Psychological distress and mental health disparities over time between tertiary students and non-student working peers in Australia.

Purpose: Tertiary students have been recognised as a high-risk population for psychological distress yet, in Australia, have been overlooked in population-level surveillance, health service provision and mental health policy. This study sought to explore trends in self-reported psychological distress and general mental health of tertiary students compared to their non-student working peers in Australia from 2007 to 2022- a timeframe which spans the pre-, mid-, and immediate-post-COVID time periods.

Methods: The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey was used as a basis for this study.

Risks Associated with Recent Self-Harm in Preadolescent and Adolescent Youth: Parent-Report.

Objective: Self-harm among children and adolescents is a global public health issue, with concerning trends of increased rates of hospital presenting self-harm in younger age groups (5-12 years). Few studies have investigated risk factors of emerging self-harm in preadolescent populations (<12 years). This study aimed to identify key factors associated with recent (past 12-months) self-harm in preadolescents (5-12 years) compared to adolescents (13-18 years).

Vulnerability and psychosocial impacts of extreme weather events among young people in Australia.

Aims: There is growing awareness of the negative impact that extreme weather events (also known as climate disasters) have on psychological and social wellbeing. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the psychosocial impacts of these events, but research specific to this population is scant. This study examined the impact of exposure to extreme weather events on climate concerns, psychological distress, and social exclusion in a large nationwide sample of adolescents.

Cancer trend and radiotherapy utilization at a tertiary academic hospital in Malaysia.

Aims: To determine the trend of cancer cases referred to the Department of Clinical Oncology in UMMC in terms of patient volumes over a period of 10 years. To define the stage at presentation of the top five cancers in males and females, respectively. To determine the overall radiotherapy utilization rates.

Dementia care and prevention in community settings: a built environment framework for cognitive health promotion.

Purpose Of Review: Most people with dementia live in the community. As lifespan increases, one in three persons aged 85+ are expected to live with dementia. We conduct a systematic search to identify frameworks for dementia care and prevention in community settings.

Changes in late-life assistance networks for Black and White older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted older Black Americans. Given that assistance networks play a crucial role in older adults' ability to respond to challenges, we sought to investigate whether older adults' assistance network size changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and differed by race.

Methods: We analyzed data from the 2018-2020 rounds of the U.

Self-harm in 5-to-24 year olds: Retrospective examination of hospital presentations to emergency departments in New South Wales, Australia, 2012 to 2020.

There is some evidence that self-harm presentations in children and young people have increased over the past decade, yet there are few up-to-date studies examining these trends. This study aims to describe trends in the rates and severity of emergency department self-harm presentations for youth aged 5-24 years in New South Wales, Australia between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2020. We analysed self-harm hospital presentations using join point analysis to compare quarterly growth in rates and urgency of presentation since 2012 by age group and sex.

Omega-3 supplements in the prevention and treatment of youth depression and anxiety symptoms: A scoping review.

Introduction: Omega-3 supplements may be efficacious in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety in adults, particularly as an adjunct to antidepressant medication. However, research in young people is limited. Thus, this scoping review aimed to summarise existing evidence on the efficacy of omega-3 supplementation in treating depression and anxiety symptoms in young people aged 14-24.

Promoting engagement with self-guided digital therapeutics for mental health: Insights from a cross-sectional survey of end-users.

Background: Poor engagement has hindered the dissemination of self-guided digital therapeutics for mental health. Evidence on the efficacy of technology-supported strategies designed for increasing engagement with these interventions is currently inconclusive. Few studies have examined user perceptions of such strategies, which could yield key insights for enhancing their effectiveness.

COVID-19-Related Changes in Assistance Networks for U.S. Older Adults With and Without Dementia.

Objectives: Prepandemic research suggests assistance networks for older adults grow over time and are larger for those living with dementia. We examined how assistance networks of older adults changed in response to the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and whether these changes differed for those with and without dementia.

Methods: We used 3 rounds of the National Health and Aging Trends Study.

Technology-supported strategies for promoting user engagement with digital mental health interventions: A systematic review.

Background: Although digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) offer a potential solution for increasing access to mental health treatment, their integration into real-world settings has been slow. A key reason for this is poor user engagement. A growing number of studies evaluating strategies for promoting engagement with DMHIs means that a review of the literature is now warranted.

Neighborhood Makes or Breaks Active Ageing? Findings from Cross-Sectional Path Analysis.

Mental ill-health prolongs and complicates other chronic illnesses, which is a major public health concern because of the potential stress it places on health systems. Prevention via active aging and place-based interventions thus became increasingly important with population aging, e.g.

Environmental Influences on Life Satisfaction and Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults With Multimorbidity: Path Analysis Through Loneliness in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Background And Objectives: More older adults with multimorbidity are aging in place than ever before. Knowing how the environment affects their mental well-being could enhance the efficacy of age-friendly interventions for multimorbidity resilience. With reference to the Transdisciplinary Neighborhood Health Framework, we construct and examine a priori models of environmental influences on life satisfaction and depressive symptoms.

Effect of Engagement With Digital Interventions on Mental Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) present a promising way to address gaps in mental health service provision. However, the relationship between user engagement and outcomes in the context of these interventions has not been established. This study addressed the current state of evidence on the relationship between engagement with DMHIs and mental health outcomes.

Age and sex trends in depressive symptoms across middle and older adulthood: Comparison of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging to American and European cohorts.

Background: The literature suggests depressive symptoms differ in a non-linear fashion across adulthood and are more commonly reported in women as compared to men. Whether these trends are observed across countries in population-based cohorts is unclear.

Methods: Cross-sectional observational study of approximately 138,000 women and men between the ages of 45 and 95 from three population-based cohorts representing Canadian, European, and American populations.

Prior Social Contact and Mental Health Trajectories during COVID-19: Neighborhood Protects Vulnerable Older Adults.

Social networking protects mental health during a crisis. Prior contact with social organizations, friends, and non-friend neighbors may be associated with better trajectories of loneliness, depression and subjective memory during COVID-19. Regression analysis was conducted using longitudinal data from a representative sample of = 3105 US adults aged ≥55 in April-October 2020.

Social connectedness as a mediator for horticultural therapy's biological effect on community-dwelling older adults: Secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Elevated levels of inflammatory marker and a lack of social connectedness are two prominent risk factors for developing dementia and depression. Horticultural therapy (HT) has been shown to improve social connectedness and inflammatory markers. However, the underpinning mechanisms of HT remained unknown.

Walk/Wheelability: An Inclusive Instrument Pair for Participatory Age-Friendly Research and Practice.

Background And Objectives: Recent critical evaluations of age-friendly efforts have highlighted the need to prioritize the disenfranchised, including people with mobility limitations. This article examines the validity of a 13-item Stakeholders Walkability/Wheelability Audit in Neighborhoods (SWAN13) scale to measure the "walk/wheelability" of street segments from the perspectives of people with mobility limitations.

Research Design And Methods: Data were drawn from preliminary studies of the SWANaudit which was conducted in 2 Canadian metropolitan areas.

Dementia-Friendly Neighborhood and the Built Environment: A Scoping Review.

Background And Objectives: There has been a proliferation of research on dementia-friendly communities in recent years, particularly on interpersonal and social aspects. Nonetheless, the neighborhood built environment remains a co-constituent of the lived experience of people living with dementia (PLWD) that is amenable to interventions for health and well-being in the community. This scoping review presents a narrative synthesis of empirical research on dementia-friendly neighborhoods, with a focus on the built environment and its associated sociobehavioral aspects.