Drug use Disorder (DUD), the risk for which is substantially influenced by both genetic and social factors, is geographically concentrated in high-risk regions. An important step toward understanding this pattern is to examine geographical distributions of the genetic liability to DUD and a key demographic risk factor – social deprivation.

We calculated the mean family genetic risk score (FGRS) for DUD ((FGRSDUD) and social deprivation for each of the 5983 areas Demographic Statistical Areas (DeSO) for all of Sweden and used geospatial techniques to analyze and map these factors.

Using 2018 data, substantial spatial heterogeneity was seen in the distribution of the genetic risk for DUD in Sweden as a whole and in its three major urban centers which was confirmed by hot-spot analyses. Across DeSOs, FGRSDUD and s.d. levels were substantially but imperfectly correlated (r = + 0.63), with more scattering at higher FGRSDUD and s.d. scores. Joint mapping across DeSOs for FGRSDUD and s.d. revealed a diversity of patterns across Sweden. The stability of the distributions of FGRSDUD and s.d. in DeSOs within Sweden over the years 2012–2018 was quite high.

The geographical distribution of the genetic risk to DUD is quite variable in Sweden. DeSO levels of s.d. and FRGSDUD were substantially correlated but also disassociated in a number of regions. The observed patterns were largely consistent with known trends in the human geography of Sweden. This effort lays the groundwork for further studies of the sources of geographic variation in rates of DUD.

The prevalence of depressive symptoms and cognitive decline increases with age, reducing quality of life. However, the temporal relationship between the two remains elusive.

We aimed to explore the temporal relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive decline in individuals aged 85 years, during up to 5 years follow-up.

Participants eligible for this study were selected from the Leiden 85-plus Study, who participated for at least 3 follow-up measurements. Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline and at follow-up in a period of 6 yearly assessments, utilizing the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). Cognitive decline was measured through various tests including the Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE), Stroop Test, Letter Digit Coding Test, and immediate and delayed recall using the 12-word learning test. Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) analysis was employed to model their temporal dynamics, in undirected and directed analysis, to ascertain whether depressive symptoms precede cognitive decline, or vice versa.

The study included a total of 325 (54.2%) of 599 patients, of whom 68.0% were female, 45.0% with intermediate to higher education, and all aged 85 years. Depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning significantly covaried in time, and directed analyses showed that depressive symptoms preceded most of the parameters of cognitive decline in the oldest old. Of the 15 GDS symptoms, those with the strongest outstrength were worthlessness, hopelessness, low happiness, dropping activities/interests, and low satisfaction with life (all p<.01).

We found a strong temporal link between depressive symptoms and subsequent cognitive decline in a population of the oldest old. This highlights the importance of a holistic approach that considers both mental and cognitive well-being in the aging population. As depressive symptoms were an early indicator of cognitive decline, it is of importance that healthcare professionals recognize and address depressive symptoms early to allow for appropriate interventions and support, to potentially mitigate the impact on cognitive decline.

None Declared

Almost 5 million people worldwide have lost their lives due to SARS-CoV-2 (source: WHO coronavirus (COVID-19) dashboard, data of 1.10.2021; https://covid19.who.int/) and therefore, globally, there is an increase of people in grief due to the death of a significant other.

To study psychological correlates of grief during the COVID-19 pandemic.

591 university students, with a mean age of 23.84±7.95 years (range 18-65 years; 76.8% women; 91.2% Portuguese) completed an online questionnaire during the second COVID-19 confinement (from 15.02 to 13.03.2021), with sociodemographic questions, the Pandemic Stress Index, the Mental Health Inventory, Insomnia Scale, questions on physical/ psychological health, and social isolation.

Students bereaving the death of a significant other (n=93, 15.7%; n=25, 26.9% reported cause was SARS-CoV-2; time since death: < 3 months to 1-year), compared to those who did not (n= 498; 84.3%), described poorer psychological health, higher psychological distress (depression, anxiety, lack of control) and sleep difficulties, higher levels of stress (higher impact of COVID pandemic in daily life, and higher behavior changes in response to COVID-19) and more social isolation.

COVID-19 pandemic-related stress is a source of additional stress for bereaved students. Grief is also associated with social isolation, poor mental health (depression, anxiety, lack of control) and sleep difficulties. Screening efforts, guidance, and counseling from professionals of mental health care, primary health care, and universities health care services during and after the COVID-19 pandemic could be extremely beneficial for bereaved students, particularly for those at higher risk of developing prolonged grief disorder.

