People with severe mental illness (SMI) have worse physical health than the general population. There is evidence that support from volunteers can help the mental health of people with SMI, but little evidence regarding the support they can give for physical health.

To evaluate the feasibility of an intervention where volunteer ‘Health Champions’ support people with SMI in managing their physical health.

A feasibility hybrid randomised controlled trial conducted in mental health teams with people with SMI. Volunteers delivered the Health Champions intervention. We collected data on the feasibility of delivering the intervention, and clinical and cost-effectiveness. Participants were randomised by a statistician independent of the research team, to either having a Health Champion or treatment as usual. Blinding was not done.

We recruited 48 participants: 27 to the intervention group and 21 to the control group. Data were analysed for 34 participants. No changes were found in clinical effectiveness for either group. Implementation outcomes measures showed high acceptability, feasibility and appropriateness, but with low response rates. No adverse events were identified in either group. Interviews with participants found they identified changes they had made to their physical health. The cost of implementing the intervention was £312 per participant.

The Health Champion intervention was feasible to implement, but the implementation of the study measures was problematic. Participants found the intervention acceptable, feasible and appropriate, and it led them to make changes in their physical health. A larger trial is recommended, with tailored implementation outcome measures.

The at-risk mental state (ARMS) describes individuals at high risk of developing schizophrenia or psychosis. This study aimed at exploring the demographic characteristics of individuals who transitioned to psychosis from a large multicenter factorial design trial.

This was a secondary analysis of large multicenter randomised controlled trial of minocycline and/or omega-3 fatty acids added to treatment as usual for at-risk mental states. Participants (n = 326) were randomised to minocycline, omega-3, combined minocycline and omega-3 or to double placebo for 6 months. The primary outcome was transition to psychosis at 12 months.

Forty-five (13.8%) participants transitioned to psychosis. The mean age of participants was 23.31 (5.31 SD) and 15.6% no formal education, 8.9% primary, 48.9% matriculation, 8.9% intermediate and 15.6% graduation and above. Majority 66% of participants were male and 71.1% single, 66.7% living in a joint family, 44.4% were employed, 24% students, 17.8% household/housewife and 3% unemployed. Interestingly 36.8% participants had a family history of psychosis, followed by 21.0% any unknown mental illnesses, 15.8% bipolar disorder, 15.8% depression, 5.3% anxiety and 5.3% intellectual disability. The mean total score for the Prodromal Questionnaire was 8.93, with a standard deviation of 1.67. The mean score on the Comprehensive Assessment for At Risk Mental State (CAARMS) unusual thoughts was 3.98 (SD = 0.84), Non-Bizarre Ideas 3.64 (SD = 0.77), Perceptual Abnormalities 3.76 (SD = 0.71) and disorganized speech 2.49 (SD = 1.12). Participants had mean Social and Occupational Functioning (SOFAS) score of 66.67 which suggests moderate difficulty in social, occupational, or school functioning (e.g., few friends, conflicts with peers or co-workers).

Transition to psychosis appears to have different demographic and clinical correlates which may have the causal relationship to transition. The cross-comparative studies are warranted to understand differences and similarities between the groups.

Globally, human rights violations experienced by persons with psychosocial, intellectual or cognitive disabilities continue to be a concern. The World Health Organization's (WHO) QualityRights initiative presents practical remedies to address these abuses. This paper presents an overview of the implementation of the initiative in Ghana.

The main objective of the QualityRights initiative in Ghana was to train and change attitudes among a wide range of stakeholders to promote recovery and respect for human rights for people with psychosocial, intellectual and cognitive disabilities.

Reports of in-person and online training, minutes of meetings and correspondence among stakeholders of the QualityRights initiative in Ghana, including activities of international collaborators, were analysed to shed light on the implementation of the project in Ghana.

