Nutritional interventions have beneficial effects on certain psychiatric disorder symptomatology and common physical health comorbidities. However, studies evaluating nutritional literacy in mental health professionals (MHP) are scarce. This study aimed to assess the across 52 countries. Surveys were distributed via colleagues and professional societies. Data were collected regarding self-reported general nutrition knowledge, nutrition education, learning opportunities, and the tendency to recommend food supplements or prescribe specific diets in clinical practice. In total, 1056 subjects participated in the study: 354 psychiatrists, 511 psychologists, 44 psychotherapists, and 147 MHPs in-training. All participants believed the diet quality of individuals with mental disorders was poorer compared to the general population (p < 0.001). The majority of the psychiatrists (74.2%) and psychologists (66.3%) reported having no training in nutrition. Nevertheless, many of them used nutrition approaches, with 58.6% recommending supplements and 43.8% recommending specific diet strategies to their patients. Only 0.8% of participants rated their education regarding nutrition as ‘very good.’ Almost all (92.9%) stated they would like to expand their knowledge regarding ‘Nutritional Psychiatry.’ There is an urgent need to integrate nutrition education into MHP training, ideally in collaboration with nutrition experts to achieve best practice care.

Background. The severity of both the COVID-19 clinical picture and confinement measures in Slovenia was higher during the initial phase of the pandemic in 2020 than during the Omicron wave in 2022. This could lead us to expect a higher level of distress during the initial phase. On the other hand, prolonged stress can have a detrimental effect on mental health. This study aimed to explore how the prolonged stress of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying changes affected the mental health of young adults in Slovenia. We analyzed and compared the levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal ideation in young adults during the initial phase of the pandemic and the Omicron wave, as well as between the COVID-19-infected and non-infected individuals. Methods. An online survey was used to survey 587 young adults in the first wave (July–December 2020) and 511 in the Omicron wave (January–February 2022). Levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal ideation were compared using Mann–Whitney U test. Results. Results show that the Omicron wave significantly worsened depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal ideation. Young adults who had tested positive for COVID-19 reported no worse or only slightly worse mental health than those who never tested positive. Conclusions. The current study provides new evidence about the mental health of young adults during the Omicron wave. Our results show that two years into the pandemic, they expressed more negative emotions and suicidal thoughts than at the beginning.

The spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to numerous negative consequences on the mental health of the population throughout the world. The main aim of our study was to compare the risk for depression, anxiety, and stress during the second wave of the pandemic in Slovenia. An additional goal was to analyze the association of depression, anxiety, and stress, with the most relevant subjective factors that define the quality of life. Furthermore, we aimed at determining whether health workers have a higher risk for depression following the course of the pandemic. The study was conducted on the general population, between July 2020 and January 2021 through an online survey. The data of 1,728 respondents in two samples of respondents (782 at baseline – first measurement point and 946 during the second measurement point) of the second wave were analyzed using zero-inflated negative binomial regression and Mann-Whitney U-test. The findings of this study show that the rise the second wave was associated with a higher risk for depression, anxiety and stress. The risk for all three was higher for younger participants. Women showed a higher risk for anxiety and stress. Finances, relationships, and housing dissatisfaction were relevant predictors for depression, anxiety and stress. Health workers in our sample showed a higher risk for stress, but not for depression or anxiety, than the general population. Our findings highlight the urgent need for coordinating and developing mental health services and tailored interventions to reduce the mental health burden, especially in the younger.

Background: Depression, anxiety and fear of childbirth have numerous consequences for women and their developing offspring. Insecure attachment in close adult relationships is considered to be a risk factor for depressive symptoms. This study aims to gain further insight into the risk factors for depressive and anxiety symptoms in nulliparous women during the third trimester of pregnancy regarding the main contextual relations, with an emphasis on partner attachment. Methods: A group of 325 nulliparas in the third trimester of pregnancy was enrolled in a childbirth preparation program. The following instruments were applied: Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised, the Edinburgh Depression Scale, the Zung Anxiety Scale, and a questionnaire regarding fear of childbirth. Three separate multiple linear regression models were built to explore the associations between demographic, social and attachment variables and mental health functioning. Results: Highly educated nulliparas and those with a higher level of co-workers’ emotional support experienced a lower level of anxiety when other predictors in the model were held constant. Of all the predictors in the model, only attachment anxiety and co-workers’ support were statistically significantly associated with the level of depression. Attachment anxiety was significantly associated with all three mental health indicators (level of depression, anxiety and fear of childbirth). Conclusions: The results suggest that intimate attachment anxiety could be a key contextual factor for mood and anxiety mental health functioning during the third trimester of pregnancy, accessible to change. Our results could facilitate the formulation of interventions for reducing antenatal depressive symptoms.

