Search

BackgroundChildhood trauma is closely related to the onset of depression and more severe depressive symptoms; however, the specific mechanisms are unclear. We aimed to examine the relationship between childhood trauma and sleep disorders in children and adolescents with depression and to explore further the role of sleep disorders in the relationship between childhood trauma and depression severity.MethodsA total of 285 children and adolescents with depression completed all scale assessments, including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Self-Reported Insomnia Severity Index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. A simple mediation model was used as a theoretical model to examine whether sleep disorders could mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and depression severity.ResultsAmong children and adolescents with depression, childhood trauma is about 78.9%. Compared with patients without childhood trauma, patients with childhood trauma had a higher incidence of sleep disorders (Z = 17.59, P < 0.001), which were characterized by insomnia (Z = 14.45, P < 0.001), not hypersomnia (Z = 2.77, P = 0.096). Different childhood trauma subtypes significantly affected sleep disorders and insomnia (all P < 0.05). Insomnia partially mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and depression severity, and the mediating effect accounted for 35.90%.ConclusionThis study found a high rate of concurrent childhood trauma and insomnia among children and adolescents with depression. Insomnia, as a mediator between childhood trauma and depression severity, partially mediates the relationship.

BackgroundInternet addiction (IA) symptoms are common among adolescents and negatively impact their academic performance and development. These symptoms are also associated with lower quality of life (QOL) and increased suicidality. This study aimed to examine the prevalence and the sociodemographic and clinical correlates of IA symptoms in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) and their association with QOL.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted in three general and four psychiatric hospitals in Anhui Province, China, from January to July 2021. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected. The Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Center for Epidemiologic Studies of Depression Symptom Scale (CES-D), and World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief version (WHOQOL-BREF) were utilized to examine IA, depressive symptoms, and QOL, respectively.ResultsIn a multicenter sample of 278 adolescents with MDD, the prevalence of IA symptoms in adolescents with MDD was 46.8% (95% CI: 40.9–52.7%). Logistic regression analysis showed that patients with more severe depressive symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.03–1.08), those living in a rural area (OR = 1.94, 95% CI: 1.15–3.27), and those with poor academic performance (OR = 2.90, 95% CI: 1.42–5.95) were more likely to have IA symptoms. After controlling for confounding factors, patients with IA symptoms had significantly poorer QOL in the physical, psychological, and environmental domains than those without IA symptoms.ConclusionIA symptoms are common in adolescents with MDD and appear to be associated with clinical symptoms. We could not infer a causal relationship between IA and depression because this was a cross-sectional study. Considering the positive association between IA symptoms and lower QOL, screening for IA symptoms should be conducted, and effective measures should be implemented for adolescents with MDD.

Objectives: The incidence of psychological and behavioral problems and depression among adolescents is increasing year by year, which has become an important public health problem. Alexithymia, as an important susceptible factor of adolescent depression, may continue to develop and strengthen under the stimulation of COVID-19-related stressors. However, no studies have focused on alexithymia in adolescent depression during the pandemic in China. This study aims to investigate the incidence and related factors of alexithymia in adolescent depression during the pandemic.Methods: Three hundred adolescent patients were enrolled from October 2020 to May 2021. The general demographic information of all participants was collected, and the clinical characteristics were assessed by the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Check (ASLEC) List, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) Inventory.Results: The incidence of alexithymia was significantly higher among adolescents with depression (76.45%) during the pandemic. There were significant differences in school bullying, disease severity, ASLEC score, CTQ score and PANSI score between adolescents with and without alexithymia. In addition, learning stress, health and adaptation problems during the pandemic may be influential factors in alexithymia of adolescent depression (P < 0.05).Conclusions: According to the results, we found a high incidence of alexithymia in adolescent depression during the pandemic. More support and attention from families, schools and society is needed to develop preventive and targeted psychological interventions as early as possible.

Objectives: Healthcare workers (HWs) experienced high levels of work stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a high risk of sleep disturbances. This meta-analysis aimed to explore the prevalence of sleep disturbances and sleep quality in Chinese HWs during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: English (PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library) and Chinese databases (WanFang, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and SinoMed) were systematically and independently searched for relevant studies published from December 1, 2019, to May 20, 2020. The pooled prevalence of sleep disturbances and sleep quality were calculated using a random-effects model.Results: A total of 17 studies involving 12,682 Chinese HWs were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of sleep disturbances in Chinese HWs was 45.1% (95% CI: 37.2–53.1%). We found that the prevalence of sleep disturbances varied among frontline, infected, and non-frontline HWs (Q = 96.96, p < 0.001); females and males (Q = 9.10, p = 0.003); studies using different assessment instruments (Q = 96.05, p < 0.001); and studies with different sample sizes (Q = 5.77, p = 0.016) and cut-off values (Q = 62.28, p < 0.001). The pooled mean total score of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was 9.83 (95% CI: 8.61–11.04). HWs in Wuhan had a higher total PSQI score than those in other regions (Q = 9.21, p = 0.002).Conclusion: Sleep disturbances were common in Chinese HWs during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in frontline and infected HWs. Our results indicate the heavy mental health burden on HWs during the COVID-19 pandemic in China and can provide other countries with valuable information to assist HWs during the crisis.