Search

Discrepancies in self-rated and observer-rated depression severity may underlie the basis for biological heterogeneity in depressive disorders and be an important predictor of outcomes and indicators to optimize intervention strategies. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this discrepancy have been understudied. This study aimed to examine the brain networks that represent the neural basis of the discrepancy between self-rated and observer-rated depression severity using resting-state functional MRI. To examine the discrepancy between self-rated and observer-rated depression severity, self- and observer-ratings discrepancy (SOD) was defined, and the higher and lower SOD groups were selected from depressed patients as participants showing extreme deviation. Resting-state functional MRI analysis was performed to examine regions with significant differences in functional connectivity in the two groups. The results showed that, in the higher SOD group compared to the lower SOD group, there was increased functional connectivity between the frontal pole and precuneus, both of which are subregions of the default mode network that have been reported to be associated with ruminative and self-referential thinking. These results provide insight into the association of brain circuitry with discrepancies between self- and observer-rated depression severity and may lead to more treatment-oriented diagnostic reclassification in the future., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Purpose: Existing studies on the association between BMI and depression report conflicting results with some demonstrating a positive relationship, while others a negative link or insignificant correlation. Very limited research on the nonlinear relationship between BMI and depression has yet to clarify the reliability and robustness of the potential nonlinearity and whether a more complex association exists. This paper aims to systematically investigate the nonlinear relationship between the two factors applying rigorous statistical methods, as well as explore the heterogeneity of their association., Materials and Methods: A large-scale nationally representative dataset, Chinese General Social Survey, is used to empirically analyze the nonlinear relationship between BMI and perceived depression. Various statistical tests are employed to check the robustness of the nonlinearity., Results: Results indicate that there is a U-shaped relationship between BMI and perceived depression, with the turning point (25.718) very close to while slightly larger than the upper limit of the range of healthy weight (18.500 ≤ BMI < 25.000) defined by World Health Organization. Both very high and low BMIs are associated with increased risk for depressive disorders. Furthermore, perceived depression is higher at almost all BMI levels among individuals who are older, female, lower educated, unmarried, in rural areas, belonging to ethnic minorities, non-Communist Party of China members, as well as those with lower income and uncovered by social security. In addition, these subgroups have smaller inflection points and their self-rated depression is more sensitive to BMI., Conclusion: This paper confirms a significant U-shaped trend in the association between BMI and depression. Therefore, it is important to account for the variations in this relationship across different BMI categories when using BMI to predict depression risk. Besides, this study clarifies the management goals for achieving an appropriate BMI from a mental health perspective and identifies vulnerable subgroups at higher risk of depression., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2023 Li et al.)

Background: Based on the family system theory, there is an interactive relationship in the family, especially the cognitive style and emotional changes of the husband and wife will affect the behavior, cognition and emotion of the partner. Data about the effects of marital relationships on mental health are often paired. Scholars study the effect of individual independent variables on the dependent variables and the effect of spouse independent variables on the dependent variables to explore the actor and partner effect in marital relationships., Methods: This study used the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2018 dataset to collect paired data on the marital satisfaction and self-rated mental health of 9,560 couples. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Moderation Model (APIMoM) was used to analyze whether moderator variables affect the direction and strength of the effect of marital satisfaction on self-rated depression. In the robustness test part, the robustness of the APIMoM model was tested by reanalyzing the independent variables using two kinds of  binary codes respectively, and the results showed that the models were robust., Results: Individuals' marital satisfaction was significantly negatively correlated with their own depression level and with that of their spouse. The number of family members had a positive moderating effect on the results of the wife's partner effect. Couples who lived in the environment with more family members had lower depression scores. Couples who have more children have higher depression scores. The number of children has a negative moderating effect on the results of partner effect of husbands and wives. The wife's neurotic personality score has a negative moderating effect on the wife's actor effect., Conclusions: In terms of measures to prevent depression, women's mental health should be given more priority than men's. Living in a larger family with more children is beneficial for couples' mental health. Efforts to prevent depression in couples should take into account the neurotic character of the members, especially the wife, and design special treatment and preventive measures accordingly. These findings highlight that binary dynamics should be considered in exploring what factors influence the mental health of married couples., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

This multi-centre cross-sectional study explored associations between prevalence of depression and exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) at any time in patients' adult life in 471 participants of a previous IPV study. In 2016, 174 interviews were performed, using the Short Form Domestic Violence Exposure Questionnaire, the Zung Scale and questions about behavioural patterns of exposure to IPV. Family doctors reviewed patients' medical charts for period from 2012 to 2016, using the Domestic Violence Exposure Medical Chart Check List, for conditions which persisted for at least three years. Depression was found to be associated with any exposure to IPV in adult life and was more likely to affect women. In multivariable logistic regression modelling, factors associated with self-rated depression were identified (p < 0.05). Exposure to emotional and physical violence was identified as a risk factor in the first model, explaining 23% of the variance. The second model explained 66% of the variance; past divorce, dysfunctional family relationships and a history of incapacity to work increased the likelihood of depression in patients. Family doctors should consider IPV exposure when detecting depression, since lifetime IPV exposure was found to be 40.4% and 36.9% of depressed revealed it.

It is thought that calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) may be related to mental disorders such as depression; however, there have been few studies investigating the association between Ca and Mg nutrition status with depression in middle-aged female adults. Study subjects in this study included 105 women between the ages of 41 and 57 years. The subjects were divided into three groups according to the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) score: Group I (SDS score < 33 percentile; n = 32), Group II (33 percentile ≤ SDS score < 67 percentile; n = 37), and Group III (67 percentile ≤ SDS score; n = 36). Anthropometric measurements, dietary intake survey using 3-day dietary records, SDS questionnaire and measurement of serum Ca and Mg were obtained and analyzed. No differences were observed in Ca, plant Ca, and Mg intake among the three groups. However, animal Ca intake by Group III was 141.3 mg, which was significantly lower than 207.6 mg by Group I and 198.3 mg by Group II (P = 0.0345). There were no significant differences in serum levels of Ca, and Mg among the three groups. Correlation analysis indicated that the SDS score had negative correlations with Ca intake (r = -0.2927, P < 0.01) and animal Ca (r = -0.3411, P < 0.001) after adjusting for age, menopause and energy intake. In conclusion, dietary Ca and animal Ca had negative associations with SDS score among middle-aged Korean female adults. Additional analysis of factors related to the association of calcium and magnesium nutritional status and depression is necessary.