Background: Cariprazine is a third-generation antipsychotic with a unique mechanism of action. It functions as a partial agonist with high affinity for dopamine D2 and D3 and serotonin 5-HT1A receptors, an antagonist for 5-HT2A (moderate affinity) and 5-HT2B (high affinity) receptors. It binds to histamine H1 receptors and has a low affinity for 5-HT2C and alpha 1A-adrenergic receptors and no affinity for muscarinic (cholinergic) receptors. Among the troubling side effects, symptoms related to impulse control, such as hypersexuality, pathological gambling, compulsive shopping, compulsive eating etc., have been reported with the use of antipsychotic medications. However, no reports have been published regarding impulse control symptoms associated with cariprazine. We report a case of cariprazine-induced hypersexuality in a patient with schizophrenia, which was resolved by discontinuation of the medication. Case presentation: A 67-year-old Caucasian woman with schizophrenia was admitted to the hospital inpatient unit after she discontinued olanzapine and psychotic symptoms reappeared. Prior to that, she was in remission, taking olanzapine for approximately one year. After discontinuation, she experienced auditory hallucinations with persecutory delusions and became anergic and withdrawn, with blunted affect. Olanzapine was reintroduced, as it was proven successful in her past treatments. However, since there were no changes, especially in negative symptoms, cariprazine was added. Seven days after the introduction of cariprazine, the patient developed compulsive sexual behaviour. Therefore, cariprazine was discontinued, and the hypersexual behaviour was resolved. Conclusions: In this case report, we describe hypersexual behaviour that could potentially be induced by cariprazine. As a single case study, conclusions cannot be drawn. Controlled studies are warranted to better determine causality and the significance of this possible side-effect of cariprazine.

Background: For a significant proportion of women, postpartum depression (PPD) is the first mood episode in their lives, yet its aetiology still remains unclear. Insecure attachment in close adult relationships is considered to be a risk factor for depressive symptoms. This study aimed to gain further insight into the risk factors for postpartum depression symptoms (PPDS) of nulliparas in Slovenia and to examine vulnerability to developing depressive symptoms, with an emphasis on contextual and stress-related characteristics.Methods: The sample consisted of 156 nulliparas in the third trimester of pregnancy enrolled in a childbirth preparation program. The following instruments were applied: Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised, the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS), the Zung Anxiety Scale and a question battery designed by the research team including questions about emotional support and work-related stress. Logistic regression was used to test the association between demographic, social, environmental, personality and attachment variables and PPD of nulliparas (EPDS ≥10), controlling for baseline (prepartum) depression score. A multivariable linear regression model was built with the postpartum EPDS continuous score as a dependent variable.Results: 28/156 (17,9%) were evaluated as being at risk for depression (EPDS≥10) in the last trimester and 25/156 (16%) at six weeks postpartum. The results of the logistic regression model controlled for prepartum depression score showed that increased risk for developing PPDS was associated with anxiety level postpartum, intimate-partner-attachment anxiety postpartum, and elevated stress due to loss of employment or an unsuccessful search for employment in the previous year. The results of the multivariable regression model, however, showed the association with education and postpartum anxiety with PPDS continuous score; EPDS after giving birth was higher for more educated and more anxious primiparas.Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate the importance of anxiety symptoms and higher education level in assessments of nulliparas’ mental health. The results of our study show and confirm the results of previous research that anxiety symptoms in the immediate postpartum period are likely to be associated with depressive symptoms in nulliparas. The results also suggest that higher level of education of first-time mothers might not be a protective factor, especially for nulliparas with the university level of education. Further studies on larger samples should be considered.