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New research presented at the 59th Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting looked at the link between an increased risk of heart disease and stress hormone sensitivity. The study has been published in the Journal of Hormone Research in Paediatrics. “In clinical practice, healthy subjects are characterized by differences in glucocorticoid sensitivity that may influence the therapeutic outcome and any adverse effects of synthetic glucocorticoids,” study author Nicolas C. Nicolaides told us. “Thus, it would be very helpful for clinicians to have a fast and accurate methodology that would enable the classification of individuals based on their tissue sensitivity to glucocorticoids." [More]

Despite global upheaval during the COVID-19 pandemic, suicide rates in the United States fell during 2020. The downward trend in suicide rates mirrors what occurred in the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918-1920. But researchers are warning that challenges still remain in addressing the impacts of COVID-19 among disadvantaged communities. [More]

A new study published in Nursing Administration Quarterly looked at associations among nurses' mental and physical Health, lifestyle behaviors, shift length, and workplace wellness support during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Based on previous findings from similar studies, we theorized that the COVID-19 pandemic would have a negative impact on the well-being of nurses,” study author Bernadette Mazurek told us. “Moreover, we believed that nurses who worked shorter shift lengths ( 12 hours) and perceived their workplace as not supportive of their wellness.” [More]

People who live in apartments may have experienced more mental health issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic than their peers in the suburbs. Research from the University of Georgia found apartment dwellers, and in particular those who lived alone, had higher odds of experiencing mental health issues than people who lived in condos or standalone homes. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Behavioural Brain Research looked at how chronic vicarious social defeat stress (cVSDS) attenuates newborn neuronal cell survival in a mouse hippocampus. “In the current research, we examined influences of psychological stress on the adult hippocampal neurogenesis, which is assumed to be inseparably connected to the depressive states,” study author Akiyoshi Saitoh told us. [More]

A new study published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health looked at the associations between food worry and mental health during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our study focused on better understanding the mental health impacts due to worry about not having enough food to meet one’s household’s basic needs during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic,” study author Corey McAuliffe told us. “We aimed to identify the impact that food worry (concerns of meeting one’s basic food needs) had on different mental health experiences (e.g., anxiety/worry, depression, overall mental health, suicidal thoughts), as well as to explore potential inequitable impacts across the population.” [More]

A new study published in eNeuro examined team flow and how it is a unique brain state associated with enhanced information integration and neural synchrony. “The study is about Team flow; a psychological state experienced when a team gets ‘in the zone’ during their performance,” study author Dr. Mohammad Shehata told us. “Successful teams and their coaches or supervisors strive to reach this state. We were hoping to detect brain signals specific to team flow and understand the neural mechanisms behind this state.” [More]

You feel it ahead of a big exam. Your stomach churns before a job interview. Your heart races before you board a plane. Stress is something everyone is likely to experience at some point. But stress doesn’t have to be an obstacle. In fact, it can be a useful tool. A recent study from the University of Rochester found that re-evaluating perceptions of stress can improve mental health, wellbeing and ultimately, success. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry looked at how genetically encoded sensors enable micro and nano-scopic decoding of transmission in healthy and diseased brains. “Our study looked at developing a method to visualize neuromodulatory communication between neurons at the nanoscale,” study author Li Lin told us. “Neuromodulatory communication is important for many high cognitive behaviors and its deficit is responsible various psychiatric, mental and neurology disorders.” [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Pediatric Research looked at family environment and development in children adopted from institutionalized care. “This prospective study followed children recently adopted from institutionalized care over two years to investigate the relationship between family environment, executive function, and behavioral outcomes,” study author Constantine A. Stratakis told us. “My research interest is how early life stress effects development.” [More]