Search

Purpose: In recent years, mental health problems have become the most serious social problems worldwide. Past studies have proposed that some links exist between sunlight and mental health; however, relevant studies examining low-dose sunlight exposure populations are lacking. We conducted a study among a group of operating room nurses (ORNs) who work long hours in operating rooms and have limited sunlight exposure. We aim to add to and refine previous researches on the association between mental health and sunlight exposure in community population. Patients and Methods: A total of 787 ORNs were interviewed and analyzed. Mental health, sunlight exposure duration, sociodemographic and work-related variables, and chronic diseases were evaluated. The Kessler 10 scale (K10) was used to assess participants' mental health status, and their sunlight exposure duration was assessed using their self-reports. Multiple linear regression analysis was adopted to examine the association between sunlight exposure and mental health. Results: The average K10 score of ORNs was 25.41. ORNs exhibit poorer mental health than other populations. Poor mental health was negatively associated with greater sunlight exposure hours per day (β=− 0.378) and sleep regularity (β=− 3.341). Poor mental health was positively associated with chronic disease (β=3.514). Conclusion: This study indicated that the positive association between sunlight exposure and mental health existed. Appropriate enhancement of sunlight exposure will be beneficial to mental health. Hospitals, related organizations and individuals should pay greater attention to ORNs' mental health and sunlight exposure conditions. More policy recommendations as well as building structure recommendations should be proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Although the associations between drinking behaviors and emotional problems have been supported in several previous studies, the associations between drinking behaviors and meaning in life have not been explored until now. We aimed to test the associations between drinking behaviors and meaning in life among primary care professionals, after controlling for depression. (2) Methods: In the current study, we collected 1453 valid questionnaires based on a cross-sectional design. Meaning in life, drinking behaviors, physical diseases, depression, work-related variables, and some other social-demographic variables were evaluated. (3) Results: The results support that after controlling for depression, regular milk drinking (β = 1.387, p = 0.026), and regular juice drinking (β = 2.316, p = 0.030) were associated with higher meaning in life, while regular water drinking (β = −1.448, p = 0.019) was negatively associated with meaning in life. In addition to this, the results showed that the older age (β = 0.098, p = 0.001), preventive medicine majors (β = 4.281, p = 0.013), working fewer days per week (β = −0.942, p = 0.004), licensed (assistant) technician qualification (β = 2.921, p = 0.036), and no depression (β = −0.203, p < 0.001) were positively associated with meaning in life. (4) Conclusion: This study supported the association between drinking behaviors and meaning in life, even after controlling depression. These findings imply that we can further explore this association and its mechanisms in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• WUI areas in China have exhibited a rapid increasing trend from 2008 to 2020. • Lower rainfall and higher temperatures are linked to occurrence of WUI fires. • Human activity explains as much about the WUI fires occurrence as climate. Urbanization and climate change have led to an increasing number of wildfires in China in recent years, posing a direct threat to life, property, and social development. These areas facing severe wildfire risk are mainly concentrated in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). Although much research has been conducted on wildfire management in China, one of the critical constraints is that there is not yet a WUI distribution map that can meet the needs of forest fire management in China. The present study proposes an approach to identify WUI areas in mainland China between 2008 and 2020 by analyzing the impact of wildfire events on communities. Using historical fire occurrence data, we explored the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of WUI fires in various geographic regions. Using the random forest model, we predicted the spatial distribution of WUI fires and identified the key factors affecting their occurrence. The results show that the WUI area in China has been rapidly expanding since 2008, with a growth rate of 15.2 × 103 km2/a, especially in the densely populated and economically developed eastern regions. The seasons of WUI fires varied across regions. Both spring and autumn are major seasons for WUI fire occurrence in northern China. In contrast, more than 80 % of WUI fires in southern China occurred in winter and spring. According to the findings generated by the random forest analysis, weather patterns marked by low levels of rainfall and elevated temperatures during both spring and fall seasons are the primary atmospheric contributors to the incidence of WUI fires. Our study indicated that repeated human activities within southern China also increased the probability of fire occurrence. We suggest that better prediction of fire-prone weather and improved regional forest fire management can help decrease the incidence of WUI fires. In addition, future efforts should focus on enhancing the long-term monitoring and predictive capabilities of fuel moisture content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the association between parents parenting styles differences and lifetime suicidal ideation (LSI). The sample included 2598 Chinese medical students. Results showed that 10.5% of students reported LSI. Moreover, total differences in parenting styles (OR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.02, 1.06), parental nurture rejects differences (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.04, 1.18), parental emotional warmth differences (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.03, 1.14), and parental overprotective differences (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.06, 1.16), obtain a scholarship, physical disease and mental health were associated with LSI. The major finding reminds us of the importance of consistent parenting style for suicide prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although the association between sleep problems and suicidal behaviors were found in many studies, their associations are not built until now. One of the reasons may be the identified differences among different suicide behaviors, which also implied that sleep quality may play different roles on these suicidal behaviors. However, absent study explores the possible distinguishing associations between sleep quality and different suicidal behaviors.Methods: This is a population-based study conducted in Hebei province, China. Totally, 21,376 valid questionnaires were analyzed in this study. