Tag: Anxiety

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Temporal Interference Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation for Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Conditions: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD); Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Interventions: Device: Temporal Interference transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (TI-tACS); Device: Sham Temporal Interference transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (TI-tACS)

Sponsors: Central South University; Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University; Lanzhou University Second Hospital; Neuropsychiatric Institute of Fuzhou Second General Hospital; Affiliated Wuhan Mental Health Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology; Affiliated WuTaiShan Hospital of Medical College of Yangzhou University; Xianyue Psychiatric Hospital, Xiamen

Not yet recruiting
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<![CDATA[How shifting cannabis laws shape potency, access, and risk—revealing why anxiety, paranoia, and psychosis can surge when users cross regulatory borders.]]>
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A study on the relationship between research stress, research anxiety, research performance, and job satisfaction among Chinese healthcare professionals and its influencing mechanisms: a national multi-center survey

BackgroundChinese healthcare professionals face dual pressures from clinical duties and research activities, which may increase research-related anxiety and reduce job satisfaction. While occupational stress has been well studied, the mechanisms linking research stress to job satisfaction are unclear. Research performance may also play a key role, but its impact remains uncertain. This study explores the relationships between research stress, research anxiety, research performance, and job satisfaction, and identifies the pathways connecting these variables.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted among healthcare professionals (nurses, physicians, and pharmacists) from eastern, central, and western regions of China to assess research-related conditions and job satisfaction (JS). Job satisfaction was measured using a modified validated scale. Research stress (RS), research anxiety (RA), and research performance (RP) were assessed using self-developed instruments. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to perform path analysis and mediation analysis.ResultsA total of 924 healthcare professionals were included in the study. Over 85% reported working more than 40 hours per week, and 66.5% rated their health status as fair or poor. Regarding the types of research conducted by healthcare professionals, clinical research accounted for the highest proportion (63.2%), followed by basic science research (9.8%), while health services research and community-based research were relatively less common. The mean scores of JS, RS, RA, and RP were 3.40 ± 0.88, 2.56 ± 0.70, 2.34 ± 0.87, and 3.55 ± 0.82, respectively. Path analysis revealed that research stress was positively associated with research anxiety and negatively associated with both research performance and job satisfaction. Research anxiety was also negatively associated with research performance and job satisfaction, whereas research performance was positively associated with job satisfaction. Mediation analysis indicated that research stress was associated with job satisfaction both directly and indirectly through research anxiety and research performance.ConclusionsResearch stress is negatively associated with job satisfaction among healthcare professionals through increased research anxiety, whereas higher research performance is positively associated with job satisfaction. Hospitals and healthcare institutions should optimize the research environment, strengthen psychological support, and enhance research resource allocation to reduce research stress, improve research performance, and ultimately increase job satisfaction.
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Fragile self, mechanical world: mechanistic delusions and ego fragility in schizotypal–affective spectrum disorder—a CARE case report

Categorical nosological systems frequently fall short when confronted with patients whose presentations cross established diagnostic boundaries. We report M.S., a 44-year-old Brazilian man involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit who presented with systematized persecutory ideation of mechanistic–technological content (chip implantation, satellite-based surveillance), structural ego fragility, absent insight, and progressive social and occupational deterioration. While prior diagnoses of bipolar disorder and provisional schizophrenia had been considered, neither fully captured the clinical complexity. Psychopathological-dimensional analysis, grounded in phenomenological observation and contemporary psychopathological theory, suggests three potentially interacting axes: (1) structural ego fragility (Ich-Schwäche), potentially arising from impaired early attachment and deficient relational learning; (2) a relational causality deficit replaced by concrete–mechanistic reasoning; and (3) limbic hyperactivation that appears to sustain an anxiety–perplexity–paranoia feedback loop. These converge on a schizotypal–affective spectrum formulation. Laboratory investigations identified severe dyslipidemia and marked hyperandrogenism (total testosterone 1,367 ng/dL), the latter potentially associated with limbic hyperactivation, though causality cannot be established from a single cross-sectional measurement. Psychometric assessment (BPRS-18) at admission yielded a total score of 43, with suspiciousness (5) and unusual thought content (5) as dominant items. During a seven-day inpatient course, a multimodal thymic strategy—risperidone, lithium carbonate, and structured psychotherapy—produced attenuation of paranoid reactivity, improved family engagement, and the spontaneous resumption of guitar playing from day 3, as a functional correlate of behavioral stabilization. The patient was discharged with a referral for a three-monthly paliperidone palmitate long-acting injectable. The pharmacological response retrospectively supports the dimensional formulation and illustrates the heuristic value of psychopathological analysis grounded in ego structure, causal reasoning, and affective dysregulation as a complementary approach to categorical nosology in complex psychotic–affective presentations.
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Evaluation of a Remote Behavioural Stress Recovery Intervention for Myocardial Infarction Patients Younger Than Fifty-five (BRIM-55): A Feasibility Study

