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Background On May 12, 2008, a powerful 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck China's Sichuan province. While some studies have assessed the mental and physical wellbeing of disaster victims, few have examined the long-term impact of natural disasters on pregnant women's mental health. As such, this study aims to assess whether the Sichuan earthquake continues to negatively affect women's mental health, 4 years since its occurrence. In addition, predictive and protective risk factors of depressive symptoms among pregnant women were also identified. Methods From June 2012 to October 2012, 520 pregnant women were interviewed, of whom 253 were from an earthquake struck area and 267 were from a non-earthquake struck area. Symptoms of antenatal depression were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) with a cutoff of≥10. Results The prevalence rate of depression among pregnant women in the earthquake area was 34.5% (95% CI, 28.9–40.6), while the rate in the non-earthquake area was 39.6% (95% CI, 33.9–45.5). The perceived stresses associated with pregnancy and social support from husbands are significantly correlated with antenatal depression. Limitations: Lack of diagnosis for antenatal depression and it is a self-report evaluation. Conclusions This study found that the Sichuan earthquake does not necessarily have a long-lasting effect on pregnant women who were once victims of the disaster. It was found that pregnant women who experience high levels of pressures from the pregnancy and receive medium support from husbands are more susceptible to experience antenatal depression than pregnant women who perceive higher levels of support from husbands.

Hazardous child labor in Nepal is a serious concern, particularly in the brick kiln industry. Although a range of interventions have been implemented in Nepal to address hazardous child labor, there is a lack of research to both measure success and shape further development in interventions that integrate sound child protection practices to ensure the wellbeing of all children. This paper provides a review of the literature outlining interventions for children working in brick kilns in Nepal, and presents preliminary case study findings of one current intervention in the Kathmandu Valley. The paper highlights the strength of applying foundational child protection principles and advocates for the development and implementation of future programs underpinned by broad civil society principles within a child rights and protection framework.

This study examined the differences in 14-year outcomes of persons with schizophrenia with and without family caregiver(s) in a rural community in China. All participants with schizophrenia (n = 510) aged 15 years and older were identified in a 1994 epidemiological investigation of 123,572 people and followed up in 2004 and 2008 in Xinjin County, Chengdu, China. Individuals without family caregiver in 1994 had significantly higher rate of homelessness (23.8 %) and lower rate of survival (47.5 %) in 2008 than those with family caregivers (5.1 and 70.9 %). Compared with individuals with family caregivers, those without family caregivers were more likely to be male, live alone, have fewer family members, lower family economic status, lower rates of marriage and complete remission, higher mean scores on PANSS and lower mean score on GAF in 2008. The predictors of participants without family caregiver in 2008 included having a small number of family members at baseline and being male. The absence of a family caregiver is a predictive factor of poorer long-term outcome of persons with schizophrenia in the rural community. The critical role of family caregiving should be incorporated in the planning and delivering of mental health policies and community-based mental health services.

Background Little is known about the change in long-term prevalence of mental disorders during a period of sustained rapid socioeconomic development. Here we explore the prevalence change of severe mental disorders in a 21-year longitudinal study in a rural area of China. Methods Epidemiological surveys of mental disorders were done in May, 1994, and October, 2015, in six townships (total population 170 174 in 2015) in Xinjin County, Chengdu, China. Psychoses Screening Schedule (PSS) together with key informant method for household survey and general psychiatric interview were administered to identify the persons with severe mental disorders according to International Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders-10 (ICD-10) criteria. Findings Among all persons aged 15 years and older, the age-standardised lifetime prevalence of all mental disorders increased 48·2% from 870·1 per 100 000 population (95% CI 811·3–928·9 per 100 000 population) in 1994 to 1289·4 per 100 000 population (1218·0–1360·8 per 100 000 population) in 2015. The age-standardised lifetime prevalence of schizophrenia was the highest among all mental disorders and remained relatively stable from 1994 (416·0 per 100 000 population) to 2015 (427·9 per 100 000 population). Between 1994 and 2015, the age-standardised lifetime prevalence increased for affective disorders (41%), alcohol dependence and alcoholism (373·8%), drug and substance abuse (1809%), and mental disorder plus cerebrovascular disease (214%), brain trauma (388%), and senile dementia (126%). Moreover, age-standardised lifetime prevalence was significantly higher in men (1465·5 per 100 000 population) than in women (1179·0 per 100 000) in 2015 (p Interpretation Various mental disorders in people living in the rural community display different trends from 1994 to 2015. Although the age-standardised lifetime prevalence of all causes disorders increased from 1994 to 2015, the prevalence of schizophrenia remained relatively stable. Prevalence of affective disorders, alcohol dependence and alcoholism, drug and substance abuse, senile dementia, and other organic disorders increased sharply, possibly indicating the effect of socioeconomic development on mental disorders. Mental health policy and services should be improved and adjusted according to the prevalence change of mental disorders. The limitations of this study include: (1) the sample investigated was from one rural area of China; (2) only two surveys were done; and (3) as many young people in this rural area might move to work temporarily in urban areas, the final reported prevalence might underestimate the true prevalence in young people. Funding The investigation in 1994 was supported in part by the China Medical Board of New York (CMB, 92-557, to MZX). The investigation in 2015 was supported in part by Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research (HKU, 2014-2016, to MSR), Seed Funding Programme for Applied Research (HKU, 2014-2016, to MSR), Strategic Research Theme (SRT): Contemporary China Seed Funding (HKU, 2014-2016, to MSR), Small Project Funding (HKU, 2014-2016, to CLWC), and Mental Health Research in Chengdu, China (Dept. Matching Fund, 2015-2017, to MSR).

With greater Internet availability, the pathological use of the Internet has become an emerging mental health issue among adolescents in China. The objective of this study was to examine the associations between Internet addiction and depression in migrant children (MC) and left-behind children (LBC). The present study was conducted using a cross-sectional design with 3,254 participants (8-17-years old), which included 1143 LBC, 574 MC, and 1287 nonleft-behind rural children (RC) from 12 schools. Young's 8-item Internet Addiction Scale was used to assess Internet dependency. The Children's Depression Inventory-Short Form was used to measure child depression. The results showed that the prevalence of depression was 10.9 percent among RC, 19.7 percent among MC, and 14.3 percent among LBC. The prevalence of Internet addiction was 3.7 percent among RC, and was 6.4 percent among MC and 3.2 percent among LBC. Depression was effected by the interaction between types of children and Internet addiction. LBC with Internet addiction (odds ratio [OR], 2.780; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.237-6.248), MC with Internet addiction (OR, 2.922; 95 percent CI, 1.116-7.652), and MC with no Internet addiction (OR, 2.735; 95 percent CI, 1.974-3.789) had higher risks of depression than that for RC with no-Internet addiction. The results indicated that Internet addiction might be associated with an increased risk of depression in LBC, and migration was an important risk factor for child depression.