In-person and online e-training on mental health were conducted. At the time of writing, 40 443 people had registered for the training, 25 416 had started the training and 20 865 people had completed the training and obtained a certificate. The team conducted 27 in-person training sessions with 910 people. The successful implementation of the project is underpinned by a committed partnership among stakeholders, strong leadership from the coordinating agency, the acceptance of the initiative and the outcome. A few challenges, both in implementation and acceptance, are discussed.

The exposure of the WHO QualityRights initiative to a substantial number of key stakeholders involved in mental healthcare in Ghana is critical to reducing human rights abuses for people with psychosocial, intellectual and cognitive disabilities.

Local protein synthesis at the synapse is a key determinant of learning and memory and is predicted to be severely disrupted in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Omics approaches have played a key role in deciphering molecular mechanisms underlying AD pathology. However, isolating the transcriptome may be biased due to inherent variations in transcript levels, or by transcription-on-demand models employed by several genes, whereas mass-spec based proteomics approaches fail to capture low abundance peptides. The translatome bypasses these inherent limitations of other omics methods by capturing actively translating mRNA species trapped inside ribosomes and subjecting them to unbiased RNA-seq analysis capturing even very low abundance transcripts.

Isolating the neuronal ribosomes from human post-mortem brains without interference from non-neuronal cells remains a challenge. We used frozen brain tissue from Alzheimer's patients and healthy controls obtained from the Cambridge Brain Biobank. Synaptoneurosomal fractions were prepared using sucrose gradients in non-denaturing buffers with RNAse inhibitors to preserve ribosomal composition and trapped mRNA. We isolated functional ribosomes on affinity columns following recombinant RNAse digestion. Finally, actively translating ribosome-trapped mRNAs were sequenced using RNA-seq, aligned to human genome using STAR alignment and analysed for differential expression using DeSeq2 followed by pathway analysis.

We have successfully isolated ribosome-associated RNA transcripts in the dendritic spines from cortical neurons of postmortem Alzheimer's brains with little interference from glial and non-neuronal material. The novel AD translatome disruptions identified by isolating endogenous ribosome bound mRNA will help detect downstream molecular targets. We will also integrate targeted translatome data with published transcriptome and GWAS DNA variant data to identify novel biomarkers.

This is the first successful isolation of the dendritic translatome from human postmortem AD brains. Future studies will verify functional significance of key targets using gain- and loss-of-function studies in animal models of AD and human iPSCs.

Most evidence on suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts comes from Western countries; prevalence rates may differ in other parts of the world.

This study determined the prevalence of suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts in high school students in three different regional settings in Kenya.

This was a cross-sectional study of 2652 high school students. We asked structured questions to determine the prevalence of various types of suicidality, the methods planned or effected, and participants’ gender, age and form (grade level). We provided descriptive statistics, testing significant differences by chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests, and used logistic regression to identify relationships among different variables and their associations with suicidality.

The prevalence rates of suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts were 26.8, 14.9 and 15.7%, respectively. These rates are higher than those reported for Western countries. Some 6.7% of suicide attempts were not associated with plans. The most common method used in suicide attempts was drinking chemicals/poison (18.8%). Rates of suicidal thoughts and plans were higher for older students and students in urban rather than rural locations, and attempts were associated with female gender and higher grade level – especially the final year of high school, when exam performance affects future education and career prospects.

Suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts are prevalent in Kenyan high school students. There is a need for future studies to determine the different starting points to suicidal attempts, particularly for the significant number whose attempts are not preceded by thoughts and plans.

Assessing the risk of subsequent self-harm after hospitalisation for COVID-19 is critical for mental health care planning during and after the pandemic.

This study aims to compare the risk of admission to hospital for self-harm within 12 months following a COVID-19 hospitalisation during the first half of 2020, with the risk following hospitalisations for other reasons.

Using the French administrative healthcare database, logistic regression models were employed to analyse data from patients admitted to hospitals in metropolitan France between January and June 2020. The analysis included adjustments for sociodemographic factors, psychiatric history and the level of care received during the initial hospital stay.

