing out the physics potential of NUCLEUS at the Chooz nuclear power plant.
While the association between assets and depression has been established, less is known about the link between financial strain and depression. Given rising financial strain and economic inequity due ...to the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding the role that financial strain plays in shaping population depression in the United States is particularly salient. We conducted a scoping review of the peer-reviewed literature on financial strain and depression published from inception through January 19, 2023, in Embase, Medline via PubMed, and PsycINFO, PsycArticles, SocINDEX, and EconLit via Ebsco. We searched, reviewed, and synthesized the literature on longitudinal studies on financial strain and depression conducted in the United States. Four thousand and four unique citations were screened for eligibility. Fifty-eight longitudinal, quantitative articles on adults in the United States were included in the review. Eighty-three percent of articles (n = 48) reported a significant, positive association between financial strain and depression. Eight articles reported mixed results, featuring non-significant associations for some sub-groups and significant associations for others, one article was unclear, and one article reported no significant association between financial strain and depression. Five articles featured interventions to reduce depressive symptoms. Effective interventions included coping mechanisms to improve one's financial situation (e.g., mechanisms to assist in finding employment), to modify cognitive behavior (e.g., reframing mindset), and to engage support (e.g., engaging social and community support). Successful interventions were tailored to participants, were group-based (e.g., they included family members or other job seekers), and occurred over multiple sessions. While depression was defined consistently, financial strain was defined variably. Gaps in the literature included studies featuring Asian populations in the United States and interventions to reduce financial strain. There is a consistent, positive association between financial strain and depression in the United States. More research is needed to identify and test interventions that mitigate the ill effects of financial strain on population's mental health.
PDF