No significant relationships.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric disorder with complex etiology, with a significant portion of disease risk imparted by genetics. Traditional genome-wide association studies (GWAS) produce principal evidence for the association of genetic variants with disease. Transcriptomic imputation (TI) allows for the translation of those variants into regulatory mechanisms, which can then be used to assess the functional outcome of genetically regulated gene expression (GReX) in a broader setting through the use of phenome-wide association studies (pheWASs) in large and diverse clinical biobank populations with electronic health record phenotypes.

Here, we applied TI using S-PrediXcan to translate the most recent PGC-ED AN GWAS findings into AN-GReX. For significant genes, we imputed AN-GReX in the Mount Sinai BioMe™ Biobank and performed pheWASs on over 2000 outcomes to test the clinical consequences of aberrant expression of these genes. We performed a secondary analysis to assess the impact of body mass index (BMI) and sex on AN-GReX clinical associations.

Our S-PrediXcan analysis identified 53 genes associated with AN, including what is, to our knowledge, the first-genetic association of AN with the major histocompatibility complex. AN-GReX was associated with autoimmune, metabolic, and gastrointestinal diagnoses in our biobank cohort, as well as measures of cholesterol, medications, substance use, and pain. Additionally, our analyses showed moderation of AN-GReX associations with measures of cholesterol and substance use by BMI, and moderation of AN-GReX associations with celiac disease by sex.

Our BMI-stratified results provide potential avenues of functional mechanism for AN-genes to investigate further.

For patients with bipolar disorder, early recognition of impending mood episodes is crucial to enable timely intervention. Longitudinal digital mood monitoring using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) enable prospective study of early warning signals (EWS) in momentary affective estates prior to symptom transitions.

The present study examined in a unique longitudinal EMA data set whether EWS prospectively signal transitions to manic or depressive episodes.

Twenty bipolar type I/II patients completed EMA questionnaires five times a day for four months (average 491 observations per person), as well as weekly symptom questionnaires concerning depressive (Quick Inventory for Depressive Symptomatology) and manic (Altman Self-Rating Mania Scale) symptoms. Weekly data was used to determine transitions (i.e., abrupt increase in symptoms). Prior to these transitions, EWS (autocorrelation at lag-1 and standard deviation) were calculated in moving windows over 17 affective EMA states. Kendall’s tau was calculated to detect significant rises in the EWS indicator prior to the transition.

Eleven patients reported one or two transitions to a mood episode. All transitions were preceded by at least one EWS. Average sensitivity for detecting EWS was slightly higher for manic episodes (36%) than for depressive episodes (25%). For manic episodes, EWS in thoughts racing, being full of ideas, and feeling agitated showed the highest sensitivity and specificity, whereas for depression, only feeling tired showed high sensitivity and specify.

EWS show promise in anticipating transitions to mood episodes in bipolar disorder. Further investigation is warranted.

No significant relationships.

Mentalization (MZ) is the capacity by which people make sense of their own’s and others’ mental states; when compromised, it is associated with several mental disorders (Bateman & Fonagy, 2010). A valid instrument to assess MZ is missing and required for the Portuguese population.

To develop and validate a Portuguese version (Questionário de Mentalização – QMZ) of the Mentalization Questionnaire (MZQ) (Hausberg et al., 2012).

A sample of 184 Portuguese medical students (mean age = 21.6 ± 2.47 years, 59.8% female) was used to explore the psychometric properties of the scale, using reliability and factor analysis (varimax rotation method).

The QMZ exhibited a Cronbach’s alpha score of .80. All items contributed to its reliability. Based on the scree plot of Cattell and interpretability of items, a 2-factor and a 5-factor structures were further explored. The former explained 38.8% of the total variance (VE) and included a regulation of affect (VE= 27.3%, α=.79) and a self-reflection and emotional awareness (VE= 11.5%, α=.62) factors. The latter explained 60.6% of the total variance and incorporated the following dimensions: self-control (VE= 27.3%, α=.74), daily relationships (VE= 11.5%, α=.67), self-comprehension (VE= 8.1%, α=.54), close relationships (VE= 7.0%, α=.41) and self-monitoring (VE= 6.7%, α=.52). The 5-factor structure was closer to the dimensional concept of mentalization.

The QMZ has proved to be a promising instrument, with adequate psychometric properties, confirmed by its acceptable construct, criterion and factorial validity and reliability to assess mentalization in Portuguese language.