BackgroundThe university stage represents a critical period for the development of individual mental health. Mobile phone addiction is closely linked to depression and anxiety among college students, and both friendship quality and preference for solitude are tightly associated with college students’ mobile phone addiction and emotional health. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationships and internal mechanisms among mobile phone addiction, friendship quality, preference for solitude, depression and anxiety in college students.MethodsA total of 1083 Chinese college students (58.2% female; mean age = 19.87 ± 1.692 years) were included as participants. Data were collected using the Mobile Phone Addiction Index, Friendship Quality Questionnaire, Preference for Solitude Questionnaire, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. Data processing and analyses were conducted using SPSS 26.0 and the PROCESS macro.Results(1) Mobile phone addiction was significantly negatively correlated with friendship quality, and significantly positively correlated with both depression and anxiety; friendship quality was significantly negatively correlated with depression and anxiety; preference for solitude was significantly positively correlated with depression and anxiety. (2) Mobile phone addiction not only directly and positively predicted depression and anxiety among college students, but also predicted depression and anxiety through the mediating role of friendship quality. (3) The direct effect of mobile phone addiction on depression and the mediating effect of friendship quality in the relationships between mobile phone addiction and depression/anxiety were both moderated by preference for solitude, whereas the moderating effect of preference for solitude on the association between mobile phone addiction and anxiety was not significant.ConclusionFriendship quality serves as an important mediating pathway between mobile phone addiction and depressive and anxiety symptoms among Chinese college students. Preference for solitude may amplify the associations of mobile phone addiction with poorer friendship quality and elevated depressive symptoms.
Smoking as a correlate of suicidal behavior and self-harm in adolescents with depressive disorders
Suicidal behavior and self-harm are major public health concerns among adolescents, particularly those with depressive disorders. While smoking has been linked to suicidality in general populations, its independent role in both suicidal behavior and self-harm within well-characterized clinical samples of youth with depressive disorders remains understudied. This study consecutively enrolled 2,343 adolescents (aged 12–18 years) diagnosed with unipolar depression, bipolar disorder, or depressive episode according to DSM-5 criteria at Nanhai Public Health Hospital of Foshan City and The Third People’s Hospital of Foshan between January 2025 and December 2025. Suicidal behavior (≥1 suicide attempt) and self-harm (intentional self-injury or poisoning regardless of intent) were assessed via clinical interviews. Multivariable binary logistic regression models were constructed to identify factors independently associated with each outcome, adjusting for age, sex, education, income, parental education, psychiatric diagnosis, family history of mental illness, physical disease, and smoking status. Among 2,343 participants (mean age 14.99 ± 1.65 years; 77.8% female), the prevalence of self-harm was 76.0% and suicidal behavior was 44.2%. In fully adjusted models, smoking status was the only variable significantly associated with suicidal behavior after adjustment for measured covariates: current smokers (OR = 2.74, 95% CI: 1.81–4.22, P<0.001) and past quitters (OR = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.66–3.28, P<0.001) had higher odds compared to never smokers. For self-harm, current smoking was significantly associated with increased risk (OR = 2.31, 95% CI: 1.33–4.37, P = 0.006). Education level showed a borderline association with self-harm, with each additional year of schooling corresponding to a 10% lower odds (OR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.81–1.00, P = 0.050); however, this finding should be interpreted cautiously given the exploratory nature of the analysis. No other demographic or clinical variables, including age, sex, or psychiatric diagnosis, were independently associated with either outcome. Smoking was strongly associated with both suicidal behavior and self−harm after adjustment for measured demographic and clinical covariates. These findings underscore the importance of assessing tobacco use as a potential clinical marker of vulnerability in youth mental health settings.
Burned aggression: the relationship between burnout and aggressive behaviour among young adults in Czechia
IntroductionDespite stress being a critical component of burnout, few studies have investigated the relationship between burnout and aggressive behaviour. Therefore, the current study aims to verify whether states of exhaustion are associated with aggression.MethodsStructural equation models were constructed using data from a representative sample of 1027 young adults (Mage = 24.53), almost half of whom were men (n = 507). The models revealed the relationships between burnout, aggressive behaviour, emotion regulation strategies, risky alcohol consumption, stress, and adverse childhood experiences. ResultsAlthough there were minor differences in the pathways between men and women, both models showed a good fit for the data. Furthermore, among both men and women, the positive relationship between burnout and aggressive behaviour was mediated by maladaptive coping strategies and risky alcohol consumption. Interestingly, reliance on maladaptive emotion regulation strategies was also associated with increased depressive symptoms among women but not among men.ConclusionThe findings of this study reveal that aggressive behaviour is another negative consequence of burnout among young adults and highlight the importance of skills applied in responses to chronic stress. The implications of these findings and further results are discussed in relation to the existing literature.
