The anatomy of COVID-19-related conspiracy beliefs: Exploring their nomological network on a nationally representative sample.

OBJECTIVES: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was followed by the widespread proliferation of conspiracy beliefs (CBs) regarding the origin and harmfulness of the virus and a high level of hesitancy to vaccinate. We aimed to test a series of hypotheses on the correlates of CBs and vaccination, including socio-demographic factors, personality dispositions, somatic health, stressful experiences during pandemics, and psychological distress. METHOD: The sample (N = 1203), was based on a multistage probabilistic household sampling representative of the general population. The subjects were randomly split into two approximately equal subgroups, enabling cross-validation. Based on the findings in the exploratory, the SEM model was tested in the confirmatory subsample. RESULTS: The correlates of CBs were Disintegration (proneness to psychotic-like experiences), low Openness, lower education, Extraversion, living in a smaller settlement and being employed. The correlates of vaccination were older age, CBs and larger places of living. Evidence on the role of stressful experiences and psychological distress in CBs/vaccination was not found. The findings of moderately strong and robust (cross-validated) paths, leading from Disintegration to CBs and from CBs to vaccination were the most important ones. DISCUSSION: Conspiratorial thinking tendencies-related to health-related behaviour such as vaccination-appear to be, to a considerable extent, manifestations of the mechanisms that are part of our stable, broad, trait-like thinking/emotional/motivational/behavioural tendencies, primarily proneness to psychotic-like experiences & behaviours.

Analysis of the Relationship between Higher-Order Factor Structure of Personality Disorders and the Five-Factor Model of Personality.

The growing body of evidence on the dimensional classification of personality disorders (PD) has resulted in its acceptance in the ICD-11 classification, which abolished categories and retains only a general description of PD. Specifying the type of PD is optional, and the suggested domains represent maladaptive variants of the five-factor model of personality (FFM). The aim of our study was to explore the existence of a joint structure between maladaptive and normal personality traits, and to investigate how these structures are integrated. The study included 223 patients who had been diagnosed with PD and completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Personality Disorders and the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R). To determine the degree of overlap between PD domains and NEO PI-R scales, a canonical analysis of covariance was conducted. Our findings showed a relationship between the internalizing PD spectrum (consisting of avoidant, dependent, and borderline traits with detached and anankastic traits) and high neuroticism, low conscientiousness, and moderately low agreeableness and extroversion, suggesting the existence of a broad personality disorder factor. However, the internalizing dimensions exhibited a more pronounced effect within this construct. Furthermore, we identified a second function that demonstrated a link between the externalizing PD spectrum (including narcissistic, histrionic, and antisocial traits) and high extraversion, high openness, and low agreeableness, suggesting the existence of an externalizing factor. Overall, our findings provide evidence for a joint structure of maladaptive and normal personality traits in a sample of personality disorders and emphasize the importance of integrating the FFM model in PD evaluation in clinical practice, suggesting that differentiating between major subgroups could assist in adjusting therapeutic approaches.

Structural effects on the luminescence properties of CsPbI3 nanocrystals.

Metal halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) are promising for photovoltaic and light-emitting applications. Due to the softness of their crystal lattice, structural modifications have a critical impact on their optoelectronic properties. Here we investigate the size-dependent optoelectronic properties of CsPbI3 NCs ranging from 7 to 17 nm, employing temperature and pressure as thermodynamic variables to modulate the energetics of the system and selectively tune the interatomic distances. By temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectroscopy, we have found that luminescence quenching channels exhibit increased non-radiative losses and weaker exciton-phonon coupling in bigger particles, in turn affecting the luminescence efficiency. Through pressure-dependent measurements up to 2.5 GPa, supported by XRD characterization, we revealed a NC-size dependent solid-solid phase transition from the γ-phase to the δ-phase. Importantly, the optical response to these structural changes strongly depends on the size of the NC. Our findings provide an interesting guideline to correlate the size and structural and optoelectronic properties of CsPbI3 NCs, important for engineering the functionalities of this class of soft semiconductors.

