Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among young people. For adolescents, schools are considered as the best place to identify and respond to youth suicide risk but evidence on culturally sensitive, school-based suicide prevention programs is limited in low-resource settings such as Pakistan. This study aims to explore the perspectives of students, parents, teachers, and general practitioners regarding cultural adaptation, participation experiences, identified areas for improvement, and recommendations for scaling up the school-based suicide prevention program in Pakistan.

This qualitative study was nested in a pilot randomized controlled trial that aimed at exploring the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of three suicide prevention interventions: (1) Linking Education and Awareness of Depression and Suicide-LEADS training for students (12–17 years), (2) Question-Persuade-Refer (QPR) training for teachers and parents and (3) Professional screening of at-risk students (ProfScreen) for health practitioners. A total of 8 focus group discussion (FGDs) were conducted at pre- and post-intervention stage with each type of stakeholder (students, teachers, parents and health professionals) by trained qualitative researchers using the semi-structured topic guides. Each FGDs involved a detailed presentation on intervention, sharing videos and educational posters.

As a result of pre-intervention FGDs, adaptations were made in the content of the interventions and were further refined through consultations with Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement group. All stakeholders who participated in post-intervention FGDs marked this suicide prevention program as feasible, acceptable and helpful in both identifying the risk of and preventing self-harm and suicide among young individuals, while also enhancing treatment pathways. Stakeholders perceived the interventions as valuable in augmenting knowledge about mental health, understanding the impact of mental health challenges on functioning, reducing stigma, and providing stakeholders with the necessary skills to identify and guide at-risk individuals. Teachers and parents endorsed the importance of discussing issues with children. Improvement in clinical practice of clinicians and teaching practice of teachers as well as understanding others’ behaviors were also reported.

This study highlights potential role of culturally adapted school-based youth suicide prevention program for settings where rates of suicide are high and there are limited mental healthcare resources in addition to limited access to healthcare. School-based suicide prevention program is perceived as helpful in improving knowledge, attitudes, and help-seeking behaviours in adolescents.

The prevalence of medical illnesses is high among patients with psychiatric disorders. The current study aimed to investigate multi-comorbidity in patients with psychiatric disorders in comparison to the general population. Secondary aims were to investigate factors associated with metabolic syndrome and treatment appropriateness of mental disorders.

The sample included 54,826 subjects (64.73% females; 34.15% males; 1.11% nonbinary gender) from 40 countries (COMET-G study). The analysis was based on the registration of previous history that could serve as a fair approximation for the lifetime prevalence of various medical conditions.

About 24.5% reported a history of somatic and 26.14% of mental disorders. Mental disorders were by far the most prevalent group of medical conditions. Comorbidity of any somatic with any mental disorder was reported by 8.21%. One-third to almost two-thirds of somatic patients were also suffering from a mental disorder depending on the severity and multicomorbidity. Bipolar and psychotic patients and to a lesser extent depressives, manifested an earlier (15–20 years) manifestation of somatic multicomorbidity, severe disability, and probably earlier death. The overwhelming majority of patients with mental disorders were not receiving treatment or were being treated in a way that was not recommended. Antipsychotics and antidepressants were not related to the development of metabolic syndrome.

The finding that one-third to almost two-thirds of somatic patients also suffered from a mental disorder strongly suggests that psychiatry is the field with the most trans-specialty and interdisciplinary value and application points to the importance of teaching psychiatry and mental health in medical schools and also to the need for more technocratically oriented training of psychiatric residents.

Suicidal ideation and attempts are growing public health concerns globally. Evidence from high-income countries suggests that individuals with psychosis and bipolar disorder are at increased risk of suicidal ideation and attempts, but there is a scarcity of evidence from South Asia.

To estimate the prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts in individuals with psychosis and bipolar disorder in South Asia.

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, four databases (PsycINFO, Web of Science, EMBASE and Medline) were searched until December 2022. Pooled prevalence was estimated with random-effects models. Heterogeneity was quantified with the I2-statistic.

The pooled sample size across the 21 studies was 3745 participants, 1941 (51.8%) of which were male. The pooled prevalence of suicide attempts in South Asian people with either psychosis or bipolar disorder was 22% (95% CI 17–27; n = 15). The pooled prevalence of suicidal ideation with psychosis or bipolar disorder combined was 38% (95% CI 27–51; n = 10). Meta-regression, subgroup and sensitivity analysis showed that the pooled prevalence estimates for both suicide attempt and ideation remained unaffected by variations in critical appraisal ratings and study designs. Only one study reported data on suicide-related deaths.

