depressive symptoms

This paper focuses on the mental health burden on medical and healthcare residents during the 1st wave of COVID-19 pandemic crisis in 2020 describing the activities of a mental health service for residents (NAPREME) in a public university, UNIFESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil; and a preliminary study showing an increasing of depressive symptoms and depression among residents. Data is related to the screening interviews of medical residents and healthcare multi-professional residents who sought the mental health service from March to December 2020. A comparison was conducted with the same period in 2019 (covering a period when Covid-19 was not affecting the Brazilian population). There was a 22% demand increase in 2020. Of the total amount who sought treatment: 23% were medical residents, 22% nursing residents, and the remaining distributed among other professions; and 58% were first year residents and 34% second year. Data from the BDI questionnaire showed some variance between the two years: the mean score for 2020 was 24.67 (± 7.86) which is in the depression range, higher than the mean score of 19.91 points in the previous year (± 10.15) which is only in the depressive symptoms range (p < 0.005). In the pandemic period there was an increase in residents with depression from 49% to 70%. Depression, anxiety, stress and burnout syndrome were observed, demanding psychological and psychiatric care for this population. Assessment of residents’ mental health will continue during 2021, during the 2nd wave of COVID-19 and an additional analysis will be conducted along the year.

Objectives: Investigate binge-watching (BW) behavior among students and assess its correlation with anxiety and depressive symptoms. Methods: Medical students who met the definition of BW were divided, according to their viewing frequency, into three groups: G1: once a month or less, G2: once a week or once every two weeks, and G3: twice a week or more. Beck Depression Inventory and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were used. Results: Ninety-four participants were recruited. The prevalence of BW was 72.3%. Depression and anxiety scores didn’t differ between binge watchers and the non-binge watcher group. G2 was found to be significantly less depressed (p = 0.014) and had a lower anxiety state (p = 0.05) and anxiety trait scores (p = 0.026) than the control group. Feeling tired was the most prevalent reason to stop viewing among G3 (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Binge-watching could be when used in a specific manner, a way to cope with negative feelings. 

Background: This study explored whether emotional distress, coping, and/or resilience contributed to return to driving (RTD) following experienced mild traumatic brain injury, and whether these variables of interest differed among those who had and had not RTD.  Methods: The present study evaluated de-identified archival data of 65 patients with mTBI following an MVA. Patients were either the driver, passenger, /or pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle, and aged 22 to 69 years. The sample consisted of 36 men and 29 women with an average education. The mean months elapsed between the accident and the assessment was 16.82 months. Pearson correlations were used to test for associations between all explanatory and outcome variables. Separate linear and hierarchical regressions were carried out to evaluate whether variables of interest were significant predictors of RTD.  Results: Findings revealed that the presence of depressive symptoms was associated with coping, irrespective of style, resilience, driving-related anxiety, and RTD. Moreover, RTD was related to driving-related anxiety, too, and in fact, anxiety (considering the presence of depressive symptoms) appeared to be an even greater limiting factor when considering RTD in this population. Age, gender, and education did not influence RTD. Conclusion: The present study revealed that depressive symptoms and driving-related anxiety in particular contribute to whether patients with mTBI RTD, irrespective of time since injury, age, and gender. Coping styles and resilience did not predict RTD. Further work is warranted to address the paucity of research investigating RTD parameters that contribute to and/or hinder RTD among mTBI sufferers.

Objective: This study investigated the utility of the second version of the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI-2) as a screening tool to identify children and adolescents aged 8-21 years suffering from depressive symptoms. Method: Data were collected by combining questionnaire data from multiple clinical and control subsamples in which the CDI-2 child and parent version were administered to clinically depressed children (n = 111), children with other psychiatric disorders (n = 74) and control children (n = 2246) as well as their parents (respectively n = 104, n = 112, n = 2130). Results: Results showed that the CDI-2 has good psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency, factor structure, parent-child agreement, convergent and divergent validity. However, the factor structure of the parent version was insufficient. The CDI-2 total score of the child version and parent version can differentiate between clinically depressed children, children with other psychiatric disorders, and control children. Further, reliable cut-off scores were established. There were also significant gender and age effects.Conclusion: The total score of the CDI-2 child and parent version can be used as a screening tool to detect clinically significant depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. 

Chocolate is one of the most widely consumed confectionery products among adolescents, a developmental stage characterized by significant emotional, psychological, and neurobiological changes. Growing scientific interest in nutritional psychiatry has prompted investigation into the potential relationship between chocolate intake and mental health outcomes in this age group. This narrative review examines current evidence exploring the association between chocolate consumption and psychological well-being, including depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress regulation, mood, and broader emotional health in adolescents.Existing literature suggests that chocolate, particularly cocoa-rich varieties, contains bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, methylxanthines, and essential minerals that may influence neurotransmitter activity, cerebral blood flow, and neuroinflammatory pathways. These mechanisms may contribute to short-term mood enhancement and stress reduction. However, findings remain inconsistent, as frequent consumption of highly processed, sugar-rich chocolate products has been associated with adverse mental health outcomes and maladaptive eating behaviors.The review also highlights important moderating factors, including chocolate type, consumption frequency, lifestyle patterns, and psychosocial influences unique to adolescence. Methodological limitations, such as reliance on self-reported dietary data and limited longitudinal or experimental research, contribute to variability in study findings.Overall, the evidence suggests that chocolate consumption may exert both beneficial and detrimental effects on adolescent mental health depending on its composition and consumption patterns. Further high-quality longitudinal and experimental studies incorporating standardized dietary assessments and biological markers are necessary to clarify these relationships and inform evidence-based dietary and mental health strategies for adolescents.