Suicidal Ideation, Suicidal Plan and Suicidal Attempts Among Those with Major Depressive Disorder

Abstract Introduction: The aims of the study were to identify the prevalence and sociodemographic and clinical correlates of suicidal behaviours using data from a cross-sectional survey among those with major depressive disorder (MDD) in Singapore. Materials and Methods: The Singapore Mental Health Study (SMHS) was a cross-sectional epidemiological study that surveyed Singapore residents (Singapore citizens and permanent residents) aged 18 years and above. The assessment of mental disorders was established using version 3.0 of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI 3.0). For the purposes of this study, suicidal behaviour was assessed by questions which were asked to respondents who answered positively to the screening questions in the CIDI 3.0 "Depression" module. Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation, plan and attempt among those with lifetime MDD was 43.6%, 13.7% and 12.3%, respectively. We found that suicidal ideation, plan and attempt were signifi cantly associated with ethnicity, education and income. The rate of those who had sought some professional help was higher among those with suicidal plan (71.7%) and attempt (72.3%) as compared to those with suicidal ideation (48.7%) and those with MDD but no suicidal behaviour (29%). Conclusion: Individuals with MDD and suicidal behaviour do differ from their non-suicidal counterparts as they have a different sociodemographic and clinical profi le. There is a need for more research and a better understanding of this population which in turn could lead to the development and implementation of relevant interventions

Large expert-curated database for benchmarking document similarity detection in biomedical literature search

Document recommendation systems for locating relevant literature have mostly relied on methods developed a decade ago. This is largely due to the lack of a large offline gold-standard benchmark of relevant documents that cover a variety of research fields such that newly developed literature search techniques can be compared, improved and translated into practice. To overcome this bottleneck, we have established the RElevant LIterature SearcH consortium consisting of more than 1500 scientists from 84 countries, who have collectively annotated the relevance of over 180 000 PubMed-listed articles with regard to their respective seed (input) article/s. The majority of annotations were contributed by highly experienced, original authors of the seed articles. The collected data cover 76% of all unique PubMed Medical Subject Headings descriptors. No systematic biases were observed across different experience levels, research fields or time spent on annotations. More importantly, annotations of the same document pairs contributed by different scientists were highly concordant. We further show that the three representative baseline methods used to generate recommended articles for evaluation (Okapi Best Matching 25, Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency and PubMed Related Articles) had similar overall performances. Additionally, we found that these methods each tend to produce distinct collections of recommended articles, suggesting that a hybrid method may be required to completely capture all relevant articles. The established database server located at https://relishdb.ict.griffith.edu.au is freely available for the downloading of annotation data and the blind testing of new methods. We expect that this benchmark will be useful for stimulating the development of new powerful techniques for title and title/abstract-based search engines for relevant articles in biomedical research.Peer reviewe

Age-related changes in visual and motor functions : evaluating task activation and deactivation.

The current functional MRI study aimed to investigate age-related changes in basic visual and motor functions through activation and deactivation during a cognitive task. While numerous studies had looked into the same sensory processes, they tend to explore only the task activated regions. In an attempt to provide a more comprehensive understanding of aging effects, the study examined both the task positive networks in terms of activation and task negative network that focused on the default mode regions. In addition, the study employed two task paradigms, the checkerboard and gripping tasks that entail no age-related difficulty to minimize possible confound of task difficulty. ROIs analyses revealed younger subjects to have increased task activation for visual but not motor processing, and no age-related differences was observed for task induced deactivation within the default mode network. However, a whole brain exploratory analysis during the gripping task showed greater task activation for the younger subjects. This suggests that though age-related differences were not evident within the motor networks, the decrease in overall functional activation in the elderly may be showing an initial decline. Furthermore, activation and deactivation patterns in the two tasks between the young and elderly participants were not consistent with the PASA (posterior-anterior shift in aging) and HAROLD (hemispheric asymmetry reduction in older adults) models that seem to support the compensation process of aging. Taken together, our findings of functional decline provide evidence to indicate a dedifferentiation process of aging for basic visual and motor processing.Bachelor of Art

Association of adverse childhood experiences with diabetes in adulthood: results of a cross-sectional epidemiological survey in Singapore

