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Background: There have been case reports of renal dysfunction with lithium toxicity among severely ill COVID-19 patients. Lithium levels may be affected by comorbid conditions and the presence of infective disease states like the SARS-CoV-2 which clearly adds systemic health burden. This study aimed to review the effect SARS-CoV-2 has on serum Li levels and the possible mechanism underlying it. Methods: Retrospective data from all clinical service encounters within the University of Michigan health system between September 2019 and September 2023 were reviewed. The study cohort included 98 patients with an average age of 45 years (62% female) who were diagnosed with any subtype of bipolar disorder, actively taking Li, and infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the study timeframe. Results: There was no overarching effect of a SARS-CoV-2 infection on Li chemistry in the overall sample. Higher serum Li levels were not significantly associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection nor total comorbidity index. However, higher Li levels were observed in males while infected with SARS-CoV-2 when compared with no infection. eGFR remained unassociated with serum Li level. Receiving COVID vaccination was associated with lower serum Li levels (Coeff. = − 0.88, p = 0.048). Conclusions: Patients with a diagnosis of BD, treated with Li, and infected with SARS-CoV-2 were not likely to present with elevated Li levels unless they are male or unvaccinated. Elevated serum Li level was not associated with significant renal dysfunction in this cohort. The case reports of severe renal complications and Li toxicity may be among cases of greater overall clinical severity of COVID-19. These findings are reassuring that Li may be used in the context of a COVID-19 illness but emphasize the ongoing need for clinical vigilance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the stigma associated with mental health in movies and urges the film industry to take action. It discusses how, despite its popularity and influence, cinema can unintentionally perpetuate stigmatizing portrayals of mental health issues through inaccurate and discriminatory representations, and it highlights factors that contribute to this problem, such as misinformation, stereotypes, fear of change, and sensationalism.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a global health problem with increasing mental health consequences. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Nigeria, couples were compelled to spend more time together, regardless of their pre-existing challenges. Our study aims to determine the prevalence of IPV, its forms, and mental health implications among Nigerian households amid the COVID-19 lockdown. A cross-sectional study was implemented which used the snowball sampling technique to recruit 474 participants across 31 states in Nigeria. A semi-structured online questionnaire was distributed using the WhatsApp platform. The relationship between IPV, its forms, and associated factors were analyzed using descriptive analysis and logistic regression with significant value at p = .05 and confidence interval of 95%. Majority (98.1%) of the participants had at least a college degree and 90.1% were employed. Overall prevalence of IPV ranged from 7.2% to 13.5%. Using the lockdown as the landmark, higher prevalence was found before than during the lockdown across physical, emotional, financial, and sexual forms of IPV. Emotional form had the highest prevalence both before and during the lockdown with 11.4% and 3.8% respectively. Furthermore, 22.6% of participants reported that the lockdown affected their mental health. Hopelessness, feelings of failure, being irritable, and constantly under strain were psychological symptoms significantly associated with IPV amid the lockdown. Decreased prevalence of IPV were found in the early phase of the pandemic, suggesting that couples can experience less partner violence during periods of confinement. Our study supports existing evidence that forms of IPV have negative mental health consequences on abused partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dear Editor, The emergence and development of the COVID-19 pandemic is having a toll on the mental health of the general population, and healthcare workers around the world, often manifested in depression, fear, stress, trauma, and anxiety (Ahorsu et al. [1]; Mamun and Ullah [10]; Lee et al, [9]). We searched PubMed using the keywords "COVID-19" or "SARS-CoV-2" or "Coronavirus disease" and "Fear Scale" or "FCV-19S" or "Fear of COVID-19 Scale" till 30 August 2020. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) is a 7-item scale that assesses the severity of COVID-19-related fear (Ahorsu et al. [1]). [Extracted from the article]

