Introduction: University students have been extensively affected with psychological problems due to outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic given their special position and status. In this study, we intend to examine the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among a group of students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in medical Sciences universities of Mazandaran Province. 352 students were recruited by simple available sampling method. Data collection tools were Standard Mental Health Questionnaire (DASS-21) and demographic information questionnaire. Data analysis was done using SPSS software through descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: The mean age of students was 22.44 +/- 3.4 and 54.3% of them were females. 33.6, 28.4, and 27.3% of students had moderate to extremely severe levels of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. There was a significant relationship between total mental health score with physical activity (p < 0.04) and with smoking (p < 0.02). There was also a significant relationship between smoking and depression (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Considering the fact that anxiety, stress and depression are common among medical sciences students of Mazandaran Province, necessary measures must be taken to improve their mental health status.

Background: Admission to the university changes life conditions and thereby increases mental pressure. If the students cannot bear the psychological pressure of being a student, that may lead to suicide among the vulnerable persons. Therefore, in this research, we would like to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of suicide-related behaviors in Iranian students. Methods: This online, cross-sectional survey was performed from March 18 to April 15, 2023, in Iran. The questionnaires were completed by 2181 students. In this study, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4), Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), and Oslo Social Support Scale (OSSS-3) were used. Finally, we identified the factors associated with suicide-related behaviors using univariate and multiple regression. Results: The prevalence of suicidal behaviors in students was 57.95%. According to the results, male gender, marriage, having meaning in life, occasional smoking, sleeping after 1 a.m., and having social support were associated with a reduced risk of suicide. In addition, a history of sexual abuse, more anxiety, and higher perceived stress were associated with an increased risk of suicide. Conclusions: The prevalence of suicide-related behaviors in Iranian students was higher than expected. Urgent interventions should be considered to prevent students from committing suicide. Helping students find meaning in life, as well as eliminating the causes of students’ anxiety and stress, may be effective in this respect. Additionally, teaching students how to control anxiety and stress may be helpful.

Introduction Schizophrenia is a chronic, complex and severe psychiatric disorder affecting millions of people every year and inflicting different costs to the individual, family and community. A growing body of evidence has introduced several genetic and environmental factors and their interactions as aetiological factors of schizophrenia. The goal of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to present an updated representation of the global environmental risk factors of schizophrenia. Method and analysis This protocol is developed and reported according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols guideline. We will systematically search the databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO and Embase until 30 September 2022. We include Cohort studies that have reported one or more risk factors of schizophrenia. We will also search Google Scholar search engine and references lists of included articles. Extracting the relevant data and assessing the quality of the included studies will be independently performed by different authors of our team. The risk of bias for the included studies will be evaluated using Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Subgroup analysis, meta-regression or sensitivity analysis will be our solution to deal with heterogeneity between studies. We will use a funnel diagram as well as Begg and Egger tests to check for possible publication bias. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is not required because there will be no primary data collection or human involvement. The results of this study will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO registration number CRD42022359327.

Introduction and importance: Limited information is available regarding various effects of lifestyle changes caused by coronavirus pandemic on human life. On the other hand, if the fear of getting infected by coronavirus is accompanied by other psychological crises, it can possibly lead to psychosis in people with or without a previous history of mental illness. Case presentation: The patient is a 36-year-old man with no previous history of mental illness who divorced his wife 6 months before the onset of COVID-19 pandemic. The patient developed auditory hallucinations and paranoid thoughts after the outbreak. After diagnosis of psychosis, treatment with injectable haloperidol was started. He was then treated with risperidone for maintenance therapy. On the other hand, for depressive symptoms, the patient was treated with bupropion. One week after starting the treatment, the patient's paranoid thoughts and auditory hallucinations improved. Clinical discussion: Getting infected with coronavirus or being severely afraid of it may cause symptoms of psy-chosis in those with a history of previous mental disease. There is also evidence that extreme fear of infection with coronavirus can lead to psychosis if accompanied by other psychological crises. Conclusion: It is necessary to pay more attention to the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety caused by COVID-19. Failure to immediately treat the anxiety caused by the fear of infection in this pandemic or other epidemics can lead to more serious problems such as psychosis and create further risks for the individual, family and community.

Background: Professional ethics is of great importance in health-related fields, and observation of professional ethics by the treatment staff will lead to increased patient satisfaction. Legislators have attempted to improve adherence to professional ethics by compiling codes of ethics and holding professional ethics classes in universities. Despite these efforts to develop such codes of ethics, treatment staff do not always fully comply with professional ethics, leading to decreases in patient satisfaction. Methods: Based on the authors’ experiences and related studies, we present several suggestions for improving the observation of professional ethics among treatment staff. Results: Strategies that can help improve ethical-behavioral patterns among treatment staff are as follows: Changing university entrance examinations, increasing professional ethics credits, teaching ethics regardless of religion, teaching the history of medicine, logotherapy of students during their university years, training in psychology as the core of medical education programs, and reformulating the incentive and punishment system. Conclusion: It is required to make specific changes in the selection method and training of treatment staff to enhance client satisfaction. These recommendations are given according to the health system of Iran, but they can also be used in other countries.