Of the 96 313 patients hospitalised for COVID-19, 336 (0.35%) were subsequently admitted for self-harm within 12 months, compared to 20 135 (0.72%) of 2 797 775 patients admitted for other reasons. This difference remained significant after adjusting for sociodemographic factors (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.59–0.73), psychiatric disorder history (aOR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.58–0.73) and the level of care received during the initial hospital stay (aOR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.63–0.78). History of psychiatric disorders and intensive care were strongly correlated with increased risk, while older age was inversely associated with self-harm admissions.

Hospitalisation for COVID-19 during the early pandemic was linked to a lower risk of subsequent self-harm than hospitalisation for other reasons. Clinicians should consider psychiatric history and intensive care factors in evaluating the risk of future suicide.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health problems increased as access to mental health services reduced. Recovery colleges are recovery-focused adult education initiatives delivered by people with professional and lived mental health expertise. Designed to be collaborative and inclusive, they were uniquely positioned to support people experiencing mental health problems during the pandemic. There is limited research exploring the lasting impacts of the pandemic on recovery college operation and delivery to students.

To ascertain how the COVID-19 pandemic changed recovery college operation in England.

We coproduced a qualitative interview study of recovery college managers across the UK. Academics and co-researchers with lived mental health experience collaborated on conducting interviews and analysing data, using a collaborative thematic framework analysis.

Thirty-one managers participated. Five themes were identified: complex organisational relationships, changed ways of working, navigating the rapid transition to digital delivery, responding to isolation and changes to accessibility. Two key pandemic-related changes to recovery college operation were highlighted: their use as accessible services that relieve pressure on mental health services through hybrid face-to-face and digital course delivery, and the development of digitally delivered courses for individuals with mental health needs.

The pandemic either led to or accelerated developments in recovery college operation, leading to a positioning of recovery colleges as a preventative service with wider accessibility to people with mental health problems, people under the care of forensic mental health services and mental healthcare staff. These benefits are strengthened by relationships with partner organisations and autonomy from statutory healthcare infrastructures.

• • Identify themes in experience of Postpartum Psychosis (PP) recovery in Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) from the perspective of mothers, partners and MBU professionals.

• • Develop a Conceptual Framework of recovery from PP in the MBU setting.

Systematic review using published and unpublished literature identified through database searches and grey literature sources. A narrative synthesis approach was taken and used to form a Conceptual Framework of recovery from PP in the MBU setting.

Four databases were searched, yielding 8 includable studies. A further 3 grey literature sources met the inclusion criteria. Most of the sources focussed on the womens' experience of recovery.

Stakeholders experienced MBUs as providing a positive therapeutic milieu for recovery. The broad themes identified for improvement encompassed: knowledge of PP, accessibility of services and discharge practises.

This review provides valuable insights into the experience of recovery from PP within UK MBUs from the perspectives of multiple stakeholders. Areas for improvement identified include antenatal education on PP, knowledge of PP amongst non-specialist healthcare professionals, partner involvement in care, and discharge processes.

The outcomes of this review have the potential to shape the design, implementation, and expansion of MBUs and their practices both nationally and internationally.

Although there is now substantial evidence on the acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on anxiety disorders, the long-term population impact of the pandemic remains largely unexplored.

To quantify a possible longitudinal population-level impact of the pandemic by projecting the prevalence of anxiety disorders through 2030 among men and women aged up to 95 years in Germany under scenarios with varying impacts of the pandemic on the incidence of anxiety disorders.

We used a three-state illness–death model and data from the Global Burden of Disease Study to model historical trends of the prevalence and incidence of anxiety disorders. The German population projections determined the initial values for projections. The COVID-19 incidence rate data informed an additional incidence model, which was parameterised with a wash-in period, delay, wash-out period, incidence increase level and decay constant.

When no additional increase in the incidence during the pandemic waves during 2020–2022 was assumed, it was estimated that 3.86 million women (9.96%) and 2.13 million men (5.40%) would have anxiety disorders in 2030. When increases in incidence following pandemic waves were assumed, the most extreme scenario projected 5.67 million (14.02%) women and 3.30 million (8.14%) men with the mental disorder in 2030.