Conditions: Cardiac Disease; Depression and Quality of Life; Cardiac Distress; Myocardial Infarction; Psychological Distress; Anxiety

Interventions: Behavioral: Remote-delivery Balance in Everyday Life (rBEL) Program for Myocardial Infarction Patients Younger Than 55 Years With Cardiac Distress

Sponsors: Uppsala University

Not yet recruiting
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Academic burnout in higher education: a multimodal study of resting-state EEG microstate correlates beyond trait anxiety, depressive symptoms, and self-efficacy in Chinese undergraduates

BackgroundAcademic burnout is a mental-health-relevant outcome of higher-education stress, but its relationship with spontaneous brain dynamics remains unclear. EEG microstates are quasi-stable scalp-potential configurations indexing millisecond-level transitions between large-scale resting brain states. This study tested whether resting-state EEG microstate dynamics are associated with academic burnout beyond trait anxiety, depressive symptoms, and general self-efficacy as perceived coping capacity.MethodsParticipants were 330 Chinese undergraduates (94 men, 236 women; mean age = 18.31 years, SD = 0.84). They completed self-report measures and an eyes-closed resting-state EEG recording. Academic burnout total score was the primary outcome. Covariate-adjusted partial correlations examined burnout–microstate associations. Hierarchical regression tested the incremental value of selected microstate markers.ResultsHigher academic burnout was associated with higher trait anxiety (r = 0.539, p < 0.001), higher depressive symptoms (r = 0.526, p < 0.001), and lower general self-efficacy (r = -0.474, p < 0.001). After adjustment for age, sex, trait anxiety, depressive symptoms, and general self-efficacy, greater burnout was associated with shorter microstate D duration (partial r = -0.196, q = 0.0049), higher microstate C occurrence (partial r = 0.172, q = 0.0081), shorter mean microstate duration, and higher mean occurrence. The psychological block explained substantial variance in burnout (R² = 0.417); adding microstate D duration and microstate C occurrence produced a small but significant improvement in model fit (ΔR² = 0.025, p = 0.001). In a scale-midpoint sensitivity analysis, the higher-burnout group showed shorter class D duration after covariate adjustment (adjusted B = -3.38 ms, 95% CI [-6.12, -0.64], p = 0.016). Dimension-specific analyses indicated that microstate associations were mainly evident for dejection and low sense of accomplishment, not the behavioral (improper-behavior) component.ConclusionAcademic burnout in undergraduates was primarily linked to internalizing distress and lower perceived coping capacity. Resting-state EEG microstate dynamics, especially shorter class D duration, provided modest incremental information, suggesting reduced temporal persistence of a canonical resting-state configuration among students with higher burnout. These findings do not establish a diagnostic EEG marker or a burnout-specific neural mechanism, but support multimodal, context-sensitive research on academic stress and mental health in higher education.
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A Self-Guided Mobile Mindfulness Intervention Embedded in Daily Routines for Adults With Mild to Moderate Psychological Distress: Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Mobile mindfulness interventions have shown promise for reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms, but sustaining engagement remains a persistent challenge. Many digital programs still rely on formal practice that requires dedicated time, which may be difficult to integrate into daily life. Objective: This randomized controlled trial evaluated Habitual Mindfulness Practice (HMP), a self-guided mobile mindfulness intervention that embeds brief practices into recurring daily routines, among adults with mild to moderate psychological distress. Outcomes were compared with those of Traditional Mindfulness (TM), Mindfulness-Based Psychoeducation (MBP), and a waitlist control (WL). Methods: Adults aged 18 to 65 years with mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety or depression were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1:1 ratio to HMP, TM, MBP, or WL (N=686). All procedures were conducted online, and the intervention was fully self-guided, with outcomes assessed using self-report measures. The intervention lasted 21 days, with assessments conducted at baseline, postintervention, and 3-month follow-up. Primary outcomes were depressive and anxiety symptoms. Secondary outcomes included mindfulness, cognitive emotion regulation, affective balance, and interpersonal difficulties. Postintervention group differences were examined, controlling for baseline scores, and longitudinal trajectories were evaluated across the active intervention conditions. Results: At postintervention, significant group effects were observed for depressive symptoms (=28.67, <.001, ηp²=0.11) and anxiety symptoms (=30.11, <.001, ηp²=0.12). Both HMP and TM showed lower depressive and anxiety symptom scores than MBP and WL. TM showed lower postintervention anxiety than HMP (=.04), whereas depressive symptoms did not differ significantly between HMP and TM (=.63). The mindfulness practice conditions also showed more favorable postintervention outcomes for mindfulness, affective balance, interpersonal difficulties, and emotion regulation. Improvements in depressive and anxiety symptoms were generally maintained at follow-up among the active intervention conditions, although maintenance of secondary outcomes varied across measures. Postintervention outcome data were available for 55.2% (379/686) of randomized participants, and follow-up outcome data were available for 24.1% (124/515) of participants in the active intervention conditions. HMP and TM did not differ significantly in practice duration, engagement, or satisfaction. Conclusions: A routine-embedded, self-guided mobile mindfulness intervention may be a feasible approach for reducing mild to moderate psychological distress. HMP produced benefits broadly comparable to those of traditional app-delivered mindfulness, but it did not confer advantages in engagement or short-term efficacy. Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2400093771; https://tinyurl.com/3d6tky8v
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enDigital Postpartum Support for Early Risk Identification Among Postpartum Women: Formative Randomized Evaluation and Exploratory Predictive Modeling Study

