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Jing-Xu Chen,1,* Lu Yin,1,* Hai-Ting Xu,1 Suo-Yuan Zhang,1 Wen-Qian Huang,1 Hong-Juan Li,1 Bin-Bin Li,1 Ke-Bing Yang,1 Qian Li,2 Michael Berk,3 Yun-Ai Su2 1Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing, 100096, People’s Republic of China; 2Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China; 3Deakin University, IMPACT Strategic Research Centre, School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Geelong, Vic., Australia*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yun-Ai Su Email suyunai@163.comIntroduction: Unlike unipolar depression, depressive episode of bipolar disorder is often associated with clinical characteristics, such as atypical and mixed symptoms. However, there are currently no valid and reliable specific tools available to assess the specific psychiatric symptomatology of depressive episode of bipolar disorder in China. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Bipolar Depression Rating Scale (BDRS) in Chinese patients with bipolar disorder.Methods: The sample of this study included 111 patients with bipolar disorder (30 male, 81 female). All participants were interviewed with the Chinese version of the BDRS (BDRS-C), the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). A psychometric analysis of the BDRS was conducted.Results: The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the BDRS-C reached a value of 0.869. The BDRS-C score and scores for the HAMD-17 (r = 0.819, p < 0.01), the MADRS (r = 0.882, p < 0.01) and the YMRS (r = 0.355, p < 0.01) exhibited significant positive correlations. Close correlations were observed between the mixed subscale score of the BDRS-C and the YMRS score (r = 0.784, p < 0.01). Exploratory factor analysis resulted in three factors: a primary depressive symptoms cluster, a secondary depressive symptoms cluster, and a mixed symptoms cluster.Conclusion: The Chinese version of the BDRS has satisfactory psychometric properties. This is a valid and reliable instrument to assess depressive symptomatology in patients with bipolar disorder.Keywords: bipolar disorder, mania, depression, psychometrics, depressive episode, rating scale, psychiatry

Background: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a serious threat to global public health, including a wide range of metal health problems. Current research focuses mainly on mental health status and related factors among Chinese university students during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Data from 11133 participants was obtained through an online survey of university students in mainland China. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), respectively.Results: In total, 37.0% of the subjects were experiencing depressive symptoms, 24.9% anxiety symptoms, 20.9% comorbid depressive and anxiety symptoms, and 7.3% suicidal ideation. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed an increased presence of mental health problems in female students, graduate students, and those with personal COVID-19 exposure. Living with family and awareness of COVID-19 were protective factors against depressive and anxiety symptoms. In addition, male, depressive and anxiety symptoms were risk factors for suicidal ideation. Living with family, graduate students, prevention and control measures and projections of COVID-19 trends were protective factors against suicidal ideation.Conclusions: The findings underlined that the mental health of university students should be monitored, and provided important information for healthcare planning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the sociodemographic and clinical factors related to anxiety in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS This study involved a secondary analysis of data obtained from the Diagnostic Assessment Service for People with Bipolar Disorders in China (DASP), which was initiated by the Chinese Society of Psychiatry (CSP) and conducted from September 1, 2010 to February 28, 2011. Based on the presence or absence of anxiety-related characteristics, 1,178 MDD patients were classified as suffering from anxious depression (n=915) or non-anxious depression (n=263), respectively. RESULTS Compared with the non-anxious group, the anxious-depression group had an older age at onset (t=-4.39, p