Clinical guidelines for the use of lifestyle-based mental health care in major depressive disorder: World Federation of Societies for Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) and Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine (ASLM) taskforce

Objectives: The primary objectives of these international guidelines were to provide a global audience of clinicians with (a) a series of evidence-based recommendations for the provision of lifestyle-based mental health care in clinical practice for adults with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and (b) a series of implementation considerations that may be applicable across a range of settings. Methods: Recommendations and associated evidence-based gradings were based on a series of systematic literature searches of published research as well as the clinical expertise of taskforce members. The focus of the guidelines was eight lifestyle domains: physical activity and exercise, smoking cessation, work-directed interventions, mindfulness-based and stress management therapies, diet, sleep, loneliness and social support, and green space interaction. The following electronic bibliographic databases were searched for articles published prior to June 2020: PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Cochrane Methodology Register), CINAHL, PsycINFO. Evidence grading was based on the level of evidence specific to MDD and risk of bias, in accordance with the World Federation of Societies for Biological Psychiatry criteria. Results: Nine recommendations were formed. The recommendations with the highest ratings to improve MDD were the use of physical activity and exercise, relaxation techniques, work-directed interventions, sleep, and mindfulness-based therapies (Grade 2). Interventions related to diet and green space were recommended, but with a lower strength of evidence (Grade 3). Recommendations regarding smoking cessation and loneliness and social support were based on expert opinion. Key implementation considerations included the need for input from allied health professionals and support networks to implement this type of approach, the importance of partnering such recommendations with behaviour change support, and the need to deliver interventions using a biopsychosocial-cultural framework. Conclusions: Lifestyle-based interventions are recommended as a foundational component of mental health care in clinical practice for adults with Major Depressive Disorder, where other evidence-based therapies can be added or used in combination. The findings and recommendations of these guidelines support the need for further research to address existing gaps in efficacy and implementation research, especially for emerging lifestyle-based approaches (e.g. green space, loneliness and social support interventions) where data are limited. Further work is also needed to develop innovative approaches for delivery and models of care, and to support the training of health professionals regarding lifestyle-based mental health care

Effect of growth temperature on the structural, optical and luminescence properties of cadmium telluride nanoparticles

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) has been successfully prepared by a simple wet chemical process at different reaction temperatures. Temperature is one parameter that thermodynamically plays an important role in controlling the growth rate, morphology, size and size distribution of the as-prepared nanoparticles (NPs). Effect of this parameter was investigated on the growth, structural and optical properties of CdTe NPs. It was observed that the Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern for samples prepared at 50 °C had many impurities from unreacted precursors while those prepared at > 100 °C displayed polycrystalline NPs. The XRD results revealed that the structure of the CdTe NPs was cubic with the planes (111), (220), (311) being the main observed peaks. The crystallite sizes obtained from Scherrer formula increased with the increase in growth temperature (2.86–3.62 nm grown at 50–200 °C respectively). The scanning electron microscopy micrographs showed that the morphology of the nanoparticles possessed spherical-shaped particles over the entire surface. This was further confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy micrographs which also displayed increase in the particle size with an increase in the growth temperature. In the optic study, the photoluminescence (PL) spectra displayed a red shift (540–560 nm) in emission as growth temperature increased from 50 to 200 °C. The highest PL peak intensity was realized at a growth temperature of 150 °C. Absorption band maxima were observed to shift towards longer wavelength for higher growth temperatures. The optical band gap decreased with increase in the growth temperature from 2.67 to 2.08 eV for 50–200 °C respectively

The association between diet quality, dietary patterns and depression in adults: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests that diet modifies key biological factors associated with the development of depression; however, associations between diet quality and depression are not fully understood. We performed a systematic review to evaluate existing evidence regarding the association between diet quality and depression. METHOD: A computer-aided literature search was conducted using Medline, CINAHL, and PsycINFO, January 1965 to October 2011, and a best-evidence analysis performed. RESULTS: Twenty-five studies from nine countries met eligibility criteria. Our best-evidence analyses found limited evidence to support an association between traditional diets (Mediterranean or Norwegian diets) and depression. We also observed a conflicting level of evidence for associations between (i) a traditional Japanese diet and depression, (ii) a “healthy” diet and depression, (iii) a Western diet and depression, and (iv) individuals with depression and the likelihood of eating a less healthy diet. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first review to synthesize and critically analyze evidence regarding diet quality, dietary patterns and depression. Further studies are urgently required to elucidate whether a true causal association exists

Representative one-sample <i>t</i>-test result of ALFF maps.

<p>(A) CTL subjects. (B) ACTL subjects. (C) SCD subjects. Color scale indicates t-values, resulting from one one sample t-test. Thresholds were set at a AlphaSim corrected p<0.05, determined by Monte Carlo simulation. In the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) template, the planes are X = -4mm, Z = -32mm and Y = -52mm for the sagittal, axial and coronal views, respectively.</p

Demographic and clinical variables among healthy controls (CTL), anemic control subjects (ACTL) and patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) including the transfused (NTx) and the non-transfused patients.

<p>Demographic and clinical variables among healthy controls (CTL), anemic control subjects (ACTL) and patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) including the transfused (NTx) and the non-transfused patients.</p

Correlation results between regional mean ALFF and neurocognitive scores.

<p>Correlation results between regional mean ALFF and neurocognitive scores.</p

Statistic results between the SCD patients with and without WMHs.

<p>Statistic results between the SCD patients with and without WMHs.</p

Cerebral volumes (expressed as mean ± standard deviation) of healthy controls (CTL), anemic control subjects (ACTL) and patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and the p-values of SCD vs. CTL.

<p>Cerebral volumes (expressed as mean ± standard deviation) of healthy controls (CTL), anemic control subjects (ACTL) and patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and the p-values of SCD vs. CTL.</p

Differences in ALFF values between ACTL, SCD and CTL groups.

<p>All thresholds were set at a AlphaSim corrected p<0.05. Color scale indicates t-values, resulting from two sample t-test. Numbers and arrows represent anatomical location. Numbers and arrows represent anatomical location. A. Representative two-sample <i>t</i>-test results of ALFF maps between the ACTL versus CTL groups showing the right mSFG (arrow 1) and left insula (arrow 2). B. Representative two-sample <i>t</i>-test results of ALFF maps between the SCD versus CTL groups. Seven clusters are indicated by arrows: OFC (arrow 3), right paracentral lobule (arrow 4), PCC (arrow 5), cerebellum (arrow 6), frontal pole (arrow 7), left precuneus (arrow 8) and left insula (arrow 2). C. Representative two-sample <i>t</i>-test results of ALFF maps between the SCD versus ACTL groups. Compared with values in the ACTL group, ALFF in SCD patients increased in OFC (3) and decreased in right mSFG (arrow 1), cerebellum (arrow 6) and frontal pole (arrow 7).</p

Venn diagram representing changes (from normal) seen in SCD and ACTL groups.

<p>The changes are grouped with regards to their cause. They could be either unique to SCD patients (left/grey), common to SCD and ACTL patients (middle) or unique to ACTL patients (right/blue). OFC: orbital frontal cortex; ACC: anterior cingulate cortex; PCC: posterior cingulate cortex; mSFG: medial superior frontal gyrus.</p