Objectives Several studies have linked diabetes mellitus to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). While a number of studies have examined the association between ACEs and diabetes in Western populations, few have done it in Asian populations. The current study aimed to examine (1) the association between ACEs and diabetes, including the association after age stratification, and (2) the association of comorbid depression, resource use and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among those with diabetes and ACEs in Singapore.Settings Participants were surveyed in their homes or any other preferred venue of their choice.Participants 6126 individuals aged 18 years and above were randomly selected among Singapore residents.Design Cross-sectional nationwide epidemiological study.Results Exposure to any ACE was not associated with increased odds of diabetes; however, those who had experienced parental separation, death or divorce of a parent had higher odds of diabetes. In addition, we observed significant interaction between age and ACEs in relation to odds of diabetes. ACEs were significantly associated with higher odds of diabetes mainly in the younger age group. The prevalence of major depressive disorder was significantly higher among those with diabetes and ACEs than those with diabetes alone (3.7% and 0.3% respectively).Conclusions Efforts to promote regular exercise and healthy lifestyles both in the population and among those with diabetes must continue for the prevention and management of diabetes. The findings emphasise the need to create more awareness of both the prevalence and impact of ACEs among those treating chronic diseases

A Scoping Review on Cue Reactivity in Methamphetamine Use Disorder

The experience of craving via exposure to drug-related cues often leads to relapse in drug users. This study consolidated existing empirical evidences of cue reactivity to methamphetamine to provide an overview of current literature and to inform the directions for future research. The best practice methodological framework for conducting scoping review by Arkey and O’Malley was adopted. Studies that have used a cue paradigm or reported on cue reactivity in persons with a history of methamphetamine use were included. Databases such as Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO and CINAHL were searched using key terms, in addition to citation check and hand search. The search resulted in a total of 32 original research articles published between 2006 to 2020. Three main themes with regard to cue reactivity were identified and synthesized: (1) effects of cue exposure, (2) individual factors associated with cue reactivity, and (3) strategies that modulate craving or reactivity to cues. Exposure to methamphetamine-associated cues elicits significant craving and other autonomic reactivity. Evidence suggests that drug cue reactivity is strongly associated with indices of drug use and other individual-specific factors. Future studies should focus on high quality studies to support evidence-based interventions for reducing cue reactivity and to examine cue reactivity as an outcome measure

Direct and moderating effects of personality on stigma towards mental illness

Abstract Background While many studies have explored the concept and correlates of stigma towards individuals with mental illness, few have investigated the role of personality in this process. In the current study, we firstly examined the relationship between personality and stigma towards mental illness; and then explored the moderating effects of personality traits on the relationship between contact experience/s and stigma. Methods Participants were recruited from public medical (N = 502) and nursing schools (N = 500) from April to September 2016 in Singapore for this cross-sectional survey, and they were randomly assigned to a vignette describing one of the following mental disorders: major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, alcohol abuse, schizophrenia, and dementia. Stigma was measured by the ‘Personal and Perceived scales of the Depression Stigma Scale’ and the ‘Social Distance Scale’. These scales together had a 3-factor structure based on a previous national study in Singapore, namely ‘weak-not-sick’, ‘dangerous/unpredictable’ and ‘social distance’. Personality was measured by the 20-item short form of the International Personality Item Pool-five factor model measure. Results Regression suggested agreeableness and openness to experience were negatively associated with all three domains of stigma. ‘Weak-not-sick’ and extraversion were positively associated; and ‘social distance’ was positively associated with higher scores on conscientiousness and neuroticism. Both close- and non-close contact were associated with more positive attitudes towards mental illness among the participants. Openness to experience moderated the relationships of close contact experience with ‘weak-not-sick’ and ‘dangerous/unpredictable’, but in different directions. The association between close contact and ‘social distance’ were moderated by agreeableness. Conclusions Unlike non-close contact experience, close contact with people with mental illness worked differently on stigma for individuals with different personality traits. Future studies are needed to further explore the underlying mechanisms for such differences

Hand-grip strength among older adults in Singapore: a comparison with international norms and associative factors

