The great majority of mental disorders begin during adolescence or early adulthood, although they are often detected and treated later in life. To compare mental health status of college students and their non-college-attending peers whether working, attending a secondary school, or non-college-attending peers who are neither employed nor students or trainees (NENST) will allow to focus on high risk group. Data were drawn from a large cross-sectional survey conducted by phone in 2005 in four French regions in a randomly selected sample of 22,138 adults. Analyses were restricted to the college-age subsample, defined as those aged 18 to 24 (n = 2424). Sociodemographic, educational, and occupational status were determined. In addition, respondents were administered standardized instruments to assess mental health and well-being (CIDI-SF, SF-36, Sheehan Disability Scale, CAGE), mastery, social support, and isolation. The four occupational groups were compared. All analyses were stratified by gender. Mental health disorders were more prevalent among the NENST group, with significant differences among men for anxiety disorders including phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and panic disorder, impairing at least one role in their daily life. This was also true among women except for panic disorder. The NENST group also reported the lowest level of mastery and social support for both genders and the highest level of social isolation for women only. After adjustment, occupational status remained an independent correlate of PTSD (OR = 2.92 95 % CI = 1.4–6.1), agoraphobia (OR = 1.86 95 % CI 1.07–3.22) and alcohol dependence (OR = 2.1 95 % CI = 1.03–4.16). Compared with their peers at work or in education/training, the prevalence of certain common mental health disorders was higher among college-aged individuals in the NENST group. Efforts should be made to help young adults in the transition between school or academic contexts and joining the workforce. It is also important to help youths with psychiatric disorders find an occupational activity and provide them information, care, support and counseling, particularly in times of economic hardship. Schools and universities may be adequate institutional settings to set health promotion programs in mental health and well-being.

The role of melatonin has been extensively investigated in pathophysiological conditions, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Reduced melatonin secretion has been reported in ASD and led to many clinical trials using immediate-release and prolonged-release oral formulations of melatonin. However, melatonin’s effects in ASD and the choice of formulation type require further study. Therapeutic benefits of melatonin on sleep disorders in ASD were observed, notably on sleep latency and sleep quality. Importantly, melatonin may also have a role in improving autistic behavioral impairments. The objective of this article is to review factors influencing treatment response and possible side effects following melatonin administration. It appears that the effects of exposure to exogenous melatonin are dependent on age, sex, route and time of administration, formulation type, dose, and association with several substances (such as tobacco or contraceptive pills). In addition, no major melatonin-related adverse effect was described in typical development and ASD. In conclusion, melatonin represents currently a well-validated and tolerated treatment for sleep disorders in children and adolescents with ASD. A more thorough consideration of factors influencing melatonin pharmacokinetics could illuminate the best use of melatonin in this population. Future studies are required in ASD to explore further dose-effect relationships of melatonin on sleep problems and autistic behavioral impairments.

Current research suggests that alterations in neurodevelopmental processes, involving gene X environment interactions during key stages of brain development (prenatal period and adolescence), are a major risk for schizophrenia. First, epidemiological studies supporting a genetic contribution to schizophrenia are presented in this article, including family, twin, and adoption studies. Then, an extensive literature review on genetic disorders associated with schizophrenia is reviewed. These epidemiological findings and clinical observations led researchers to conduct studies on genetic associations in schizophrenia, and more specifically on genomics (CNV: copy-number variant, and SNP: single nucleotide polymorphism). The main structural (CNV) and sequence (SNP) variants found in individuals with schizophrenia are reported here. Evidence of genetic contributions to schizophrenia and current knowledge on genetic syndromes associated with this psychiatric disorder highlight the importance of a clinical genetic examination to detect minor physical anomalies in individuals with ultra-high risk of schizophrenia. Several dysmorphic features have been described in schizophrenia, especially in early onset schizophrenia, and can be viewed as neurodevelopmental markers of vulnerability. Early detection of individuals with neurodevelopmental abnormalities is a fundamental issue to develop prevention and diagnostic strategies, therapeutic intervention and follow-up, and to ascertain better the underlying mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.