Mental health in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic: protocol for a nationally representative multilevel survey in Serbia.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have a prolonged impact on mental health (MH); however, the long-term MH effects of the COVID-19 pandemic remain unknown. The Serbian national survey-CoV2Soul.RS-was launched to document the MH status of the Serbian population following the COVID-19 pandemic and to contribute to an international evidence base about MH prevalence rates during different phases of the pandemic. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This cross-sectional study was designed to collect a nationally representative sample (N=1200; age 18-65 years; estimated start/end-June/November 2021) using multistage probabilistic household sampling. Trained staff will conduct in-person diagnostic interviews. A battery of self-report instruments will be administered to assess the quality of life (QoL), general distress and associated protective and harmful psychological and societal factors. Analyses will be conducted to delineate the prevalence rates of MH disorders, how MH conditions and QoL vary with respect to sociodemographic variables, personality, health status and traumatic events during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to test how these relations depend on geographical region. Moreover, this study was designed to explore mechanisms linking personality and the perception of pandemic consequences and associated distress. Prevalence rates of MH disorders will be calculated using descriptive statistics. For additional analyses, we will use correlations, analysis of variance and regression analyses. The hierarchical structure of the data will be explored using multilevel random coefficient modelling. Structural equation modelling will be used to investigate the indirect effects of personality on distress through relevant variables. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical Committees of the Faculty of Medicine (1322-VII/31) and Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade (02-33/273) and Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad (05-27, br.893/1) approved the protocol. Only respondents able to provide informed consent will participate in the study. Research reports will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals and the results will be placed on the website www.cov2soul.rs to be available to funders, researchers, policy-makers and interested laypeople, and will be advertised through social media. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04896983.

Determinants of quality of life among individuals seeking mental health care after termination of state of emergency due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

ABSTRACT: Prompted by the need to measure the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 on main areas of quality of life related to mental health (MH), the COV-19-impact on quality of life (COV19-QoL) scale has been developed recently. We measured how patients seeking face-to-face MH care perceived the coronavirus disease 2019 impact on QoL and how socio-demographic factors, stress, and personality contributed to QoL in this diagnostically diverse population.Patients aged 18 to 65 years (n = 251) who came for the first time to the outpatient units during the 6-week index-period (May 21-July 1, 2020) were included. The cross-sectional assessment involved sociodemographic variables, working diagnosis, personality traits (7-dimension model, including HEXACO and DELTA), stress (list of threatening experiences and proximity to virus), and COV19-QoL.The perceived impact of the pandemic on QoL was above the theoretical mean of a 5-point scale (COV19-Qol = 3.1 ±â€Š1.2). No association between total COV19-QoL score, sociodemographic parameters, and working diagnoses was found in the present sample. After testing whether positional (threatening experiences), or dispositional (personality) factors were predominant in the perceived impact of COV-19 on QoL, significant predictors of the outcome were personality traits Disintegration (B = 0.52; P < .01) and Emotionality (B = 0.18; P < .05).It seems that pervasiveness and uncertainty of the pandemic threat triggers-especially in those high on Disintegration trait-a chain of mental events with the decrease of QoL as a final result. Present findings could be used to establish a profile of MH help seeking population in relation to this biological disaster, and to further explore QoL and personality in different contexts.

Association between Chromatin Structural Organization of Peripheral Blood Neutrophils and Self-Perceived Mental Stress: Gray-Level Co-occurrence Matrix Analysis.

Methods based on the evaluation of textural patterns in microscopy, such as the "gray-level co-occurrence matrix" (GLCM) analysis are modern and innovative computer and mathematical algorithms that can be used to quantify subtle structural changes in cells and their organelles. Potential application of GLCM method in the fields of psychophysiology and psychiatry to this date has not been systematically investigated. The main objective of our study was to test the existence and strength of the association between chromatin structural organization of peripheral blood neutrophils and levels of self-perceived mental stress. The research was done on a sample of 100 healthy student athletes, and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS-21) were used for the estimation of psychological distress. Chromatin textural homogeneity and uniformity were negatively correlated (p < 0.01) with mental distress and had relatively good discriminatory power in differentiating participants with normal and elevated stress levels. As an addition, we propose the creation of a machine learning model based on binomial logistic regression that uses these and other GLCM features to predict stress elevation. To the best of our knowledge, these results are one of the first to establish the link between neutrophil chromatin structural organization quantified by the GLCM method and indicators of normal psychological functioning.