Any increased incidence during the pandemic resulted in elevated prevalence over the projection period. Projection of anxiety disorder prevalence based on the illness–death model enables simulations with varying assumptions and provides insight for public health planning. These findings should be refined as trend data accumulate and become available.

To systematically review current quantitative evidence for psychological and behavioural outcomes for children with drug-resistant epilepsy being treated with either the ketogenic diet (KD) or vagal nerve stimulation (VNS).

The review was conducted with a systematic review methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) tool. The methodology was developed by the author using the PICOS (population, intervention, comparison, outcome, study, design) framework.

Eligibility criteria included children up to 18 years old with epilepsy treated with KD or VNS, and studies which assessed psychological and behavioural outcomes, with validated tools, before and after treatment. Any quantitative design was included. Review articles, meta-analyses, case studies, and case series without a reported mean were excluded. Searches were conducted in four main databases (GlobalHealth, Medline, PsychInfo, Embase) and two grey literature databases (Scopus, Web of Science).

Duplicates were screened using automated processes and then manually. Titles and abstracts were reviewed against eligibility criteria, followed by full texts. Risk of bias was assessed using tools appropriate for the study (the Risk of Bias-2 tool for randomised controlled trials, the JBI checklist for quasi-experimental studies, and the JBI checklist for case series). Included articles were grouped by intervention and by study design for data extraction.

22 studies were identified: 11 for KD, comprising of two randomised controlled trials, one retrospective quasi-experimental study, one retrospective study, two prospective studies, one cross-sectional survey, and four case series; and 11 for VNS, comprising of one randomised controlled trial, two longitudinal observational studies, one prospective observational study, one retrospective study, and six case series.

These studies included a total of 655 participants (523 KD, 132 VNS). There was weak evidence for an improvement in cognitive and behavioural outcomes with both KD and VNS although most studies had methodological weaknesses and were at risk of bias. For both interventions, some studies showed that improvements in outcomes were not related to improvement in seizures, or to reduction in medications.

The evidence base for cognitive and behavioural outcomes following KD or VNS treatment is limited and studies are generally weak and underpowered. Psychological measures used across studies are heterogeneous and difficult to compare. There are little data, but studies raise the possibility that both VNS and KD may affect psychological and behavioural outcomes independently of their effect on seizures. This review supports the need for further research into this area with larger, methodologically robust studies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women's mental health. However, most evidence has focused on mental illbeing outcomes, and there is little evidence on the mechanisms underlying this unequal impact.

To investigate gender differences in the long-term trajectories of life satisfaction, how these were affected during the pandemic and the role of time-use differences in explaining gender inequalities.

We used data from 6766 (56.2% women) members of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). Life satisfaction was prospectively assessed between the ages of 26 (1996) and 51 (2021) years, using a single question with responses ranging from 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest). We analysed life satisfaction trajectories with piecewise latent growth curve models, and investigated whether gender differences in the change in the life satisfaction trajectories with the pandemic were explained by self-reported time spent doing different paid and unpaid activities.

Women had consistently higher life satisfaction than men before the pandemic (Δintercept,unadjusted = 0.213, 95% CI 0.087–0.340; P = 0.001) and experienced a more accelerated decline with the pandemic onset (Δquad2,unadjusted = −0.018, 95% CI −0.026 to −0.011; P < 0.001). Time-use differences did not account for the more accelerated decrease in women's life satisfaction levels with the pandemic (Δquad2,adjusted = −0.016, 95% CI −0.031 to −0.001; P = 0.035).

Our study shows pronounced gender inequalities in the impact of the pandemic on the long-term life satisfaction trajectories of adults in their 50s, with women losing their pre-pandemic advantage over men. Self-reported time-use differences did not account for these inequalities. More research is needed to tackle gender inequalities in population mental health.

Adults with intellectual disability experience increased rates of mental health disorders and adverse mental health outcomes.