One in four individuals diagnosed with psychosis or bipolar disorder have reported suicide attempts, whereas up to one in three have experienced suicidal ideation. These findings underscore the urgent need for clinicians to regularly assess and monitor suicidal ideation and attempts among individuals with these disorders in South Asia.

Previous findings have indicated that self-harm and suicide are associated with different rates, and different risk and protective factors in South Asian people compared with White people in the UK. Substantial qualitative research has explored experiences of self-harm and suicide in South Asian people.

The study aims to review the existing qualitative evidence on self-harm and suicidal behaviours in South Asian communities in the UK.

Systematic searches were conducted on Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Open Dissertations and the British Library Ethos databases. We selected qualitative studies from both journals and grey literature that included South Asian participants who were resident in the UK and presented perceptions or experiences of self-harm and/or suicidal behaviour. Analysis was undertaken based on the meta-ethnographic approach.

Fifteen studies were included in the analysis. Experience of self-harm was discussed based on three aspects: behind self-harm, functions of self-harm and recovery from self-harm. ‘Behind self-harm’ refers to factors associated with self-harm and suicide. ‘Functions of self-harm’ captures the meaning attributed to self-harm and suicide. ‘Recovery from self-harm’ encapsulates personal and professional help, and practical suggestions for the improvement of mental health services.

Although some similarities with the majority White population were present, there were also crucial differences that need consideration when shaping health policies, improving access to health services and developing culturally sensitive psychosocial interventions for self-harm and suicide specific to South Asian communities in the UK.

Cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) is frequently used as an umbrella term to include a variety of psychological interventions. It remains unclear whether more complex CBT contributes to greater depression reduction.

To (a) compare the effectiveness of core, complex and ultra-complex CBT against other psychological intervention, medication, treatment-as-usual and no treatment in reducing depression at post-treatment and in the long term and (b) explore important factors that could moderate the effectiveness of these interventions.

MEDLINE, PsycInfo, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials were searched to November 2021. Only randomised controlled trials were eligible for the subsequent network meta-analysis.

We included 107 studies based on 15 248 participants. Core (s.m.d. = −1.14, 95% credible interval (CrI) −1.72 to −0.55 [m.d. = −8.44]), complex (s.m.d. = −1.24, 95% CrI −1.85 to −0.64 [m.d. = −9.18]) and ultra-complex CBT (s.m.d. = −1.45, 95% CrI −1.88 to −1.02 [m.d. = −10.73]) were all significant in reducing depression up to 6 months from treatment onset. The significant benefits of the ultra-complex (s.m.d. = −1.09, 95% CrI −1.61 to −0.56 [m.d. = −8.07]) and complex CBT (s.m.d. = −0.73, 95% CrI −1.36 to −0.11 [m.d. = −5.40]) extended beyond 6 months. Ultra-complex CBT was most effective in individuals presenting comorbid mental health problems and when delivered by non-mental health specialists. Ultra-complex and complex CBT were more effective for people younger than 59 years.

For people without comorbid conditions healthcare and policy organisations should invest in core CBT. For people <59 years of age with comorbid conditions investments should focus on ultra-complex and complex CBT delivered without the help of mental health professionals.

The aim of the study was to investigate mental health and conspiracy theory beliefs concerning COVID-19 among health care professionals (HCPs).

During lockdown, an online questionnaire gathered data from 507 HCPs (432 females aged 33.86 ± 8.63 and 75 males aged 39.09 ± 9.54).

A post-stratification method to transform the study sample was used; descriptive statistics were calculated.

Anxiety and probable depression were increased 1.5–2-fold and were higher in females and nurses. Previous history of depression was the main risk factor. The rates of believing in conspiracy theories concerning the COVID-19 were alarming with the majority of individuals (especially females) following some theory to at least some extend.

The current paper reports high rates of depression, distress and suicidal thoughts in the HCPs during the lockdown, with a high prevalence of beliefs in conspiracy theories. Female gender and previous history of depression acted as risk factors, while the belief in conspiracy theories might act as a protective factor. The results should be considered with caution due to the nature of the data (online survey on a self-selected but stratified sample).

