Affect,COVID-19 vaccines,risk perception,trust,vaccination refusal,worry

In this study, the relationship between treatment response, clinical features of episodes such as psychosis, suicidal behavior, and agitation, duration of hospitalization, and systemic inflammation markers Systemic Inflammatory Index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) in bipolar affective disorder manic episode (BAD-M), bipolar affective disorder—depressive episode (BAD-D), and major depressive disorder (MDD) were investigated. TheNLR, MLR, PLR, and log SII were measured using parameters from a complete blood count. Admission and discharge Young Mania Rating Scale and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores were evaluated. This is a retrospective study conducted with a total of 451 inpatients, 122 (27.10%) of whom were diagnosed with BAD-M, 60 (13.20%) with BAD-D, and 269 (56.60%) with MDD. The patients with manic episodes have higher levels of NLR (P = .019), MLR (P = .002), and log SII (P = .007). In the bipolar depression and mania groups, the patients with and without treatment responses did not differ in terms of inflammation markers; the log PLR value was found to be higher in the unipolar depression group in the patients who did not reach remission (P = .048). This study reveals associations between inflammation markers and different types of mood episodes. Higher NLR, MLR, and log SII levels in bipolar mania and lower NLR levels in agitated unipolar depression provide clues about changes in inflammation across different episodes. Studies with larger samples are needed to evaluate the relationship between inflammatory markers, the severity of mania and depression, and the response to treatment.

Misinterpretation of intrusive thoughts because of obsessive beliefs has been thought to be important in the development of obsessive compulsive symptoms. In current study, (I) the difference between OCD patients and healthy controls in regard of obsessive beliefs and (II) the relation of obsesive beliefs with the prevelance and severity of obsessive compulsive symptoms was investigated. The current study included 47 OCD patients and 44 healthy controls who have same properties with regard to age, sex and duration of education. All subjects were applied to Obsessive Beliefs Scale, Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Scale, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. OCD patients were applied to Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale as well as the other scales. In analyses by controlling depression and anxiety scores, OCD patients had significantly higher scores than controls, with regard to all subscales of Obsessive Beliefs Scale. Also, prevalence of obsessive compulsive symptoms other than cleaning were correlated with obsessive beliefs about "responsibility and threat estimation" and "perfectionism and need for certainty". Hovewer, there was no correlation in between severity of obsessive compulsive symptoms and subscale scores of Obsessive Beliefs Scale. Excluding the effects of depression and anxiety, generally the results suggests that obsessive beliefs have an important role for development of obsessive compulsive symptoms. Future studies of seperated OCD subgroup with regard to obsessive compulsive symptoms will be helpful in determinig the difference among these subgroups in regard of obsessive beliefs.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has emerged as a noninvasive therapy for treatment resistant depression (TRD). The results of studies on the mechanism of rTMS and the predictive parameters for determining which patients will respond to rTMS are inconclusive. This study aims to investigate the relationship between pre-treatment systemic inflammatory markers and the response to rTMS in TRD patients. We retrospectively reviewed 86 patients with TRD who received 10 Hz rTMS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) at Gazi University between June 2017 and June 2023. Inflammatory markers, including neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII), were evaluated. Treatment response was assessed using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), with a ≥50% reduction in MADRS score and a score ≤8 at the end of treatment considered as a positive response. Patients divided in to two groups accoording to rTMS response. 53 patients were responders and 33 patients were non-responders. Significant differences in inflammatory parameters were observed, with non-responders showing higher NLR ( p =0.001), PLR ( p =0.008), and SII ( p =0.002) values. Logistic regression analysis revealed that higher NLR was significantly associated with a poorer response to rTMS (OR=0.373, p =0.022). Additionally, early improvement in MADRS score in the first week predicted overall treatment outcome (OR=1.070, p <0.001). Our findings suggest that systemic inflammation plays a role in TRD and that higher pre-treatment NLR is associated with a poorer response to rTMS. Largerscale studies are needed to further understand the mechanisms and improve treatment strategies for TRD patients.

Background: This study aimed to explore the effect of knowledge, COVID-19-related perceptions, and public trust on protective behaviors in Turkish people. Methods: Data were collected from an online survey (Turkish COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring) conducted between July 2020 and January 2021. The recommended protective behaviors (hand cleaning, wearing a face mask, and physical distancing) to prevent COVID-19 were examined. The impacts of the following variables on protective behaviors were investigated using logistic regression analysis: knowledge, cognitive and affective risk perception, pandemic-related worry content, public trust, conspiracy thinking, and COVID-19 vaccine willingness. Results: Out of a total of 4210 adult respondents, 13.8% reported nonadherence to protection behavior, and 86.2% reported full adherence. Males and young (aged 18–30 years) people tend to show less adherence. Perceived self-efficacy, susceptibility, and correct knowledge were positively related to more adherence to protective behavior. Perceptual and emotional factors explaining protective behavior were perceived proximity, stress level, and worrying about the relatives who depended on them. Trust in health professionals and vaccine willingness were positive predictors, while conspiracy thinking and acquiring less information (<2, daily) were negative predictors. Unexpectedly, trust in the Ministry of Health showed a weak but negative association with protection behavior. Conclusions: Perceived stress, altruistic worries, and public trust seem to shape protection behaviors in addition to individuals’ knowledge and cognitive risk perception in respondents. Males and young people may have a greater risk for nonadherence. Reliable, transparent, and culture-specific health communication that considers these issues is required.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have similar characteristics. People with one of these disorders are more likely to meet the diagnosis of the other disorder than the general population. This study mainly investigated whether autistic traits predicted obsessive-compulsive symptom subtypes after controlling for some demographic features and clinical variables. This study included 460 university students from two universities and their family members. The subjects were asked to complete a sociodemographic and clinical data form, the Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory (VOCI), the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). The relationship between autistic symptoms and obsessive-compulsive symptoms was assessed using linear regression analysis, controlling for age, sex, depression, anxiety scores, and a history of frequent childhood upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). The AQ attention-switching score was associated with hoarding ( β = 0.135, p = .002), just-right ( β = 0.087, p = .026), indecisiveness ( β = 0.101, p = .006), and total VOCI ( β = 0.080, p = .038) score. AQ subscale scores other than attention-switching were not associated with VOCI scores. Age was negatively associated with obsessions ( β = −0.133, p = .001), just-right ( β = −0.129, p = .002), indecisiveness ( β = −0.214, p < .001), and total VOCI score ( β = −0.109, p = .006). BDI and BAI total scores were positively associated with all VOCI scores (all β in between 0.114 and 0.318, all p in between 0.033 and <0.001). Checking ( p = .025), just-right ( p = .038), and total VOCI scores ( p = .046) were significantly higher in the group with a history of frequent childhood URTIs compared to the group without. Individuals with OCD symptoms may exhibit attention-switching deficits similar to those of individuals with ASD symptoms, suggesting a subgroup of OCD that shares features with ASD. Attention-switching deficits should be further investigated in terms of the relationship between ASD and OCD.