Predictors of suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms among adolescents in Chiapas, Mexico

Integrated 16S rRNA sequencing and metabolomics analysis to investigate the antidepressant role of Yang-Xin-Jie-Yu decoction on microbe-gut-metabolite in chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depression rat model

Objectives: Our goals were to evaluate the antidepressant efficacy of Yang-Xin-Jie-Yu Decoction (YXJYD) in Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress (CUMS)-induced depression rat model and to investigate the underlying mechanisms.

Design: We used CUMS-induced depression rat model to evaluate whether oral administration of YXJYD with different doses (2.1 g/kg, 1.05 g/kg and 0.525 g/kg, respectively) improve the depressive-like symptoms, and then performed UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS to explore the active ingredients of YXJYD. Subsequently, rat’s cecal contents, serum, and urine were collected from the control group, CUMS model group, and YXJYD high-dose (2.1 g/kg) treatment group. The 16S rRNA sequencing was performed on the cecal contents, based on Illumina MiSeq platform, and ANOVA analysis were used to analyze the composition variety and screen differential expression of gut bacteria in the three groups. 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analysis was used for analyzing the metabolites obtained from cecal contents, serum, and urine, and KEGG enrichment analysis was used to identify pathways of differential metabolites. An integrated 16S rRNA sequencing and metabolomic data were conducted to characterize the underlying mechanisms of YXJYD

Results: The gut microbial communities, and serum, cecal content, urine metabolic compositions were significantly significantly altered in CUMS-induced depressive rats, while YXJYD effectively ameliorated the CUMS-associated gut microbiota dysbiosis, especially of Monoglobus, and alleviated the disturbance of serum, cecal content, urine metabolome and reversed the changes of key depressive and gut microbiota-related metabolites, such as succinic acid, taurine, hippuric acid, melatonin. With an integrated study of the gut microbiota and metabolomes, we identified the pathway of tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) and propanoate metabolism as the regulated target of YXJYD on host-microbiome interaction.

Conclusion: Our findings further confirmed the imbalance of metabolism and intestinal microbial is closely related to CUMS-induced depression. YXJYD regulates gut microbiome to affect body metabolomes and then produce antidepressant-like effect in CUMS-induced depressive rats while its molecular mechanism possibly be increased Monoglobus abundance in gut microbiota and regulated the TCA cycle pathway and propanoate metabolism in host.

Prevalence of Depression and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Among Mexican Indigenous Adolescents and Young Adults: Challenges for Healthcare

Providing evidence on mental disorders in indigenous adolescents is critical to achieving universal health coverage (UHC). The prevalence of symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms were estimated for 2082 adolescents aged 14-20 years in Chiapas, Mexico. Mental disorders were assessed using the 9-item Patient-Health Questionnaire and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale. Among the adolescents evaluated, 35.8% suffered from depression or generalized anxiety disorder. Of those, 6.1% reported a previous diagnosis. 32.1% of adolescents with both mental disorders reported having attempted suicide. Gender, substance use, adverse living experiences and living conditions were correlated to the presence of depression and/or generalized anxiety disorder. It is mandatory for Mexican health authorities to develop effective instruments aiming to screen and diagnose mental health conditions in adolescents, as well as to provide timely treatment in primary health-care units.

Contributions to the literature on violence and health in 25 years of the Brazilian public health Ciência & Saúde Coletiva

The authors conducted a literature review on the theme of violence and health published in the Brazilian public health journal "Ciência & Saúde Coletiva" (C&SC) from 1996 to 2019. The search also included two other Brazilian journals, "Cadernos de Saúde Pública" (CSP) and "Revista de Saúde Pública" (RSP) and two international journals, the "American Journal of Public Health" (AJPH) and the "Pan American Journal of Public Health" (PAJPH), totaling 1,179 articles. The analysis aggregated each journal's material in eleven themes, based on conceptual affinity. For the articles from C&SC, the authors analyzed variables such as year of publication, area of knowledge, institution's region, study scope, methodology, and target population. The analysis found that C&SC gave visibility to violence and health, standing out from the other journals since 2009. External causes, children and adolescents, quantitative studies, municipal and national scope, and institutions located in the Southeast region of Brazil predominated. There are gaps in topics such as self-mutilation and vulnerable populations, among other areas where more studies and publications should be encouraged.

Prevalence and Factors Associated With Suicide Ideation in Colombian Caribbean Adolescent Students

The study aimed to know the prevalence of and some factors associated with suicide ideation in high school adolescents from a Colombian Caribbean city. A cross-sectional analytical study was designed with probability sampling. An expected prevalence of 50% and an alpha error of 5% were estimated. High-school students from public and private institutions were invited to participate. One thousand four hundred sixty-two adolescents participated in, they were aged between 13 and 17 years, and 33.6% of students reported suicide ideation. Suicide ideation was associated with depression risk (OR = 4.54, 95% CI 2.35–8.77), family dysfunction (OR = 4.54, 95% CI 2.35–8.77), sexual violence (OR = 1.92 CI95% 1.33–2.76) and low academic achievement (OR = 1.97, 95% CI 1.42–2.73). It is concluded that 33.6% of adolescents enrolled in secondary education reported suicide ideation and was associated with depression risk, family dysfunction, sexual abuse, and poor academic achievement.

Microbiome and Mental Health, Specifically as It Relates to Adolescents

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This article reviews the relationship of the microbiome, the gut-brain axis, and depression. It also will review factors which can influence this relationship, such as chronic stress, medications, and the Western diet typically consumed by adolescents.

RECENT FINDINGS

Changes in the gut microbiome increase the release of microbial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) which activate a gut inflammatory response. Gut pro-inflammatory cytokines stimulate the afferent vagal nerve which in turn impacts the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis inducing symptoms associated with depression. Recent research suggests that gut inflammation can induce neuroinflammation which, in turn, stimulates microglia activation and the kynurenine pathway and can activate systemic inflammation-inducing depressive symptoms. Promoting a healthy diet and lifestyle changes, limiting exposure to pesticides, limiting medications that affect the microbiome and the use of such things pre/probiotics and other interventions may complement existing efforts to curb the rise in depression. Alternative and complementary therapies may serve as effective treatments in adolescents with depression.