Abstract Background Hand-grip strength (HGS) serves as a proxy measure for muscle function and physical health. Studies have shown that low HGS is associated with common age-related disorders including frailty and sarcopenia. The aim of the present study was to establish the normative values of HGS among older adults in Singapore and to compare it with data from Western and other Asian countries. The study also aimed to explore the sociodemographic and anthropometric correlates of HGS. Methods Data were collected from 2043 men and women aged 60 years and above who took part in the Well-being of the Singapore Elderly study in 2013. HGS was obtained using a Jamar Plus + digital hand dynamometer. Normative data were stratified by; 5-year age groups, sex and ethnicity. Relationships between the HGS with various sociodemographic and anthropometric correlates were examined using multiple linear regression analysis. Results The mean HGS demonstrate a decreasing trend with increased age across all ethnic groups and sexes. HGS among Singapore older adults were relatively low compared to Western and other Asian countries. Males in the youngest age group (60-64) and of Chinese ethnicity attained greater HGS values than their counterparts. When the regression analysis was stratified for sex, significant associations were found between height, upper arm circumference with HGS in the males sample, and between height, weight, waist circumference and HGS in the females sample. Conclusions Older adults in Singapore have a relatively weak HGS compared to other countries. Greater height and weight, and smaller waist circumference are independently associated with greater HGS in females but not males. These results facilitate the interpretation of HGS conducting using Jamar digital-type dynamometers among the older adults in Singapore

A qualitative study on negative experiences of social media use and harm reduction strategies among youths in a multi-ethnic Asian society

PURPOSE: This study aimed to expand and inform the emerging body of research on the negative experiences of social media use among youths and how youths deal with them, in an Asian setting, using a qualitative approach. METHODS: Data were collected using 11 focus group discussions (FGDs) and 25 semi-structured interviews (SIs) among youths aged 15 to 24 years residing in Singapore who were recruited via purposive sampling. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: The salient negative effects mentioned by participants include the development of negative reactions and feelings from upward comparisons with others (e.g., others\u27 achievements and lifestyle), receiving hurtful comments, exposure to controversial content (e.g., political events and social movements), as well as the perpetuation of negative feelings, behaviours, and sentiments (e.g., rumination, unhealthy eating behaviour, and self-harm). Participants also described strategies which they have employed or deemed to be useful in mitigating the negative effects of social media use. These include filtering content and users, taking breaks from social media, cognitive reframing, and self-affirmation, where they identify and change stress-inducing patterns of thinking by setting realistic social, physical, and lifestyle expectations for themselves, and focusing on self-development. CONCLUSION: The current results highlight that while youths experience negative effects of social media use, they have high media literacy and have employed strategies that appear to mitigate the negative effects of social media use. The findings can inform various stakeholders involved in helping youths navigate the harms of social media use or provide directions for intervention studies aimed at reducing the harms of social media use

Correct recognition and continuum belief of mental disorders in a nursing student population

Abstract Background The current study aimed to explore the correct recognition of mental disorders across dementia, alcohol abuse, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), schizophrenia and depression, along with its correlates in a nursing student population. The belief in a continuum of symptoms from mental health to mental illness and its relationship with the non-identification of mental illness was also explored. Methods Five hundred students from four nursing institutions in Singapore participated in this cross-sectional online study. Respondents were randomly assigned to a vignette describing one of the five mental disorders before being asked to identify what the person in the vignette is suffering from. Continuum belief was assessed by rating their agreeableness with the following statement: “Sometimes we all behave like X. It is just a question of how severe or obvious this condition is”. Results OCD had the highest correct recognition rate (86%), followed by depression (85%), dementia (77%), alcohol abuse (58%) and schizophrenia (46%). For continuum belief, the percentage of respondents who endorsed symptom continuity were 70% for depression, 61% for OCD, 58% for alcohol abuse, 56% for dementia and 46% for schizophrenia. Of concern, we found stronger continuum belief to be associated with the non-identification of mental illness after controlling for covariates. Conclusions There is a need to improve mental health literacy among nursing students. Almost a quarter of the respondents identified excessive alcohol drinking as depression, even though there was no indication of any mood symptom in the vignette on alcohol abuse. Further education and training in schizophrenia may need to be conducted. Healthcare trainees should also be made aware on the possible influence of belief in symptom continuity on one’s tendency to under-attribute mental health symptoms as a mental illness