Depression symptoms, anxiety, and stress among undergraduate entrance admission seeking students in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

Anxiety and depression in first-year university students: the role of family and social support

Background

Adolescents and young are one of the population groups with the highest prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide. Few studies address this problem in young university students. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of anxiety and depression in first-year university students and its association with family functionality and social support.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out on 847 students from five cities in Ecuador, between 18 and 25 years of age, who were beginning their university career. Anxiety and depression symptoms were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, family functionality with the FF-SIL Test, and social support with the Medical Outcomes Study Scale. The sociodemographic characteristics of the participants were also measured. Bivariate and multivariate data analyzes were performed using logistic regression.

Results

The 19.7% of the students presented anxiety, while 24.7% presented depression. Female students, students with poor economic status, and married/in union students had a higher prevalence of anxiety and depression. Family dysfunction and lack of global social support were significantly associated with a higher prevalence of anxiety (OR 1.93 95% CI 1.20-3.10; OR 1.99 95% CI 1.19-3.33, respectively) and depression (OR 1.87 95% CI 1.16-3.01; OR 2.2 95% CI 1.35-2.57, respectively), regardless of the student's economic situation.

Conclusion

Social support and family functionality play an important role in the prevention of anxiety and depression in first-year university students. It is necessary to establish mental health policies and strategies in this underserved population group that strengthen social support and family functionality.

Adverse event profile of lorazepam: a real-world pharmacovigilance study using the FDA adverse event reporting system database

Introduction

Anxiety diagnoses have surged recently during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Lorazepam is widely recognized for its efficacy in treatment of anxiety, as well as insomnia, etc. However, the long-term safety profile of lorazepam in extensive patient populations has not been thoroughly established.

Methods

This study aims to evaluate the potential lorazepam-associated adverse events (AEs) using data mining of the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) of the United States, seeking to provide a guidance for the future therapeutic practices.

Results

Our study revealed drug abuse, suicide attempt, sopor, delirium, and psychotic disorder were among the most prevalent AEs linked to lorazepam. In addition to common AEs, we also found that patients using lorazepam may have the risk of abnormal fat metabolism, cardiac impairment, and immunosuppression-related disorders.

Discussion

In general, our research has unveiled novel AE signals and expanded our understanding of the safety profile of lorazepam in clinical practices, providing guidance for its rational use.

How loneliness linked to anxiety and depression: a network analysis based on Chinese university students

BACKGROUND

There is conclusive evidence of a multifaceted and bidirectional relationship between loneliness and depression and anxiety. Nonetheless, more extensive research is needed to examine their relationships at a more granular level. This study employed a network analysis approach to identify the pathological mechanisms underpinning those relationships and to identify important bridge nodes as potential targets for intervention.

METHODS

941 University students were included in this study. The ULS-6 (the short-form UCLA Loneliness Scale) was used to assess loneliness, the PHQ-9 (Patient Health questionnaire-9) and GAD-7 (Generalized anxiety disorder 7-item) scales were used to assess the symptoms of depression and anxiety. We constructed two network structures of loneliness-anxiety and loneliness-depression and computed bridge expected influence for each symptom. In addition, we showed a flow network of "Suicide" containing symptoms of depression and loneliness.

RESULTS

All edges were positive in both networks constructed and the strongest edges were present within disorder communities. The overall connection between loneliness and depression was stronger compared to anxiety. The results demonstrated that the loneliness item "People are around me but not with me" was identified as bridge symptom in both networks. Furthermore, "Suicide" was directly connected to five symptoms of depression and four items of loneliness, with the strongest connections being between it and "Feeling of worthlessness" and "Psychomotor agitation/retardation".

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provide a more nuanced explanation of the link between loneliness and depression and anxiety. The results identified the bridge symptom "People are around me but not with me", which had the strongest effect on enhancing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Clinical improvements based on the findings of this study and the impact of the intervention are discussed.

Factors affecting depression among married adults: a gender-based household cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Depression is a common mental health problem all over the world including Bangladesh. World Health Organization included it in the Mental Health Gap Action Programme as one of its priority conditions. Research on this issue is scanty in Bangladesh. Therefore, we designed to a gender-based household study on associated factors of depression among married adults in Rajshahi City of Bangladesh.

METHODS

We conducted this household cross-sectional study from August 01 to October 31, 2019. A total of 708 married adults currently living together in Rajshahi City were recruited for this study. We applied a multi-stage random sampling technique for selecting samples and used a semi-structured questionnaire to collect necessary information from them. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used for measuring depression and frequency distribution and binary logistic regression model were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

The prevalence of depression (moderate to severe) was 14.4% (95% CI: 11.9-16.9) among married adults, and females (21.2%, 95% CI: 17.2-25.4) suffered more than males (7.6%, 95% CI: 4.8-10.5). A multiple binary logistic regression model established four main factors of depression among married females: (i) multiple marriage [AOR = 19.982; 95% CI: 10.081-39.610; p < 0.01]; (ii) poor relationship with spouse [AOR = 2.175; 95%CI: 1.068-4.428; p < 0.05]; (iii) chronic medical comorbidity [AOR = 1.876; 95%CI: 1.009-2.626; p < 0.05]; and (iv) 7-12 years duration of conjugal life [AOR = 2.091, 1.009-4.334; p < 0.05]. Two main factors of depression among married males were (i) multiple marriage [AOR = 24.605; 95% CI: 20.228-40.402; p < 0.01] and hard work [AOR = 4.358; 95%CI: 1.109-7.132; p < 0.05].

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of depression was significantly high among the study population, and females were the most vulnerable group. The concerned authorities and stakeholders should take appropriate measures to manage the problem with special focus on the risk factors and the vulnerable groups.