The presence of artificial light at night has emerged as an anthropogenic stressor in recent years. Various sources of light pollution have been shown to affect circadian physiology with serious consequences for metabolic pathways, possibly disrupting pineal melatonin production with multiple adverse health effects. The suppression of melatonin at night may also affect human mental health and contribute to the development or exacerbation of psychiatric disorders in vulnerable individuals. Due to the high burden of circadian disruption in affective disorders, it has been hypothesized that light pollution impacts mental health, mainly affecting mood regulation. Hence, the aim of this review was to critically summarize the evidence on the effects of light pollution on mood symptoms, with a particular focus on the role of circadian rhythms in mediating this relationship. We conducted a narrative review of the literature in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science datasets. After the screening process, eighteen papers were eligible for inclusion. The results clearly indicate a link between light pollution and the development of affective symptoms, with a central role of sleep disturbances in the emergence of mood alterations. Risk perception also represents a crucial topic, possibly modulating the development of affective symptoms in response to light pollution. The results of this review should encourage a multidisciplinary approach to the design of healthier environments, including lighting conditions among the key determinants of human mental health.

Background and objectives: A deeper comprehension of the role that environmental risk factors play in the development of adolescent Bipolar Disorder (BD), as well as in the evolution of high-risk states for BD, may entangle further prevention and treatment advances. The present systematic review is aimed at critically summarizing evidence about the role that environmental risk factors play in the development of BD in adolescence and their interaction with BD high-risk states. Materials and Methods: MEDLINE/Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science datasets were systematically searched until 4 September 2020. Original studies that reported information about the role of environmental risk factors in the development of BD during adolescence, or assessing their influence on the development of psychopathology in high-risk states for BD, were considered for inclusion. Two blind researchers performed title/abstract, full-text screening, and hand-screening of relevant references. The risk of bias was assessed by means of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results: Fourteen studies were included in the review. Negative stressful life events, particularly sexual and physical abuse, but also emotional mistreatment, were associated with more severe psychopathology in adolescents with BD, as well as with higher risk for developing mood disorders in BD offspring. Similar findings were detected for familial environment-related features, such as parental rejection and low perceived care, while no univocal results were found when analyzing familial functioning. Conclusions: The present systematic review confirmed the relevant role that environmental risk factors, particularly negative stressful live events and family-related features, play in the development of BD psychopathology during adolescence. Future studies are expected to clarify possible further environmental factors that may be implicated in the development of BD during youth that may serve as target of prevention and early treatment strategies.

Involuntary admission is challenging in terms of providing the most effective but least restrictive care in accordance with the country's regulations. A better understanding of correlates of voluntary versus involuntary admission legal status is crucial to improve clinical decision-making and effectiveness of the overall mental health care system. We collected chart-review data pertaining to 848 patients, discharged between June 2011 and June 2014, from an Italian inpatient psychiatric unit. Diverse sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected. Bivariate analyses and binary logistic regression were performed to examine correlates of involuntary admission. Bivariate analyses showed that involuntary status was related to: the reason for hospitalization, not being on psychiatric medications at admission, and being admitted from another inpatient ward (in particular, from the emergency department). The final regression model identified four main variables independently associated with legal status: being admitted for psychotic features, suicidal behavior, or impulsive behavior, and not being on medication at admission (Nagelkerke pseudo R²=0.15, p<0.001). A strong association with length of stay was also documented. Understanding the causes and consequences of involuntary admission will enhance the field's understanding of how to provide the most effective, but least restrictive, psychiatric care.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused a crisis worldwide, due to both its public health impact and socio-economic consequences. Mental health was consistently affected by the pandemic, with the emergence of newly diagnosed psychiatric disorders and the exacerbation of pre-existing ones. Urban areas were particularly affected by the virus spread. In this review, we analyze how the urban environment may influence mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering two factors that profoundly characterize urbanization: air pollution and migration. Air pollution serves as a possibly risk factor for higher viral spread and infection severity in the context of urban areas and it has also been demonstrated to play a role in the development of serious mental illnesses and their relapses. The urban environment also represents a complex social context where minorities such as migrants may live in poor hygienic conditions and lack access to adequate mental health care. A global rethinking of the urban environment is thus required to reduce the impact of these factors on mental health. This should include actions aimed at reducing air pollution and combating climate change, promoting at the same time a more inclusive society in a sustainable development perspective.

SUMMARY. Folie à deux (FAD) is a clinical condition that was first described by Lasègue and Falret in 19th century. They reported a rare condition where two or more people shared delusional ideas from a person to another. Nowadays a trace of this historical diagnosis and its theoretical framework, could be found on ICD-10 where FAD is translated in “Shared Psychotic Disorder”. Given the lack of literature and a well-defined set of symptoms it is hard to detect the clinical limits of FAD. Furthermore, the complex of comorbidities could lead to a misdiagnosis. In this paper we report a peculiar case of FAD with an historical focus trying to give a wider point of view and tools to recognize this unconventional psychiatric diagnosis.