Development of Evidence-Based Rehabilitation Practice in Botanical Garden for People With Mental Health Disorders.

AIM: This article aims to make clearer, with supporting evidence, the clinical benefits of the nature-based rehabilitation program (NBRP) and the restorative values of visiting botanical garden for people with stress-related mental disorders. BACKGROUND: Throughout the years, nature-based therapy has been acknowledged as a valuable rehabilitation practice that integrates specially designed natural environments and nature-related activities for people with mental health conditions. SUBJECT AND METHODS: The comparative analyses of parallel conducted the NBRP at botanical garden and occupational therapy realised at the Day Hospital of the Institute of Mental Health in Belgrade included 27 participants divided into two groups. The data collection employed a mixed method combining a Clinical Global Impression (CGI) Scale and on-site observations. RESULTS: The positive findings on the psychological recovery of the participants seem to be related to NBRP. The restorative potential of the garden was recognized through the observed interaction between participants and the natural entities employed through the various themed activities. The observed landscape elements especially solitary plant specimens or tall and single-form trees within the garden can be embraced as design guidelines for the development of an evidence-based practice that can support the recovery process of people with mental health conditions. CONCLUSION: Our findings endorse that ongoing social development and progressive urbanization have broadened the interest in scientific research involving nature-based solutions that help preserve the physical and mental health of people in low- and middle-income Western Balkan countries with a high prevalence of mental disorders in the urban environment that relates to social inequalities and natural disasters.

Individual and Gender Differences in Personality Influence the Diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder.

BACKGROUND: In order to explore whether gender differences are present in self-reports on personality measures when all Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) participants are diagnosed at an equal intensity, the aim of this study was to investigate individual and gender differences in personality between healthy participants and those suffering from severe feature MDD. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The sample consisted of 632 participants: 385 in the healthy control group and 247 MDD, the latter comprised of patients in their first diagnosed episode or recurrent. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) was used to measure symptom severity. Beck's Depression Inventory was administered when depression symptoms had lessened, establishing it as minor when filling out the personality questionnaire (NEO-PI-R). RESULTS: The results indicate a broad difference in personality between the healthy control and the MDD groups. High neuroticism and low extraversion, accompanied by low scores on openness and conscientiousness, were the most important personality dimensions in understanding distinctions. While agreeableness did not indicate any important role, it did significantly influence the understanding of gender differences within groups. Females were found more agreeable in both groups, but those from the healthy group were also more open and conscientiousness than healthy males. Females from the MDD group were found to be also higher on neuroticism than males of the same group. CONCLUSIONS: A general conclusion from the study is that personality dimensions are more important in understanding vulnerability to depression in comparison to gender differences in personality within groups. As females in the MDD group tend to self-report higher levels of agreeableness and neuroticism than do males in the same group when the level of their depression is categorized as equal MDD-severe type, this may influence practitioners to unequally diagnose depression in males and females.

