Analysis of Consultation Demand in a Mental Health Centre during the Recent Economic Recession

Concordance in psychopharmacological treatment before and after first mental health consultation

PURPOSE

To analyse concordance between treatment prescribed before and after the first mental health consultation. We understand concordance in two different senses: first, as a similar amount of equivalent doses and drug type; second, as a similar treatment for each patient.

METHOD

This is an analytical, descriptive, retrospective study on psychopharmacological treatment before and after first mental health consultation of 1236 patients. Drugs were classified into four groups and the equivalent dose respect to reference medication was considered in each group in order to make a comparison between primary and mental health.

RESULTS

Moderate concordance was found in prescribed treatments before and after first mental health consultation (except antidepressants). The average number of benzodiazepines decreased, as did average doses prescribed at mental health consultation respect to previously prescribed treatment; average doses of antidepressants, however, increased. From the patient's perspective, dose increase was more frequent than decrease. Nevertheless, a high percentage of polymedicated patients were found, although this percentage decreased after the first mental health consultation.

CONCLUSION

There exists a moderate concordance between the pharmacological treatment prescribed before and after the first mental health consultation. However, the use of benzodiazepines diminished significantly after the first consultation, mainly due to a decrease in the percentage of polymedicated patients.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of predictors of adjustment disorders in adults

BACKGROUND

The diagnosis of adjustment disorder is common in clinical practice, yet there is lack of research on the etiology and epidemiology of adjustment disorders. The goal of this systematic review was to evaluate predictors of adjustment disorders in adults.

METHODS

We conducted systematic searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO. We included 70 studies that examined thirteen theoretically-derived and predefined predictors of adjustment disorders with a total of 3,449,374 participants.

RESULTS

We found that female gender, younger age, unemployed status, stress, physical illness and injury, low social support, and a history of mental health disorders predicted adjustment disorders. Most of these predictors differentiated individuals with adjustment disorders from individuals with no mental health disorders. Participants with adjustment disorders were more likely to have experienced accidents than were those with posttraumatic stress disorder but were less likely to have experienced assaults and abuse, neglect, and maltreatment. More research is needed to identify factors that differentiate adjustment disorders from other mental health disorders.

LIMITATIONS

Because very few studies adjusted for confounders (e.g., demographic variables, mental health histories, and a variety of stressors), it was not possible to identify independent associations between predictors and adjustment disorders.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified a number of factors that predicted adjustment disorders compared to no mental health diagnosis. The majority of studies were rated as moderate or high in risk of bias, suggesting that more rigorous research is needed to confirm the relationships we detected.

The Impact of Economic Recessions on Depression, Anxiety, and Trauma-Related Disorders and Illness Outcomes-A Scoping Review

In the wake of a global economic recession secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic, this scoping review seeks to summarize the current quantitative research on the impact of economic recessions on depression, anxiety, traumatic disorders, self-harm, and suicide. Seven research databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science: Core Collection, National Library of Medicine PubMed, PubMed Central, and Google Scholar) were searched for keywords returning 3412 preliminary results published since 2008 in Organisation for Economic Coordination and Development (OECD)nations. These were screened by both authors for inclusion/exclusion criteria resulting in 127 included articles. Articles included were quantitative studies in OECD countries assessing select mental disorders (depression, anxiety, and trauma-/stress-related disorders) and illness outcomes (self-harm and suicide) during periods of economic recession. Articles were limited to publication from 2008 to 2020, available online in English, and utilizing outcome measures specific to the disorders and outcomes specified above. A significant relationship was found between periods of economic recession and increased depressive symptoms, self-harming behaviour, and suicide during and following periods of recession. Results suggest that existing models for mental health support and strategies for suicide prevention may be less effective than they are in non-recession times. It may be prudent to focus public education and medical treatments on raising awareness and access to supports for populations at higher risk, including those vulnerable to the impacts of job or income loss due to low socioeconomic status preceding the recession or high levels of financial strain, those supporting others financially, approaching retirement, and those in countries with limited social safety nets. Policy makers should be aware of the potential protective nature of unemployment safeguards and labour program investment in mitigating these negative impacts. Limited or inconclusive data were found on the relationship with traumatic disorders and symptoms of anxiety. In addition, research has focused primarily on the working-age adult population with limited data available on children, adolescents, and older adults, leaving room for further research in these areas.

Emotional adaptation during a crisis: decline in anxiety and depression after the initial weeks of COVID-19 in the United States

Crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic are known to exacerbate depression and anxiety, though their temporal trajectories remain under-investigated. The present study aims to investigate fluctuations in depression and anxiety using the COVID-19 pandemic as a model crisis. A total of 1512 adults living in the United States enrolled in this online study beginning April 2, 2020 and were assessed weekly for 10 weeks (until June 4, 2020). We measured depression and anxiety using the Zung Self-Rating Depression scale and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (state subscale), respectively, along with demographic and COVID-related surveys. Linear mixed-effects models were used to examine factors contributing to longitudinal changes in depression and anxiety. We found that depression and anxiety levels were high in early April, but declined over time. Being female, younger age, lower-income, and previous psychiatric diagnosis correlated with higher overall levels of anxiety and depression; being married additionally correlated with lower overall levels of depression, but not anxiety. Importantly, worsening of COVID-related economic impact and increase in projected pandemic duration exacerbated both depression and anxiety over time. Finally, increasing levels of informedness correlated with decreasing levels of depression, while increased COVID-19 severity (i.e., 7-day change in cases) and social media use were positively associated with anxiety over time. These findings not only provide evidence for overall emotional adaptation during the initial weeks of the pandemic, but also provide insight into overlapping, yet distinct, factors contributing to depression and anxiety throughout the first wave of the pandemic.