Explore childhood risk factors associated with adverse mental health outcomes during adulthood as defined by high cost of care, use of psychotropic medication without a severe mental illness and psychiatric hospital admissions.

Data on 137 adults with intellectual disability were collected through an intellectual disability community service in an inner London borough. Childhood modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors were extracted from records to map onto variables identified as potential risk factors. Logistic and linear regression models were employed to analyse their associations with adverse outcomes.

We showed that the co-occurrence of intellectual disability with autism spectrum disorder and/or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were associated with psychotropic medication use and high-cost care packages. However, when challenging behaviour during childhood was added, ADHD and autism spectrum disorder were no longer significant and challenging behaviour better explained medication prescribing and higher cost care. In addition, the severity of intellectual disability was associated with higher cost care packages. Ethnicity (Black and mixed) also predicted higher cost of care.

Challenging behaviour during childhood emerged as a critical variable affecting outcomes in young adulthood and mediated the association between adult adverse mental health outcomes and co-occurring neurodevelopmental conditions, that is, ADHD and autism. These findings emphasise the need for effective early intervention strategies to address challenging behaviour during childhood. Such interventions for challenging behaviour will need to take into consideration autism and ADHD.

This systematic review aimed to quantify the prevalence of substance use among female sex workers (FSWs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Design: The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021242048). We searched Ovid, PubMed and Web of Science databases for peer-reviewed, quantitative studies from inception to 6th March 2023. Study designs included: cross-sectional, case–control, cohort study, case series analysis, or experimental studies. Study quality was assessed using the Centre for Evidence-Based Management (CEBM) Critical Appraisal Tool.

Setting: FSWs in LMICs.

Participants/Inclusion criteria: any measure of prevalence or incidence of substance use (not alcohol or tobacco) among FSWs aged 18+ years.

Measurements: A narrative synthesis was conducted across all studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Pooled prevalence estimates for ‘ever’ and ‘recent’ drug use were calculated using a random effects model.

3135 papers were identified; 161 papers reporting on 102 studies with 167,333 FSWs from 39 LMICs met the inclusion criteria. 26 studies scored high, 61 scored moderate, and 15 scored in the lower quality range. Only 4/102 studies used a validated measurement tool to assess levels of substance use dependence. The mean age of study participants was 28.9 years (SD 7.7). The pooled prevalence for recent (past month to past year) substance use among FSWs in LMICs is: illicit drug use 29% (95% CI: 14–34%), cannabis 20% (95% CI: 8–30%), cocaine 21% (95% CI: 9–32%), amphetamine type stimulants 19% (95% CI: 12–26%), opioids 8% (95% CI: 4–12%), sedatives and sleeping pills 6% (95% CI: 0–12%), inhalants 4% (95% CI: –4–12%), hallucinogens 0% (95% CI: 0–0%), and recent drug use during sex work 42% (95% CI: 15%–68%). Only 5/102 studies reported a substance use intervention. Key study limitations include the lack of a validated measurement tool by most studies (96%) meaning it was not possible to distinguish between any drug use vs. harmful drug use. The criminalisation of drug use may have led to under-reporting and an underestimate of true substance use prevalences.

FSWs in LMICs report a high prevalence of recent drug use – including during sex work – with cannabis, cocaine and amphetamine type stimulants the most commonly used. There is an urgent need for effective low-cost substance use interventions. Future studies should use validated substance-use measurement tools to assess the burden of substance use disorders.

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is prevalent behaviour among adolescents. Although there are different etiological models of NSSI, there is a general lack of evidence-based, comprehensive and transdiagnostic models of NSSI in adolescents.

The aim of this study was to investigate a model of transdiagnostic factors of NSSI in adolescents, testing a serial mediation model of the relationship between early maladaptive schemas (EMS), distress tolerance and NSSI through experiential avoidance and rumination.

A community sample was identified of 1014 adolescents aged 13–17, of whom 425 had a history of NSSI. A serial mediation path analytic method was utilised to examine the relationships between NSSI and its associated functions as criterion variables, EMS and distress tolerance as predictors, experiential avoidance as the first mediator and rumination as the second mediator.