More anxious than depressed: prevalence and correlates in a 15-nation study of anxiety disorders in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety disorder, one of the highly disabling, prevalent and common mental disorders, is known to be more prevalent in persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) than the general population, and the comorbid presence of anxiety disorders is known to have an impact on the diabetes outcome and the quality of life. However, the information on the type of anxiety disorder and its prevalence in persons with T2DM is limited. AIMS: To assess the prevalence and correlates of anxiety disorder in people with type 2 diabetes in different countries. METHODS: People aged 18-65 years with diabetes and treated in outpatient settings were recruited in 15 countries and underwent a psychiatric interview with the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Demographic and medical record data were collected. RESULTS: A total of 3170 people with type 2 diabetes (56.2% women; with mean (SD) duration of diabetes 10.01 (7.0) years) participated. The overall prevalence of anxiety disorders in type 2 diabetic persons was 18%; however, 2.8% of the study population had more than one type of anxiety disorder. The most prevalent anxiety disorders were generalised anxiety disorder (8.1%) and panic disorder (5.1%). Female gender, presence of diabetic complications, longer duration of diabetes and poorer glycaemic control (HbA1c levels) were significantly associated with comorbid anxiety disorder. A higher prevalence of anxiety disorders was observed in Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Argentina with a lower prevalence in Bangladesh and India. CONCLUSIONS: Our international study shows that people with type 2 diabetes have a high prevalence of anxiety disorders, especially women, those with diabetic complications, those with a longer duration of diabetes and poorer glycaemic control. Early identification and appropriate timely care of psychiatric problems of people with type 2 diabetes is warranted.

Multiple Faces of Personality Domains: Revalidating the Proposed Domains.

BACKGROUND: Despite relatively consistent findings regarding the number of personality pathology domains, differences in domain structure remain. Recently the proposed ICD-11 domains were partially validated in a sample of patients with major depression producing five domains: Detached, Anankastic, Negative Emotional, Antisocial and Borderline. The aim of our study was to attempt to cross-validate these findings in a sample of patients primarily diagnosed with personality disorder (PD). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: All subjects were assessed by Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV Axis II PD. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied on fifty seven DSM PD symptoms selected to represent the five proposed domains. RESULTS: SCID II data were collected from a total of 223 subjects. The EFA extracted five factors. The first factor labeled as borderline-internalizing constituted of borderline together with avoidant and dependent items, the second, labeled as disinhibited/ borderline externalizing, incorporated narcissistic and histrionic items. The other three separate factors in our study labeled as antisocial, anankastic and detached, were less robust. CONCLUSIONS: In our study five personality pathology domains were partly replicated. The most robust findings support the existence of the two factors, borderline-internalizing and disinhibited/borderline externalizing. However, the EFA was performed on a relatively low prevalence symptoms distribution, particularly for antisocial and schizoid factors.

Nature based solution for improving mental health and well-being in urban areas.

The general disproportion of urban development and the socio-economical crisis in Serbia, followed by a number of acute and chronic stressors, as well as years of accumulated trauma, prevented the parallel physical, mental and social adaptation of society as a whole. These trends certainly affected the quality of mental health and well-being, particularly on the vulnerable urban population, increasing the absolute number of people with depression, stress and psychosomatic disorders. This study was pioneering in Serbia and was conducted in collaboration with the Faculty of Forestry, the Institute of Mental Health and the Botanical Garden in Belgrade, in order to understand how spending time and performing horticulture therapy in specially designed urban green environments can improve mental health. The participants were psychiatric patients (n=30), users of the day hospital of the Institute who were randomly selected for the study, and the control group, assessed for depression, anxiety and stress before and after the intervention, using a DASS21 scale. During the intervention period the study group stayed in the Botanical garden and participated in a special programme of horticulture therapy. In order to exclude any possible "special treatment'' or ''placebo effect", the control group was included in occupational art therapy while it continued to receive conventional therapy. The test results indicated that nature based therapy had a positive influence on the mental health and well-being of the participants. Furthermore, the difference in the test results of the subscale stress before and after the intervention for the study group was F1.28 = 5.442 and p<;.05. According to socio demographic and clinical variables, the interesting trend was recorded on the subscale of anxiety showing that the male participants in the study group were more anxious, with the most pronounced inflection noted on this scale after treatment. The results of this study have shown that recuperation from stress, depression and anxiety was possible and much more complete when participants were involved in horticulture therapy as a nature-based solution for improving mental health.

Relationship of suicide rates with climate and economic variables in Europe during 2000-2012.