Background: The postpartum period represents a critical window for maternal health, yet many individuals lack sustained support and timely identification of physical and mental health risks. Digital health interventions offer a scalable approach to extend care beyond clinical settings. Yet, key elements, including real-world challenges, usability, and effectiveness of such platforms, are insufficiently characterized in this literature. Objective: This study aimed to conduct a formative randomized evaluation to assess the feasibility, engagement, and preliminary signals of impact of the Joyuus platform and to examine the potential for early identification of postpartum health risks. Methods: We conducted a 12-week randomized evaluation with postpartum participants recruited through community-based organizations. Participants were randomized to either the Joyuus intervention or standard postpartum care. Primary and secondary outcomes included the Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Analyses were conducted using an intention-to-treat approach with linear regression models adjusting for baseline values. Engagement metrics (ie, sessions, time on site, and feature use) were captured through in-app analytics. An exploratory predictive model was developed using baseline clinical, behavioral, and demographic variables to identify individuals at risk for postpartum depression. Results: Baseline characteristics were generally balanced across arms, and no statistically significant differences were observed in education, income, or marital status. No statistically significant differences were found between treatment and control groups in the 12-week changes for the primary or secondary outcomes. Mean EPDS scores were 9.7 in the intervention group and 9.3 in the control group. In the sample, 60 (45.5%) of the 132 participants met the criteria for elevated depression (EPDS score ≥11 or a positive response to question 10 on self-harm), indicating a high burden of symptoms within the study population. Engagement with the platform was highest during the first 4 weeks. Among intervention participants, 80% created an account. Participants reported high levels of perceived usefulness, ease of use, and relevance of content. Qualitative analysis of open-ended survey responses highlighted limited awareness of postpartum-specific resources and a preference for simple, accessible information. An exploratory predictive model demonstrated a recall of 0.89 and a precision of 0.73 in identifying individuals at risk for postpartum depression, suggesting the feasibility of early risk identification using integrated data inputs. Conclusions: Joyuus demonstrated feasibility and acceptability but did not produce statistically significant improvements in maternal functioning or maternal health outcomes over 12 weeks. Joyuus identified high rates of depressive symptoms and early engagement patterns, which suggest an opportunity for earlier identification of risk and intervention during the postpartum period. Exploratory modeling results indicate the potential for data-driven approaches to support earlier detection. Future work includes optimizing engagement strategies and expanding validation of predictive detection to improve postpartum surveillance and outcomes. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05876559; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05876559?cond=postpartum%20joyuus&viewType=Card&rank=1