The path analytic model fit indices were good (X2/d.f. = 2.25, goodness of fit index = 0.98, normed fit index = 0.97, comparative fit index = 0.98, root mean square error of approximation = 0.054, standardised root mean squared residual = 0.028). Rumination significantly mediated the relationship between schemas of ‘vulnerability to harm’, ‘emotional deprivation’, ‘social isolation’, ‘insufficient self-control’, and NSSI frequency and intrapersonal functions. In serial fashion, experiential avoidance mediated the role of rumination in the relationship between social isolation, and insufficient self-control and NSSI frequency and intrapersonal functions. All indirect effects were significant.

Key indirect effects were found linking maladaptive schemas and distress tolerance to NSSI frequency, and NSSI intrapersonal functions via experiential avoidance and rumination. Thus, it is important to address these transdiagnostic factors with particular emphasis on the sequential mediating role of experiential avoidance and rumination in conceptualisation and therapeutic interventions for NSSI.

Race/ethnicity and sleep disturbances are associated with dementia risk.

To explore racial–ethnic disparities in sleep disturbances, and whether race/ethnicity moderates the relationship between sleep disturbances and dementia risk among older adults.

We analysed ten annual waves (2011–2020) of prospective cohort data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study, a nationally representative USA sample of 6284 non-Hispanic White (n = 4394), non-Hispanic Black (n = 1311), Hispanic (n = 342) and non-Hispanic Asian (n = 108) community-dwelling older adults. Sleep disturbances were converted into three longitudinal measures: (a) sleep-initiation difficulty (trouble falling asleep within 30 min), (b) sleep-maintenance difficulty (trouble falling asleep after waking up early) and (c) sleep medication usage (taking medication to sleep). Cox proportional hazards models analysed time to dementia, after applying sampling weights and adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and health.

Black, Hispanic and Asian respondents exhibited higher frequencies of sleep-initiation and sleep-maintenance difficulties, but had less sleep medication usage, compared with White older adults. Among Hispanic respondents, sleep-initiation difficulty was associated with significantly decreased dementia risk (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 0.34, 95% CI 0.15–0.76), but sleep-maintenance difficulty was associated with increased dementia risk (aHR = 2.68, 95% CI 1.17–6.13), compared with White respondents. Asian respondents using sleep medications had a significantly higher dementia risk (aHR = 3.85, 95% CI 1.64–9.04). There were no significant interactions for Black respondents.

Sleep disturbances are more frequent among older Black, Hispanic and Asian adults, and should be considered when addressing dementia disparities. Research is needed to explore how certain sleep disturbances may elevate dementia risk across different racial and ethnic subgroups.

The aim of this systematic review is to identify and describe the experiences, barriers and provision of post-diagnostic support in UK rural areas; from the perspective of people living with dementia, healthcare professionals and informal family caregivers.

People living with dementia in rural areas experience numerous barriers to accessing post-diagnostic support.

Systematic Review.

Systematic searches will be conducted in the following databases; SCOPUS, PubMed, PsychINFO and CINAHL Plus. Systematic review tool Rayyan.ai will be used to screen titles and abstracts, prior to full-text review. Following data extraction, The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool will be used to appraise the quality of studies and assess risk of bias. The data will be deductively analysed through the lens of the Candidacy Framework's 6 dimensions, with a secondary inductive analysis capturing any themes that fall outside of the framework.

242 papers have been screened by first and second reviewer. 15 papers included. Papers still being analysed for full review. Will be complete by March 2024.

This systematic review will help improve understanding of the rural barriers and experiences of post-diagnostic support, and allow researchers and stakeholders to develop and optimise specially tailored dementia interventions in line with the needs of people residing in UK rural communities.

First reviewer: Danielle Bilkey, Second Reviewer: Dr Ellena Businge, Supervisor: Dr Nicolas Farina.