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A new study published in JAMA Network looked at trends in public stigma of mental illness in the United States. “The National Stigma Studies are designed to monitor the cultural climate surrounding mental illness and addiction,” study author Bernice A. Pescosolido told us. “This involves not only what people understand, what they can recognize as a problem, what they might do about it (or advise others to do), but also the prejudice and potential discrimination that individuals, families and certain groups face if they have mental health issues.” [More]

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]

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]

Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and it is well known that there are strong links between parental and child depression. Understanding this relationship is key to trying to prevent intergenerational transmission. Worldwide, one in five women suffers from postpartum depression. A new study published in BJPsych looked at maternal and paternal depression and child mental health trajectories. “Our study is about tracking mood over time in children of parents who were depressed in pregnancy and/or after birth,” study author, Professor Rebecca Pearson of Manchester Metropolitan University/University of Bristol told us. [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]

Children from less wealthy families are likely to have found COVID-19 lockdowns more difficult due to less time spent in nature than their more affluent peers. Researchers from the University of Cambridge found that children who spent more time in nature during lockdown had less emotional and behavioural problems. [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 the Journal of Brain Imaging Behaviour looked at sexual assault and white matter hyperintensities among midlife women. “Adverse mental health implications of trauma and sexual assault have been studied extensively over the years, yet much of this research wasn’t spotlighted before the advent of the #MeToo movement several years ago,” study author Dr. Rebecca Thurston told us. “There has been some work, including my own research, which linked experiences of trauma and sexual assault to the underlying cardiovascular disease risk in women. However, much less is known about what these traumatic experiences may mean for a woman’s risk of serious brain disorders such as stroke and dementia.” [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]