Grief is the physical or mental suffering experienced after a major loss, usually the death of a loved one. It is a universal experience, but sociocultural factors, such as cultural or ethnic identity and religious beliefs predict and shape the expression of grief. The circumstances under which people are experiencing grief during the coronavirus outbreak have adversely affected the grieving process. Unexpected deaths, social distancing rules and visitor restrictions in healthcare facilities have posed a heavier burden on the loss and have heightened the risk of grievers experiencing complicated or persistent grief. This concern led us, as early career psychiatrists (ECPs) from 14 different countries connected by the Early Career Psychiatrists Section of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), to share our country-specific experiences on the mourning, grief tradition, and burial rites during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we discuss our experiences, similarities and differences with relation to the: 'Effect of the pandemic on mourning', 'Restrictions and Guideline on burial rites due to the pandemic', 'Effect of the pandemic on social support' and 'Role of media and telecommunication on mourning practices and burial rites'. We conclude that while telecommunication means have attempted to bridge the gap and provide some form of social connectedness, the total and global effect of the pandemic is yet to be fully seen and understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every health care system requires an adequate health care workforce, service delivery, financial support, and information technology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, global health systems were ill prepared to address the rising prevalence of mental health problems, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), thereby increasing treatment gaps. To close these gaps globally, task shifting and telepsychiatry should be made available and maximized, particularly in LMICs. Task shifting to nonspecialist health workers to improve essential mental health coverage and encourage efficient use of the available resources and technology has become the most viable strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing movement toward international collaboration and global discussion in mental health. If provided with the right opportunities, early career psychiatrists (ECPs) and researchers in mental health can contribute meaningfully to this discussion. However, they often experience multiple barriers when attempting to add their voices via academic publications. We represent a diverse group of ECPs and researchers from all six World Health Organization regions. In this piece, we discuss these barriers, grounded in our first‐hand experiences, and put forth a series of recommendations. The most potentially beneficial and immediate way forward is ensuring a much‐needed mentorship and support, particularly for low‐ and middle‐income countries. In this regard, international organizations, especially those with a particular focus on education, such as the Section on Education in Psychiatry of the World Psychiatric Association, can play a pivotal role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The global crisis of COVID-19 and its consequential strict public health measures placed around the world have impacted mental health. New scales and tools have been developed to measure these mental health effects. This narrative review assesses the psychometric properties of these scales and tools and methodological aspects of their development.Methods: PubMed, PubMed Central, and Google Scholar were searched for articles published from 15 May 2020 to 15 August 2020. This search used three groups of terms ("tool" OR "scale" AND "mental" OR "psychological"; AND "COVID-19" OR "coronavirus"). The identified scales were further evaluated for their psychometric properties and methodological aspects of their development.Results: Though the studies developing these scales (n = 12) have demonstrated their robust psychometric properties, some methodological concerns are noteworthy. Most of the scales were validated using internet-based surveys, and detailed descriptions of the mode of administration, sampling process, response rates, and augmentation strategies were missing.Conclusions: The heterogeneous and inadequate reporting of methods adopted to evaluate the psychometric properties of the identified scales can limit their utility in clinical and research settings. We suggest developing guidelines and checklists to improve the design and testing, and result in reporting of online-administered scales to assess the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol and Tobacco Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Our findings concur with the suggestions made by other authors that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, tobacco and alcohol use patterns have been influenced by societal and cultural processes, as well as by local alcohol control policies ([40], [41]). (2020) 32: 85-9. 10.20882/adicciones.154632347962 4 Kim, JU, Majid, A, Judge, R, Crook, P, Nathwani, R, Selvapatt, N, Effect of COVID-19 lockdown on alcohol consumption in patients with pre-existing alcohol use disorder. COVID-19, pandemic, public health, alcohol, tobacco, alcohol policy, tobacco control. [Extracted from the article]

Research on how stigma had hindered the control of the above-mentioned infectious disease outbreaks might also shed some light on the potential impact of stigma in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions Preventing the dissemination of stigma-related attitudes and behaviors may help decrease the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, as stigma may lead to underreporting of symptoms and decrease the use of health facilities. [Extracted from the article]

Background: The rapid spread of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has forced most countries to take drastic public health measures, including the closure of most mental health outpatient services and some inpatient units. This has suddenly created the need to adapt and expand telepsychiatry care across the world. However, not all health care services might be ready to cope with this public health demand. The present study was set to create a practical and clinically useful protocol for telemental health care to be applied in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A panel of psychiatrists from 15 different countries [covering all World Health Organization (WHO) regions] was convened. The panel used a combination of reactive Delphi technique and consensus development conference strategies to develop a protocol for the provision of telemental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The proposed protocol describes a semi-structured initial assessment and a series of potential interventions matching mild, moderate, or high-intensity needs of target populations. Conclusions: Telemedicine has become a pivotal tool in the task of ensuring the continuous provision of mental health care for the population, and the outlined protocol can assist with this task. The strength of this protocol lies in its practicality, clinical usefulness, and wide transferability, resulting from the diversity of the consensus group that developed it. Developed by psychiatrists from around the globe, the proposed protocol may prove helpful for many clinical and cultural contexts, assisting mental health care providers worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Serum Brain Derived Neurotrophic factor assayed in an African population amongst patients with Major Depressive Episode (with the absence of any chronic medical illness, alcohol and substance misuse and acute medical illness) and compared to age and sex matched controls. • Mean serum BDNF was found to be lower in patients with MDE as compared to controls. • Mean serum BDNF in patients with MDE increased after 8 weeks of treatment to levels similar with healthy age and sex matched controls. • Serum BDNF can thus be a potential biomarker for Major Depressive Disorder. Current views on the etiology of Major Depressive Diorder(MDD) emphasizes environmental and biological interplay. Recent studies have implicated reduction in Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in the pathophysiology and as a biomarker of major depression (Neurotrophin Hypothesis of Depression). This study aimed at showing that the Neurotrophin hypothesis of depression is relevant in the pathophysiology of Major Depressive Episode in Southern Nigeria. Consecutive consenting patients diagnosed with Major Depressive Episode (MDE) using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID) and age and sex matched controls were enrolled into this study. Serum BDNF was measured prior to commencement of treatment as baseline and 8 weeks after treatment. Depression severity was rated with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Seventy-five cases and 75 age and sex matched controls were recruited. The mean ± SD of serum BDNF of depressed patients (26.09 ng/ml ± 1.96) was significantly lower than those of age and sex matched controls (28.13 ng/ml ± 1.47) P < 0.01. The study had a follow up rate of 48% after 8 weeks of treatment. Serum BDNF post treatment was significantly higher than baseline. This was a single center study with a high drop-out rate. The result of this study adds to the mounting evidence in support of the neurotrophin hypothesis of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]