BACKGROUND: It is well known that suicidal rates vary considerably among European countries and the reasons for this are unknown, although several theories have been proposed. The effect of economic variables has been extensively studied but not that of climate. METHODS: Data from 29 European countries covering the years 2000-2012 and concerning male and female standardized suicidal rates (according to WHO), economic variables (according World Bank) and climate variables were gathered. The statistical analysis included cluster and principal component analysis and categorical regression. RESULTS: The derived models explained 62.4 % of the variability of male suicidal rates. Economic variables alone explained 26.9 % and climate variables 37.6 %. For females, the respective figures were 41.7, 11.5 and 28.1 %. Male suicides correlated with high unemployment rate in the frame of high growth rate and high inflation and low GDP per capita, while female suicides correlated negatively with inflation. Both male and female suicides correlated with low temperature. DISCUSSION: The current study reports that the climatic effect (cold climate) is stronger than the economic one, but both are present. It seems that in Europe suicidality follows the climate/temperature cline which interestingly is not from south to north but from south to north-east. This raises concerns that climate change could lead to an increase in suicide rates. The current study is essentially the first successful attempt to explain the differences across countries in Europe; however, it is an observational analysis based on aggregate data and thus there is a lack of control for confounders.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder after Vaginal Delivery at Primiparous Women.

Although severe gynaecological pathology during delivery and negative outcome have been shown to be related with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) little is known about traumatic experiences following regular delivery, at the expected time and with a healthy child. The objective of our study was to determine the prevalence of PTSD during postpartum period after vaginal delivery and its risk factors. The sample included 126 primiparous women. Monthly, for the next three months, the women were assessed for PTSD using the gold standard interview for PTSD, Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). Risk factors were assessed including sociodemographic variables, personal medical history and clinical variables. After the first month, 2.4% women had acute full PTSD and another 9.5% had clinically significant level of PTSD symptoms. Following the second and the third month, partial PTSD was found in 5.9% and 1.3% of the women, respectively, and none of participants had full PTSD. Obstetrical interventions were the only significant risk factor for the development of PTSD. Symptoms of postpartum PTSD are not rare after a traumatic delivery, and associated with specific obstetrical risk factors. Awareness of these risk factors may stimulate interventions to prevent this important and neglected postpartum disorder.

Relationship of suicide rates to economic variables in Europe: 2000-2011.

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether there is a direct link between economic crises and changes in suicide rates. AIMS: The Lopez-Ibor Foundation launched an initiative to study the possible impact of the economic crisis on European suicide rates. METHOD: Data was gathered and analysed from 29 European countries and included the number of deaths by suicide in men and women, the unemployment rate, the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, the annual economic growth rate and inflation. RESULTS: There was a strong correlation between suicide rates and all economic indices except GPD per capita in men but only a correlation with unemployment in women. However, the increase in suicide rates occurred several months before the economic crisis emerged. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this study confirms a general relationship between the economic environment and suicide rates; however, it does not support there being a clear causal relationship between the current economic crisis and an increase in the suicide rate.

Type D personality in patients with coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: During the past decade studies have shown that Type D personality is associated with increased risk of cardiac events, mortality and poor quality of life. Some authors suggested that depression and Type D personality have substantial phenomenological overlap. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The sample consisted of non-consecutive case series of seventy nine patients with clinically stable and angiographically confirmed coronary artery disease (CAD), who had been admitted to the Clinic of Cardiology, University Clinical Centre, from May 2006 to September 2008. The patients were assessed by the Type-D scale (DS14), The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and provided demographic information. Risk factors for CAD were obtained from cardiologists. RESULTS: The findings of our study have shown that 34.2% patients with CAD could be classified as Type D personality. The univariate analysis has shown that the prevalence of Type D personality was significantly higher in individuals with unstable angina pectoris and myocardial infarction (MI) diagnoses (p=0.02). Furthermore, some components of metabolic syndrome were more prevalent in patients with Type D personality: hypercholesterolemia (p=0.00), hypertriglyceridemia (p=0.00) and hypertension (p=0.01). Additionally, the distribution of depression in patients with a Type D personality and a non-Type D personality were statistically significantly different (p=0.00). CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this study is the first one to describe the prevalence and clinical characteristics of the Type D personality in patients with CAD in this region of Europe. We have found that the prevalence of Type D personality in patients with CAD is in concordance with the other studies. We also have found that Type D personality and depression are two distinctly different categories of psychological distress.

