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Insomnia treatment among individuals with comorbid insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea is suboptimal. In a pilot randomized controlled trial, 19 individuals with comorbid insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea were allocated to one of two arms: EX + EX, consisting of two 8-week phases of exercise training (EX), or RE + CBTiEX, encompassing 8 weeks of relaxation training (RE) followed by 8 weeks of combined cognitive-behavioral therapy and exercise (CBTiEX). Outcomes included Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), polysomnography, and cardiorespiratory fitness measures. A mixed-model analysis of variance revealed a Group × Time interaction on peak oxygen consumption change, F(1, 14) = 10.1, p =.007, and EX increased peak oxygen consumption (p =.03, g′ = −0.41) and reduced ISI (p =.001, g′ = 0.82) compared with RE (p =.49, g = 0.16) post-8 weeks. Post-16 weeks, there was a significant Group × Time interaction (p =.014) driven by RE + CBTiEX yielding a larger improvement in ISI (p =.023, g′ = 1.48) than EX + EX (p =.88, g′ < 0.1). Objective sleep was unchanged. This study showed promising effects of regular EX alone and combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia on ISI in comorbid insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging adulthood is a new stage of development that follows identity explorations during adolescence and precedes adulthood. During this phase, varied perceptions of body image may affect the mental health status of these individuals. This research examined the association between body appreciation (BA) as a measure of body image and mental health outcomes - particularly, depression, anxiety, and stress. A cross-sectional survey was used to ascertain data from 3,127 18-29-yr-old Filipinos (67% female; mean age = 21) residing in the Philippines using an online self-administered questionnaire. BA Scale-2 (BAS-2) measured BA, whereas DASS-21 assessed levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Associations between BA, and mental health outcomes were estimated using Poisson regression models with a log-link function and a robust variance estimator. A higher BAS-2 score (2nd-4th Quartiles) is associated with a reduced risk of severe/extreme levels of depression, anxiety, and stress than a low BAS-2 score (1st Quartile). Moreover, the association between BA and stress may be stronger among female participants (p-value interaction = 0.01) and late emerging adults (p-value interaction = 0.47). However, effect modification by age and sex was insignificant for the association between BA and anxiety and depression (p-values for interaction > 0.15). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Scarce are the studies focusing on initiation of new mental health service use (MHSU) and distinguishing individuals who have sought services but have been unsuccessful in accessing these. Aims: Assessing the factors associated with initiating new MHSU as compared to no MHSU due to self-reported no need, no MHSU due to health system and personal barriers and MHSU using resources already in place. Methods: The sample included participants (n = 16,435) in the five established regional cohorts of the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow's Health (CanPath) who responded to the CanPath COVID-19 health surveys (May–December 2020 and January–June 2021). Multinomial regression analyses were carried out to study MHSU since the pandemic (March 2020) as a function of predisposing, enabling and need factors. Analyses were carried out in the overall sample and restricted to those with moderate and severe symptoms (MSS) of depression and/or anxiety (n = 2,237). Results: In individuals with MSS of depression and/or anxiety, 14.4% reported initiating new MHSU, 22.0% had no MHSU due to barriers and personal reasons and 36.7% had no MHSU due to self-reported no need. Age, living alone, lower income, a decrease in income during the pandemic and health professional status were associated with MHSU. Younger adults were more likely to initiate MHSU during the pandemic than older adults who reported not being comfortable to seek mental health care or self-reported no need. Individuals living alone and with lower income were more likely to report not being able to find an appointment for mental health care. Conclusions: Awareness campaigns focusing on older adults that explain the importance of seeking treatment is needed, as well as sensitising health professionals as to the importance of informing and aiding individuals at risk of social isolation and lower socio-economic status as to available mental health resources and facilitating access to care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many older adults experience chronic age-related stressors (e.g., life regrets or health problems) that are difficult to control and can disturb cortisol regulation. Self-compassion may buffer adverse effects of these stressful experiences on diurnal cortisol secretion in older adulthood. To examine whether self-compassion could benefit older adults' cortisol secretion in the context of chronic and largely uncontrollable age-related stressors, 233 community-dwelling older adults reported their levels of self-compassion, age-related stressors (regret intensity, physical health problems, and functional disability), and relevant covariates. Diurnal cortisol was measured over 3 days and the average area-under-the-curve and slope were calculated. Higher levels of self-compassion were associated with lower daily cortisol levels among older adults who reported higher levels of regret intensity, physical health problems, or functional disability ([beta]s < - .53, ps < .01), but not among their counterparts who reported lower levels of these age-related stressors ([beta]s < .24, ps > .28). These results suggest that self-compassion may represent an important personal resource that could protect older adults from stress-related biological disturbances resulting from chronic and uncontrollable stressors., Author(s): Heather Herriot [sup.1] , Carsten Wrosch [sup.1] , Jean-Philippe Gouin [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0004 1936 8630, grid.410319.e, Department of Psychology and Centre for Research in Human Development, [...]

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has constrained opportunities in social, educational and professional domains, leading to developmental challenges for adolescents initiating their transition to adulthood. Meta‐analysis indicated that there was a small increase in psychological distress during the first year of the COVID‐19 pandemic. However, significant heterogeneity in the psychological response to the COVID‐19 pandemic was noted. Developmental antecedents as well as social processes may account for such heterogeneity. The goal of this study was to characterize trajectories of psychological distress in late adolescence during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods: 5014 late adolescents born between 2000 and 2002 from the UK Millennium Cohort Study completed online self‐reported assessments at three occasions during the first year of the COVID‐19 pandemic (May 2020, September/October 2020 and February/March 2021). These surveys assessed psychological distress, loneliness, social support, family conflict, as well as other pandemic stressors. Information on developmental antecedents were obtained when cohort members were 17 years of age. Results: Four distinct trajectories class were identified. Normative class (52.13%) experienced low and decreasing levels of psychological distress, while moderately increasing class (31.84%) experienced a small, but significant increase in distress over time and increasing class (8.75%) exhibited a larger increase in distress after the first wave of the pandemic. Inverted U‐shaped class (7.29%) experienced elevated psychological distress during the first wave of the pandemic, followed by a decrease in distress in subsequent waves of the pandemic. Larger longitudinal increases in loneliness were noted among individuals in the elevated distress trajectory, compared to other trajectories. Pre‐pandemic psychopathology was associated with elevated distress early in the pandemic. Conclusions: The largest trajectory showed low and declining psychological distress, highlighting the resilience of the majority of late adolescents. However, a subgroup of adolescents experienced large increases in psychological distress, identifying a group of individuals more vulnerable to pandemic‐related stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]