Gender-Specific Differences in Depressive Behavior Among Forensic Psychiatric Patients

Masculine depression and its problem behaviors: use alcohol and drugs, work hard, and avoid psychiatry!

The gender role influences vulnerability to mental illness. Substance use, even critical in scale, is perceived as masculine, just like hard (over-)work, while not seeking help. With the ongoing separation between gender and sex, masculine norms become more relevant also to females' mental health. The male depression concept highlights the role of male symptoms in affective disorders. However, the empirical evidence is still limited. Here, we use the denomination 'masculine depression' to open the category for female patients and tested substance use patterns, health services' utilization, and working hours as predictors in a case-control study of 163 depressed in-patients (44% women; masculine vs. non-masculine depression according to a median split of the Male Depression Rating Scale-22) and 176 controls (51% women). We assessed higher depression severity in patients with masculine (vs. non-masculine) depression. Masculine depression (vs. non-masculine depression and vs. no depression) was predicted by more frequent and critical use of alcohol (including binge drinking), tobacco, and illicit drugs, and by longer working times. Moreover, fewer health services contacts due to mental complaints during the previous year were associated with masculine (vs. non-masculine) depression. Alarmingly, even critical substance misuse was not significantly associated with more frequent health services contacts; however, the higher the depression severity, the more contacts the patients reported. Here, we provide evidence that patients with masculine depression are highly burdened and undertreated, which applies equally to female and male patients. This study identified promising targets to establish specialized care offers.

Depression in Women With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Multifaceted Approach for a Multidimensional Problem

The prevalence of depression is higher in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) than in the general population. Women are more significantly affected by depression among those with IBD and in the general population. This review presents evidence on sex-based differences in depression pathogenesis and the effect of depression on various factors associated with IBD that affect women's lives, including sexual dysfunction, body image dissatisfaction, fertility, and overall quality of life. We also discuss sex-specific effects on IBD treatment, disease activity, and health care costs. Interestingly, women with IBD tend to seek and are more receptive to depression-related information. Given the underdiagnosis and undertreated nature of depression in individuals with IBD, effective screening and an optimal integrative treatment approach with relevant sex-specific needs are discussed. Evidence regarding the efficacy of psychotherapy, antidepressant pharmacotherapy, and IBD-specific therapy for depression is discussed. This review summarizes evidence of the effect of depression on both personal and professional aspects of the daily lives of women with IBD, which extends beyond negative moods. It applies this information to screening and integrative treatment, resulting in a holistic approach to this multidimensional problem. We also discuss how depression affects males with IBD differently from females. Finally, we discuss the need for gender-based studies on depression in individuals with IBD.

Risk Factors for Suicide in Men

Suicide and the risk factors associated with it have been researched with increasing interest over the last 5 decades with respect to socioeconomic status, age, geographic location, and ethnic background. There has been less focus related to the risk factors specific to gender and how to incorporate clinical screening and interventions to reduce the mortality of suicide in males. With men accounting for a disproportionate number of deaths from suicide in the United States and worldwide, how gender could impact suicidal behavior and ideations remains a topic understudied and with great potential for significant improvement in clinical recognition and treatment.

The Potential Impact of Adjunct Digital Tools and Technology to Help Distressed and Suicidal Men: An Integrative Review

Suicidal men feel the need to be self-reliant and that they cannot find another way out of relationship or socioeconomic issues. Suicide prevention is of crucial importance worldwide. The much higher rate of suicide in men engenders action. The prelude is a subjective experience that can be very isolating and severely distressing. Men may not realize a change in their thinking and behaviors, which makes it more difficult to seek and get help, thereby interrupting a "downward spiral". Stoicism often prevents men from admitting to their personal struggle. The lack of "quality" connections and "non-tailored" therapies has led to a high number of men "walking out" on traditional clinical approaches. But there are complicated relationships in motivations and formative behaviors of suicide with regards to emotional state, psychiatric disorders, interpersonal life events and suicidal behavior method selection. Middle-aged and older men have alternated as the most at-risk of suicide. There is no one solution that applies to all men, but digital tools may be of assistance (e.g., video conferences, social networks, telephone calls, and emails). Digital interventions require higher levels of effectiveness for distress and suicidality but self-guided approaches may be the most suitable for men especially where linked with an integrated online suicide prevention platform (e.g., quick response with online chats, phone calls, and emails). Furthermore, technology-enabled models of care offer promise to advance appropriate linking to mental health services through better and faster understanding of the specific needs of individuals (e.g., socio-cultural) and the type and level of suicidality experienced. Long-term evidence for suicidality and its evaluation may benefit from progressing human computer-interaction and providing impetus for an eminent integrated digital platform.