Antipsychotics--history of development and field of indication, new wine--old glassess.

More than half a century ago, Delay and colleagues have discovered, quite accidentally, that antihistamine (chlorpromazine) relieves psychotic symptoms. This discovery prompted further investigation through a series of performed experiments aimed to elucidate the antipsychotic mechanism of action. Initial results have shown that antipsychotic drugs in experimental animals lead to "neuroleptic effect" (indifference). However, not until the end of 1960s, it becomes clear that all previously known antipsychotics block dopamine receptors, particularly postsynaptic D2 receptors. The next three decades marked the development and application of these so-called classic neuroleptics in the treatment of psychotic patients. During the nineteen nineties, as a result of ongoing efforts to achieve greater efficiency and reduce the scope of side effects, novel antipsychotics were synthesized (second generation antipsychotics--SGA). As a result the notion of serotonin-dopamine antagonist (SDA) was formulated. According to one of the hypothesis, "new", so called atypical antipsychotic drugs strongly block the serotonin (5-HT2), and weakly block the dopamine (D2) receptors. Yet, there is still a debate as to the molecular basis of atypicality, whether it is in dopaminergic and serotonergic antagonism of neurotransmission or it lays exclusively in the modulation of dopaminergic system and dissociation rate at the level of D2 receptors in specific brain regions. Although the synthesis and use of antipsychotics in clinical practice have radically changed not only the basic approach to the patient, but also the quality of life of millions of people, the question remains whether this is just "old wine in new glasses".

Mental stress-induced ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease: echocardiographic characteristics and relation to exercise-induced ischemia.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to investigate the incidence and parameters associated with myocardial ischemia during mental stress (MS) as measured by echocardiography and to evaluate the relation between MS-induced and exercise-induced myocardial ischemia. METHODS: Study participants were 79 patients (63 men; mean [M] [standard deviation {SD}] age = 52 [8] years) with angiographically confirmed coronary artery disease and previous positive exercise test result. The MS protocol consisted of mental arithmetic and anger recall task. The patients performed a treadmill exercise test 15 to 20 minutes after the MS task. Data of post-MS exercise were compared with previous exercise stress test results. RESULTS: The frequency of echocardiographic abnormalities was 35% in response to the mental arithmetic task, compared with 61% with anger recall and 96% with exercise (p < .001, exercise versus MS). Electrocardiogram abnormalities and chest pain were substantially less common during MS than were echocardiographic abnormalities. Independent predictors of MS-induced myocardial ischemia were: wall motion score index at rest (p = .02), peak systolic blood pressure (p = .005), and increase in rate-pressure product (p = .004) during MS. The duration of exercise stress test was significantly shorter (p < .001) when MS preceded the exercise and in the case of earlier exercise (M [SD] = 4.4 [1.9] versus 6.7 [2.2] minutes for patients positive on MS and 5.7 [1.9] versus 8.0 [2.3] minutes for patients negative on MS). CONCLUSIONS: Echocardiography can be successfully used to document myocardial ischemia induced by MS. MS-induced ischemia was associated with an increase in hemodynamic parameters during MS and worse function of the left ventricle. MS may shorten the duration of subsequent exercise stress testing and can potentiate exercise-induced ischemia in susceptible patients with coronary artery disease.