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate sleep quality. Suicidal behaviors, living alone, and social-demographic variables were assessed for all the participants.Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation, plan, and attempt were 1.4%, 0.3%, and 0.2%, respectively. The PSQI scores were separately associated with suicidal ideation (OR=1.25, p<0.001), plan (OR=1.19, p<0.001), and attempt (OR=1.18, p<0.001). The similar results were also supported when we compared conditional suicidal behaviors with general population without any suicidal behaviors. However, when we compared suicide attempters with suicidal ideators (with or without suicide plan), the associations between PSQI scores and suicide attempt were not supported (OR=1.93, P>0.05 or OR=1.02, p>0.05).Limitations: The cross-sectional design made us cannot get any causal relationships. The self-reported sleep quality may also produce some influence on the results.Conclusion: The results imply us that improving sleep quality may be not effective to control further suicidal behaviors, when people have considered or planned to suicide. The findings also can be translated into the clinical and preventive practice for suicide control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Recently, an emerging group of studies has reported the association between Body Mass Index (BMI) and suicidal ideation in the Western countries. However, this relationship is still unclear with controversial results, and we have little knowledge about this relationship in China which is one of few countries reported higher suicide rates. Methods This study aims to analyze the association between BMI and suicidal ideation among seniors (≥60 years old) in Shandong, China. A total of 3313 seniors were included in the data analysis. Suicidal ideation, weight, height, socio-demographic and psychological variables were evaluated in this study. Logistic regression was conducted to explore the association between BMI and suicidal ideation among male and female seniors. Results The results showed that 4.2% of the seniors reported suicidal ideation, and 3.4% for men, 4.9% for women. After controlling social-demographic variables, economic status, physical disease, social support and mental health, an inverse relationship between BMI and suicidal ideation was found for men, but not for women. Mental health was still an important factor associated with suicidal ideation. Conclusion The results inform health care professors that underweight in male seniors can be associated with higher risk of suicidal ideation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have examined the prevalence of psychological strains among various suicide populations. However, it is still unexamined whether psychological strains can predict suicide intent directly. Aims: We planned to explore the prevalence of psychological strains and analyze the relationship between psychological strains and suicide intent among Chinese rural young suicides. Methods: Psychological autopsy method was used to investigate the environmental and other factors of rural young suicides. Psychological strains were identified from in-depth interviews by the proxy informants of each suicide. The first 8 items of Beck’s Suicidal Intention Scale (SIS) were used to estimate the suicide intent. Results: Results showed that 96.6% of the suicides had at least one type of strain, and those suicides who had more strains tended to score higher on the suicide intent scale. Conclusion: The study further supports that suicide intent can be predicted by psychological strains in Chinese rural young suicides. The scanning of psychological strains can be used for suicide prevention in Chinese rural young suicides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Suicide rates in China are among the highest in the world, although there has been a decreasing trend in the past few years. One practical approach to study the characteristics and risk factors of suicide is to interview the suicide attempters. It was to compare completed suicides with serious attempters that may shed lights on suicide prevention strategies. Method This is a combination of two case control studies for suicide completers and suicide attempters respectively. After a sample of suicides ( n =392) and community living controls ( n =416) were obtained and studied in rural China, we collected in the same rural areas data of suicide attempt and studied 507 medically serious attempters and 503 community counterparts. Results Characteristics and previously observed risk factors were compared between the suicides and the attempters, and we found that the demographic characteristics and risk factors for the suicides were also for the medically serious attempters but at some lesser degrees for the attempters than for the suicides. It was especially true of suicide intent, deficient coping, negative life events, and impulsivity. While most of the demographic characteristics were not significantly different between the suicides and the attempters, most of the clinical variables could distinguish the two groups. Conclusions The suicide victims and the serious attempters could be of the same group of people who were at the edge of fatal self-injury, and the same clinical risk factors but of different degrees have divided them into the life and death groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective In the present study, we aim to test whether the approach or the avoidance coping skill can be a moderator between negative life events and suicide, and to test the deficient coping strain in the strain theory. Method This sample comprised 392 suicide cases and 416 community living controls, aged 15-34 years, from 16 rural counties in China. An established psychological autopsy method and a case-control design were used in this study. The 48-item Coping Response Inventory evaluated the degree of coping skills of the people who died by suicide. Results Results indicated that the avoidance coping skill, but not the approach coping skill, can moderate between negative