Schizophrenia and depression are psychiatric disorders with overlapping clinical and biological features. This study aimed to identify common and distinct neuropathological mechanisms in schizophrenia and depression patients using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The study included 28 patients with depression (DEP), 29 patients with schizophrenia (SCH), and 30 healthy control subjects (HC). Intrinsic connectivity contrast (ICC) was used to identify functional connectivity (FC) changes at the whole-brain level, and significant ICC differences were found in the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) across all three groups. Further seed-based FC analysis indicated that compared to the DEP and HC groups, the FC between bilateral OFC and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), right anterior insula, and right middle frontal gyrus were significantly lower in the SCH group. Additionally, the FC between right OFC and left thalamus was decreased in both patient groups compared to the HC group. Correlation analysis showed that the FC between OFC and MPFC was positively correlated with cognitive function in the SCH group. These findings suggest that OFC connectivity plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and depression and may provide new insights into the potential neural mechanisms underlying these two disorders.

Postmenopausal women face a higher risk of depression due to a combination of social and physiological factors. As a beverage rich in a variety of bioactive substances, green tea has significant effects on metabolism, inflammation and endocrine, and may reduce the risk of depression, but few studies have looked at the effects of green tea on postmenopausal women. Therefore, we designed this study to investigate the effects of long-term green tea consumption on inflammation, endocrine and depression levels in postmenopausal women. We investigated a tea-producing village and eventually included 386 postmenopausal women, both in the tea drinking and control groups. The results showed that there were significant differences in the degree of insomnia, degree of depression, BMI, SII and estradiol between the two groups. And, green tea consumption may reduce the risk of depression through the mediating pathway of sleep, SII and estradiol. In summary, long-term green tea consumption can reduce the risk of depression in postmenopausal women by reducing inflammation and increasing estradiol. This kind of living habit deserves further promotion.

Effective antidepressant treatment is one of the most important approaches for alleviating depressive symptoms and reducing the risk of suicide. Nevertheless, the high rates of relapse and disability associated with depression are largely due to patients' poor medication adherence. This study investigated the influence of patient experience and psychological contract on medication adherence of outpatients with depression and sought to identify critical factors that could improve medication adherence and provide effective recommendations for the healthcare system. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Psychiatric Out-patient department of a tertiary general hospital. A total of 348 participants diagnosed with depression were surveyed by SERVQUAL scale, Psychological Contract Scale and Morisky Scale to assess patient experience, psychological contract and medication adherence, respectively. The mean scores of patient experience, psychological contract, and medication adherence were 7.12 ± 1.25, 3.93 ± 0.36, and 5.32 ± 2.41, respectively. Patient experience and its five dimensions were positively correlated with medication adherence (P < 0.01). Although the psychological contract was not directly associated with medication adherence, it exerted an indirect effect through its influence on patient experience. Patient experience was positively associated with medication adherence among individuals with depression. Moreover, psychological contract exerted an indirect effect on medication adherence by influencing the quality of the patient experience. These findings highlight the importance of enhancing patient-centered service and fostering trust-based relationships to improve treatment adherence in depressive populations.