The triad of symptom groups of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) encompasses cognitive impairment (e.g. impaired memory or orientation), neuropsychiatric symptoms like apathy, depressive mood, delusions, hallucinations or anxiety, and functional impairment exclusively in complex activities of daily living (cADL, e.g. preparing meals, managing finances) in minor neurocognitive disorder due to AD and both in complex and basic ADL (bADL, e.g. dressing, toileting) in major neurocognitive disorder due to AD. These functional impairments are widely thought to be exclusively attributable to the cognitive deficits of the disease. Of note, mounting evidence indicates that neuropsychiatric symptoms are very common in AD and pose a heavy burden to both patients and their caregivers.

To unravel potential associations between neuropsychiatric symptoms and cADL and bADL in individuals with neurocognitive disorder due to AD by means of machine learning (ML).

The study included 189 cognitively intact older individuals (CI) and 130 with either minor or major neurocognitive disorder due to AD. Neuropsychiatric symptoms were captured with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), covering delusions, hallucinations, aggression, depression, anxiety, apathy, elation, disinhibition, irritability, motor disturbance, nighttime behavioural disturbances and appetite disturbances; cognitive function was assessed with the Cognitive Telephone Screening Instrument (COGTEL); The Bristol ADL scale, an informant-rated measure, was employed for tapping performance of ADL. A variety of ML-models was constructed and trained/tested using a 5-fold cross validation, with SMOTE employed as a remedy for class imbalances. In all cases the features had been selected beforehand based on LASSO technique. The dependent variable was either cADL or bADL (after their discretization based on kMeans quantization). Additionally, the modelling of the diagnosis was also attempted within our ML framework.

Gradient Boosting models performed superiorly. cADL and bADL levels are predicted based on both deficits in cognitive domains and NPI variables with an accuracy of 82.3% and 84.8% respectively.

In addition, diagnosis can be predicted, with an accuracy of 83.5%, based on a model in which NPI and Bristol ADL variables were significant predictors.

cADL- and bADL performance in patients with AD is influenced by both cognitive deficits and neuropsychiatric symptoms.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the rapid implementation of changes to practice in mental health services, in particular transitions of care. Care transitions pose a particular threat to patient safety.

This study aimed to understand the perspectives of different stakeholders about the impact of temporary changes in practice and policy of mental health transitions as a result of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on perceived healthcare quality and safety.

Thirty-four participants were interviewed about quality and safety in mental health transitions during May and June 2020 (the end of the first UK national lockdown). Semi-structured remote interviews were conducted to generate in-depth information pertaining to various stakeholders (patients, carers, healthcare professionals and key informants). Results were analysed thematically.

The qualitative data highlighted six overarching themes in relation to practice changes: (a) technology-enabled communication; (b) discharge planning and readiness; (c) community support and follow-up; (d) admissions; (e) adapting to new policy and guidelines; (f) health worker safety and well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated some quality and safety concerns such as tensions between teams, reduced support in the community and increased threshold for admissions. Also, several improvement interventions previously recommended in the literature, were implemented locally.

The practice of mental health transitions has transformed during the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting quality and safety. National policies concerning mental health transitions should concentrate on converting the mostly local and temporary positive changes into sustainable service quality improvements and applying systematic corrective policies to prevent exacerbations of previous quality and safety concerns.

The aim of the current study was to explore the effect of gender, age at onset, and duration on the long-term course of schizophrenia.

Twenty-nine centers from 25 countries representing all continents participated in the study that included 2358 patients aged 37.21 ± 11.87 years with a DSM-IV or DSM-5 diagnosis of schizophrenia; the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale as well as relevant clinicodemographic data were gathered. Analysis of variance and analysis of covariance were used, and the methodology corrected for the presence of potentially confounding effects.

There was a 3-year later age at onset for females (P < .001) and lower rates of negative symptoms (P < .01) and higher depression/anxiety measures (P < .05) at some stages. The age at onset manifested a distribution with a single peak for both genders with a tendency of patients with younger onset having slower advancement through illness stages (P = .001). No significant effects were found concerning duration of illness.

Our results confirmed a later onset and a possibly more benign course and outcome in females. Age at onset manifested a single peak in both genders, and surprisingly, earlier onset was related to a slower progression of the illness. No effect of duration has been detected. These results are partially in accord with the literature, but they also differ as a consequence of the different starting point of our methodology (a novel staging model), which in our opinion precluded the impact of confounding effects. Future research should focus on the therapeutic policy and implications of these results in more representative samples.

SARS-CoV-2 has rapidly spread worldwide, threatening public health and financial and social life.

