The importance of face-to-face contact and reciprocal relationships and their associations with depressive symptoms and life satisfaction

Mental health and cognitive function among medical students after the COVID-19 pandemic in China

Background

Chinese people experienced a nationwide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic after the adjustment of epidemic response policies from December 2022 to January 2023. This study aims to explore the prevalence of mental and cognitive symptoms and their associated factors among medical students after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted between February 27th and March 8th, 2023. The symptoms of anxiety, depression, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and cognitive function among medical students were examined using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), the Impact of Event Scale-6 (IES-6), and the Perceived Deficits Questionnaire-Depression-5 (PDQ-D-5). Data on demographic information was also collected. Statistical analyses were conducted to describe the prevalence and explore the associated factors of mental and cognitive symptoms.

Results

Among 947 participants, the proportion of students experiencing anxiety, depression, insomnia, and PTSD symptoms was 37.8, 39.3, 28.3, and 29.5%, respectively. The self-reported COVID-19 infection rate was 72.2%. Higher grades, childhood, and current rural residence were identified as potential risk factors for mental and cognitive symptoms. Gender, age, average monthly household income, and COVID-19 diagnosis were not associated with mental and cognitive symptoms among medical students.

Conclusion

Our findings revealed a high prevalence of mental and cognitive symptoms among Chinese medical students after the COVID-19 pandemic. Special attention should be paid to the mental health of higher-grade students and those residing in rural areas.

Life satisfaction in UK emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Current research indicates that young adults are at a higher risk of deteriorating wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to older adults. Drawing upon the Understanding Society COVID-19 survey, this study examined the trajectory of life satisfaction in UK emerging adults from May 2020 to September 2021 with social, health, financial, and demographic factors as covariates. The analytic sample included 880 participants (612 females, 268 males) between the ages of 18-29. Growth curve modelling was used to estimate the trajectory of life satisfaction and examine whether the covariates account for variation in the mean level and/or slopes. The trajectory of life satisfaction declined slightly between May 2020 and January 2021 and then increased to September 2021, aligning with the tightening and easing of UK COVID-19 policies. Greater perceived current financial difficulties, pre-existing mental health and physical health conditions, and higher self-reported loneliness were associated with lower life satisfaction. Being female and living with a romantic partner, more face-to-face social interactions, and higher household income were associated with more life satisfaction. Gender interacted with pre-existing mental health conditions. Women with no pre-existing mental health conditions reported the highest level of life satisfaction, while women with pre-existing mental health conditions reported the lowest level, compared to men who reported a similar level of life satisfaction regardless of their mental health. The findings from the present study contribute toward the current understanding of changes in life satisfaction throughout the pandemic among emerging adults. Implications for intervention are discussed.

No travel worsens depression: reciprocal relationship between travel and depression among older adults

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to examine the bidirectional relationship between depression and travel.

METHOD

We analyzed 8524 participants' data obtained from the 2008 to 2016 waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a prospective cohort study. Depression was diagnosed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale: 10-Items (CES-D10), with scores of 4 or higher indicating depression. We used a generalized estimating equation and a cross-lagged panel model for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Participants who had not traveled for one year had a 71% higher risk of suffering from depression in the following year than did those who had traveled [relative risk (RR) = 1.71, P < 0.001], and participants with depression had more than double the increased risk of not traveling than did those not currently suffering from depression (RR = 2.08, P < 0.001). The cross-lagged panel model confirmed the vicious cycle involving the amount of travel and score on the CES-D10; individuals who traveled more frequently were more likely to have lower scores on the CES-D10 (coefficient = - 0.04 to - 0.03, Ps < 0.01), and individuals with higher scores were less likely to travel (coefficient = - 0.06 to - 0.03, Ps < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The risk of depression increases for people who do not travel, and a reciprocal relationship exists between travel and depression.

Prevalence of anxiety symptom and depressive symptom among college students during COVID-19 pandemic: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has brought huge changes to people's lifestyles, college students have also been affected seriously. Evidence about these significant changes indicated that college students were more prone to feel anxious and depressed. To derive a precise assessment of the prevalence of anxiety symptom and depressive symptom among college students worldwide, we conducted this meta-analysis.

METHODS

Based on the guidance of PRISMA, literature was searched in Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase, and PsycArticles (last search November 6, 2020). These articles after the screening were analyzed by a random-effects model to estimate the pooled prevalence of anxiety symptom and depressive symptom. Also, subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, and publication bias were performed in this meta-analysis.

RESULTS

The results showed that the pooled anxiety symptom prevalence was 31% (95% CI: 23-39%), pooled depressive symptom prevalence was 34% (95% CI: 27-41%). Subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence of anxiety symptom and depressive symptom among different countries' college students were different, and the pooled depressive symptom prevalence of females was higher compared with males.

LIMITATIONS

The prevalence of anxiety symptom and depressive symptom in worldwide college students could be better assessed by a standard and reliable questionnaire.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that the prevalence of anxiety symptom and depressive symptom during the COVID-19 pandemic is relatively high. Except for interventions that should be taken to control the pandemic urgently, mental health services are also needed to decrease the risk of anxiety and depression among college students.

Public Concern About Monitoring Twitter Users and Their Conversations to Recruit for Clinical Trials: Survey Study

Background

Social networks such as Twitter offer the clinical research community a novel opportunity for engaging potential study participants based on user activity data. However, the availability of public social media data has led to new ethical challenges about respecting user privacy and the appropriateness of monitoring social media for clinical trial recruitment. Researchers have voiced the need for involving users’ perspectives in the development of ethical norms and regulations.

Objective

This study examined the attitudes and level of concern among Twitter users and nonusers about using Twitter for monitoring social media users and their conversations to recruit potential clinical trial participants.

Methods

We used two online methods for recruiting study participants: the open survey was (1) advertised on Twitter between May 23 and June 8, 2017, and (2) deployed on TurkPrime, a crowdsourcing data acquisition platform, between May 23 and June 8, 2017. Eligible participants were adults, 18 years of age or older, who lived in the United States. People with and without Twitter accounts were included in the study.

Results

While nearly half the respondents—on Twitter (94/603, 15.6%) and on TurkPrime (509/603, 84.4%)—indicated agreement that social media monitoring constitutes a form of eavesdropping that invades their privacy, over one-third disagreed and nearly 1 in 5 had no opinion. A chi-square test revealed a positive relationship between respondents’ general privacy concern and their average concern about Internet research (P<.005). We found associations between respondents’ Twitter literacy and their concerns about the ability for researchers to monitor their Twitter activity for clinical trial recruitment (P=.001) and whether they consider Twitter monitoring for clinical trial recruitment as eavesdropping (P<.001) and an invasion of privacy (P=.003). As Twitter literacy increased, so did people’s concerns about researchers monitoring Twitter activity. Our data support the previously suggested use of the nonexceptionalist methodology for assessing social media in research, insofar as social media-based recruitment does not need to be considered exceptional and, for most, it is considered preferable to traditional in-person interventions at physical clinics. The expressed attitudes were highly contextual, depending on factors such as the type of disease or health topic (eg, HIV/AIDS vs obesity vs smoking), the entity or person monitoring users on Twitter, and the monitored information.

Conclusions

The data and findings from this study contribute to the critical dialogue with the public about the use of social media in clinical research. The findings suggest that most users do not think that monitoring Twitter for clinical trial recruitment constitutes inappropriate surveillance or a violation of privacy. However, researchers should remain mindful that some participants might find social media monitoring problematic when connected with certain conditions or health topics. Further research should isolate factors that influence the level of concern among social media users across platforms and populations and inform the development of more clear and consistent guidelines.