life events and suicide. Conclusion The low level of the avoidance coping skill may represent a promising variable for screening for suicide risk in rural China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Females attempt more suicide than males, but males are more likely to die of suicide than females. • Suicides and medically serious suicide attempters are similar in psychological characteristics. • Findings were achieved by large samples of 373 suicides and 507 medically serious suicide attempters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last few years, the demands of homeowners in Chinese cities have gradually shifted away from economic rights and towards political ones. At the same time, alliances across different communities have emerged and vigorous attempts to form citywide solidarities have been made. In this process, a group of dedicated leaders has emerged, contributing greatly to the escalation of collective actions. This article focuses on a core group of Beijing activists behind the organization, expression and participation of homeowners' associations. Relying on data collected from interviews, documents and participatory observations conducted over a period of more than two years, we were able to pin down the socio-economic, social and political backgrounds of these leaders, as well as their attitudes, objectives and repertoire of actions. We describe leaders as falling into a two-by-two typology that is defined by a motivation dimension and an activeness dimension. Depending on his or her goals and approaches, a protest leader can be variously viewed as a political actionist, a frustrated changer, a double harvester or a tiger rider. These different types of leaders are all in one way or another promoting socio-political changes in China. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Conflicting findings were reported about the associations between subjective body image (SBI), body mass index (BMI) and psychological symptoms in China and other countries in the world. In this study, we aim to explore the associations between SBI, BMI, and psychological symptoms based on a large-scale, national wide survey among Chinese adolescents. Methods: The 2014–2015 China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) database, with 8134 middle school students (4137 boys and 3997 girls), was analyzed to explore the association between SBI, BMI and psychological symptoms. SBI was assessed by one question about the perception of own body shape with options "very thin", "slightly thin", "average", "weak heavy", and "very heavy". BMI was calculated by the self-reported body weight and height. Psychological symptoms were evaluated by 10 items involving both aspects of depression and anxiety. Results: The results indicated that both boys and girls who perceived weak or very heavy weight were positively associated with psychological symptoms (p < 0.05). For boys, perceiving very thin body image was also in higher risk of psychological symptoms (p < 0.05), after controlling social-demographic variables and BMI. Comparing with normal weight boys or girls, obese boys (β = −2.22, 95% CI −3.37~−1.07) and overweight girls (β = −1.03, 95% CI −2.01~−0.06) were in lower levels of psychological symptoms after controlling for SBI. Other factors associated with psychological symptoms were family economic status, academic performance, and self-rated health status. Conclusions: A deviation from an "average" SBI was positively associated with psychological symptoms, which should be scanned when evaluating the Chinese adolescents' mental health. These findings provide epidemiological evidence for the association between SBI and psychological symptoms in non-western social contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasing evidence demonstrates the significant role of weight perception in shaping the mental health of adolescents. This study sought to extend previous literature by examining the associations of weight perception categories with depressive symptoms for both boys and girls in China, and further explored whether the associations varied between urban and rural areas.Methods: Data were from a large-scale, national survey of Chinese middle school students. The analytical sample had 8568 respondents with a mean age of 13.9 years (SD=0.7). Bivariate and multiple regression analyses were adopted to examine the links between weight perception and depressive symptoms.Results: Overweight perceptions were more prevalent in girls than in boys (47.0% vs. 29.3%), whereas underweight perceptions were less common in girls than in boys (15.7% vs. 29.3%). After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and health conditions, self-perceiving as "slightly overweight" and "very overweight" were significantly related to more depressive symptoms for both boys (p<0.05) and girls (p<0.05). A "very underweight" perception, however, was found to be only linked to greater depressive symptoms in boys (p<0.05). Notably, these patterns showed no significant rural-urban difference, as evidenced by the lack of significant interactive effects of all weight perceptions categories and region (urban/rural) on depressive symptoms.Limitations: This study was based on a cross-sectional design, which essentially precludes the possibility to determine the causality of the observed associations.Conclusion: Findings in this study indicated that the impacts of subjective physical attractiveness have been gendered and regionally pervasive in affecting emotional well-being of Chinese adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, few studies have examined the association between difficulties in activities of daily living (ADL) and suicidal ideation (SI) among the seniors in China. This study aims to explore this association among older adults in China. A total of 3313 older people (60+) were included in this study, and questionnaires were administered by face-to-face interview. In total, 4.2% of the participants reported SI. The mean score of ADL among older adults with SI (21.06 ± 10.92) was much higher than that in those without SI (16.13 ± 5.60). Multivariate analyses showed that some specific domains of ADL including using transport, medical care, and household activities were associated with SI even after we controlled the psychological conditions. An association was observed between difficulties in daily living and SI among older adults in China. Psychological interventions should be taken to prevent potential risk of suicide targeting the seniors with certain disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]