The current study's aim was to determine the prevalence of psychological distress and post-traumatic stress symptoms in the Greek population during the first COVID-19 lockdown, and to detect potential correlates.

An anonymous online survey was conducted between 10 April and 4 May 2020, to collect information regarding people's psychological functioning and COVID-19-related perceptions.

A total of 1443 individuals completed the survey; 293 (20%) reported clinically significant anxiety symptoms, 188 (12.9%) reported clinically significant depressive symptoms and 506 (36.4%) suffered from definite post-traumatic stress disorder. Anxiety symptoms were independently associated with female gender (β = 1.281, 95% CI 0.808–1.755, P < 0.001), educational level (β = −1.570, 95% CI −2.546 to −0.595, P = 0.002), perceived severity (β = −1.745, 95% CI −3.146 to −0.344, P = 0.015) and COVID-19-related worry (β = 7.633, 95% CI 6.206–9.060, P < 0.001). Depressive symptoms were strongly correlated with educational level (β = −1.298, 95% CI −2.220 to −0.377, P = 0.006), perceived severity (β = −1.331, 95% CI −2.579 to −0.082, P = 0.037) and COVID-19-related worry (β = 4.102, 95% CI 2.769–5.436, P < 0.001). Finally, post-traumatic stress symptoms were linked to female gender (β = 6.451, 95% CI 4.602–8.299, P < 0.001), educational level (β = −5.737, 95% CI −9.479 to −1.996, P = 0.003), psychiatric history (β = −4.028, 95% CI −6.274 to −1.782, P < 0.001) and COVID-19-related worry (β = 23.865, 95% CI 18.201–29.530, P < 0.001).

A significant percentage of the population reported clinically important anxiety, depressive and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Women, less-educated individuals and people with a psychiatric history appeared more vulnerable to the pandemic's psychological impact.

The aim of the current study was to explore the changing interrelationships among clinical variables through the stages of schizophrenia in order to assemble a comprehensive and meaningful disease model.

Twenty-nine centers from 25 countries participated and included 2358 patients aged 37.21 ± 11.87 years with schizophrenia. Multiple linear regression analysis and visual inspection of plots were performed.

The results suggest that with progression stages, there are changing correlations among Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale factors at each stage and each factor correlates with all the others in that particular stage, in which this factor is dominant. This internal structure further supports the validity of an already proposed four stages model, with positive symptoms dominating the first stage, excitement/hostility the second, depression the third, and neurocognitive decline the last stage.

The current study investigated the mental organization and functioning in patients with schizophrenia in relation to different stages of illness progression. It revealed two distinct “cores” of schizophrenia, the “Positive” and the “Negative,” while neurocognitive decline escalates during the later stages. Future research should focus on the therapeutic implications of such a model. Stopping the progress of the illness could demand to stop the succession of stages. This could be achieved not only by both halting the triggering effect of positive and negative symptoms, but also by stopping the sensitization effect on the neural pathways responsible for the development of hostility, excitement, anxiety, and depression as well as the deleterious effect on neural networks responsible for neurocognition.

Simultaneous PET/MR/EEG (Positron Emission Tomography – Magnetic Resonance – Electroencephalography), a new tool for the investigation of neuronal networks in the human brain, is presented here within the framework of the European Union Project TRIMAGE. The trimodal, cost-effective PET/MR/EEG imaging tool makes use of cutting edge technology both in PET and in MR fields. A novel type of magnet (1.5T, non-cryogenic) has been built together with a PET scanner that makes use of the most advanced photodetectors (i.e., SiPM matrices), scintillators matrices (LYSO) and digital electronics. The combined PET/MR/EEG system is dedicated to brain imaging and has an inner diameter of 260 mm and an axial Field-of-View of 160 mm.

It enables the acquisition and assessment of molecular metabolic information with high spatial and temporal resolution in a given brain simultaneously. The dopaminergic system and the glutamatergic system in schizophrenic patients are investigated via PET, the same physiological/pathophysiological conditions with regard to functional connectivity, via fMRI, and its electrophysiological signature via EEG. In addition to basic neuroscience questions addressing neurovascular-metabolic coupling, this new methodology lays the foundation for individual physiological and pathological fingerprints for a wide research field addressing healthy aging, gender effects, plasticity and different psychiatric and neurological diseases.

The preliminary performances of two components of the imaging tool (PET and MR) are discussed. Initial results of the search of possible candidates for suitable schizophrenia biomarkers are also presented as obtained with PET/MR systems available to the collaboration.