Collaborative care treatment for major depressive disorder
IntroductionMajor Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a burdensome behavioral health condition that is costly and difficult to treat, particularly for patients with severe cases. The Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) has been shown to be effective for moderate depression treatment but less is known about its effectiveness for severe depression. This study analyzes the impact of CoCM treatment on outcomes for depression patients across all ranges of MDD severity at Concert Health.Materials and methodsAnalysis was completed utilizing all closed patient treatment episodes (N = 30,162) at Concert Health between 2018 and 2025. Of these patients, 5,693 began treatment with severe depression. We compare effect sizes for change between baseline and final screener scores across severity levels. Additionally, we utilize logistic regression to complete analyses to understand treatment factors and patient characteristics that are associated with treatment response and remission, as measured by changes in PHQ-9 scores.ResultsThe primary analysis showed that patients with severe depression (PHQ-9 > 20) had slightly lower odds of achieving response compared to patients with moderate depression (OR: 0.93). The treatment factors of insurance type, suicide risk, anxiety presence, and touchpoints also had significant effects on the odds of achieving response and remission.DiscussionThe results suggest that CoCM may be effective for patients with severe depression in achieving treatment response. Patients on Medicaid or with more complex conditions such as anxiety presence or elevated risk for suicide may need higher levels of engagement from the care team to achieve response and remission.
Association of oxidative stress, metacognition, and psychopathology in patients with schizophrenia: a case-control study
BackgroundMetacognitive deficits are common in schizophrenia (SZ) and may worsen symptoms and impair insight. Oxidative stress (OS) abnormalities have also been reported, but findings are inconsistent, and no study has examined their associations with metacognition and psychopathology.MethodsThis case-control study included 89 SZ patients and 90 healthy controls (HC). OS markers, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) were measured. The patient group and healthy control group underwent metacognition was assessed using the abbreviated Metacognitive Assessment Scale (MAS-A) and patients’ symptoms with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Covariates included age, gender, education, BMI, and smoking, illness duration, onset age and medication.ResultsPatients showed significantly lower MAS-A total score and subscale scores (all p < 0.01) versus HC. Patients had lower SOD, CAT and GPX (130.69 vs 152.12 ng/L, 2.46 vs 6.62 ng/L, 158.09vs 197.75μmol/L) and higher MDA (9.22vs 7.34μmol/L) than controls (all p < 0.05). Partial correlation revealed that in patients: SOD was negatively correlated with positive/negative/PANSS total and MAS-A decentration scores; CAT was negatively correlated with general pathological/PANSS total scores, and positively correlated with MAS-A total score and its subscales (self-reflectivity, understanding the other’s mind, decentration, mastery), MDA was negatively correlated with negative symptom score and self-reflectivity score, and positively correlated with general pathological score; GPX was positively correlated with most clinical and metacognitive scores. Linear regression revealed SOD, CAT, and GPX significantly associated with the PANSS total score (β = -0.119, -6.169, -0.226; all p < 0.05), and with MAS-A total score (β = 0.021,2.879 0.049, all p < 0.001).ConclusionSchizophrenia patients exhibit OS abnormalities and metacognitive impairments. Greater OS severity correlates with worse metacognition and more severe psychopathology, suggesting OS as a key factor linking these domains.
A genome-scale CRISPRi perturbation atlas of human induced pluripotent stem cells
Nature Biotechnology, Published online: 01 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41587-026-03199-w
A transcriptional regulatory map of pluripotent stem cells is generated by CRISPR screening.
A meta-analysis of the long-term effects of antihypertensive therapy on the risk of major cardiovascular disease across 51 randomized trials
Nature Medicine, Published online: 01 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04514-3
Results from an individual participant data meta-analysis across 51 randomized trials challenge the assumption that the cardiovascular benefits from antihypertensive treatment compound over a prolonged duration of treatment.
Innate immune responsiveness predicts enhanced cellular immunity and symptomatic disease after controlled human influenza infection
Nature Medicine, Published online: 01 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04483-7
Local and systemic immune profiling after a controlled human influenza infection challenge in humans found that the participants with increased innate cell responsiveness were more likely to become symptomatically infected.
Blood-based circular RNAs for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
Nature Medicine, Published online: 01 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04485-5
Tested in large cohorts, a predictive model including 34 blood circular RNAs predicts progression to symptomatic AD, outperforming pTau217 and amyloid-PET.
Just how goal-directed are hippocampal theta sweeps, anyway?
Nature Neuroscience, Published online: 01 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41593-026-02366-1
Planning is a cognitive process that is thought to be grounded in hippocampal sequences, but recent studies have suggested that a simpler mechanism, fundamentally incompatible with those planning hypotheses, underlies these sequences. Two studies in this issue of Nature Neuroscience provide the first steps to resolving that controversy.