Depressive symptoms in patients with hepatitis C treated with pegylated interferon alpha therapy: a 24-week prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To prospectively evaluate depressive symptoms and risk factors for depression in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) treated with pegylated interferon alpha therapy combined with oral ribavirin (PEG-IFN-α+RBV) and to analyze self-rating scale for depression in comparison to observer-based scale in the given population. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Zung Self Rating Depression Scale were used to screen for depressive symptoms in 74 subjects with CHC before PEG- IFN-α (mean dose 152.6±25.6 mcg), and in the follow-up visits (4, 12 and 24 week). RESULTS: Incidence of depressive symptoms in patients (mean age 39.9±13.4 years; equal sex distribution p=0.225) treated by PEG- IFN-α was the highest on 12th week of the treatment, when more than a 20% of our sample had moderate/severe symptoms of depression, and about 30% had minor depressive symptoms. For the screening of depression during PEG- IFN-α self-assessment scale was equally reliable as observer-based assesment of depressive symptoms. Common clinical parameters- subject related risk factors (age (p=0.955 ), sex (p=0.008), lifetime psychiatric disorder (p=0.656)), illness related risk factors (duration of CHC (p=0.267 ), i.v drug aplication as way of transmission (p=0.292)) and therapy-related risk factors (recommended duration of PEG-IFN-α (p=0.993) and dose of PEG-IFN-α (p=0.841)) were not signifcantly associated with depressive symptoms on PEG-IFN-α. CONCLUSIONS: Liason-consultation services should collaborate with hepatologists in creating screening programmes, supplemented by objective criteria and guidelines, for early recognition and treatment of interferon-induced depression.

Gender differences in relation to suicides committed in the capital of Montenegro (Podgorica) in the period 2000-2006.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study was to research gender differences in suicides committed in Podgorica between 2000 and 2006, including sociodemographic variables (e.g. age, marital status, education etc.), methods of and motives for committing suicide. Data were taken from the Police Directorate of Montenegro. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We used data on 220 males and 83 females who committed suicide. Statistical analysis was done by using the crude specific rate. Significance between two independent crude rates is constructed around their 95% confidence intervals and it utilizes the difference between the two rates (D) to determine significance. RESULTS: The incidence of suicide in males was found to be higher than in females (the male to female suicide ratio is 2.6 to 1). Females were older than males. Females had completed elementary education more frequently , and they were single or divorced or widows. Males had completed secondary education more frequently and they were married. The most frequent employment status of both gender groups implied pensioner and unemployment statuses. There was a significant difference in suicide rates between the genders during the reporting period. Suicide rates increase with age in both genders. Males chose firearms, hanging, strangulation and suffocation and jumping. Females chose hanging, strangulation and suffocation, jumping and drowning as the most frequent methods of suicide. The most frequent motive for suicide in both gender groups was physical illness. The second most frequent motive was mental illness. Emotional and financial difficulties were motives which were more common in males, whereas family problems appeared to be motives two times more frequent in females. CONCLUSIONS: The complex multifactorial etiology of suicide suggests the need to consider gender differences when developing effective strategies for the therapy and the prevention of suicide.

Critical review of studies on quality of life in psychiatric patients published in Serbian medical journals from 2000 to 2009.

BACKGROUND: Quality of life (QoL) is known to be indicative of the level of social functioning in mental health patients. However, the research on QoL, in the field of psychiatry, is not as comprehensive as it is in other domains of medicine. The aim of this study was to review the research evidence on QoL in psychiatric patients, published in Serbian medical journals during the last decade. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research data from studies on quality of life in psychiatric patients, published in Serbian medical journals from 2000 to 2009, were obtained by searching the databases Kobson and Medline. RESULTS: We found eight studies on QoL in psychiatric patients published in Serbian medical journals from 2000 to 2009. The reviewed articles were focused on the comparison of QoL between psychiatric patients and healthy controls, or somatic patients, the research on the relationship of QoL and general psychopathology, and the research on QoL and medical treatment. CONCLUSIONS: QoL in patients suffering from mental disorders, as the outcome variable, is of a paramount interest in the follow-up treatment studies in psychiatry targeting critical issues of mental illness management strategies. QoL of psychiatric patients in Serbia is still under-researched, and it would be important to measure QoL from both a patient's and observer's (i.e. family members, friends, nursing staff, mental health professionals, etc.) perspective, in the context of social, economic, and cultural background of the patient. In the future, the studies on QoL in psychiatric patients in Serbia should also rely on "disease specific" assessment scales, which would consider particular aspects of psychopathology, and eventually follow up longitudinal course of mental illness, treatment outcome, and recovery.