Background and Aims: Mental health condition among adolescents is a leading cause of health‐related disability in Sri Lanka. The study aims to estimate the prevalence and evaluate the associated risk factors in three major mental health domains—loneliness, anxiety and suicidal ideation—among Sri Lankan adolescents.Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of cross‐sectional data of 3262 adolescents from the Global School‐based Health Survey (GSHS) conducted by the WHO in 2016. We modeled the binary outcome variables using multivariable logistic regression models with exposures representing demography, food habits, personal hygiene, behavior, substance abuse, parental and social engagement of the respondents.Results: We estimated the prevalence of loneliness, anxiety and suicidal ideation as 30.8% (95% CI: 29.3, 32.5), 20.2% (95% CI: 18.8, 21.6) and 3.7% (95% CI: 3.1, 4.4), respectively, and the overall prevalence as 40.3% (95% CI: 38.6, 42.0). Mental health problems were more prevalent among females than males. Engagement with parents and close friends, adequate nutritional intake and physically active lifestyles reduced the risk of common mental health problems. Exposure variables like food insecurity, truancy, second‐hand smoking, physical fight, and being bullied increased adolescents’ risk of reported psychological problems.Conclusions: We conclude that the prevalence of mental health problems in the Sri Lankan adolescent population was higher than the global average. Results suggest that future policy decisions to mitigate mental health problems among Sri Lankan adolescents should incorporate an integrated approach involving the individual, family and community to promote positive home and school environments combined with an active and healthy lifestyle.

Background: Parental engagement is one of the key factors that can influence adolescents mentalhealth status, although these associations are not fully measured in the local context. This study willestimate the prevalence and association of parental engagement with adolescents and mental healthstatus in Sri Lanka. Method: This current study is a secondary analysis of nationally representativedata for Sri Lanka. The data was collected from 3262 school attending students in grades 8-12 inthe Sri Lankan Global School-based health survey (GSHS) 2016. A two-stage cluster sample designwas used to select the representation of samples. The binary variables i.e. loneliness, anxiety andsuicidal ideation, were modelled using multivariable logistic regression models with predictorsrepresenting gender, age, grade, parental supervision and parental understanding. Result: It isestimated that the prevalence of parental supervision and parental understanding is 85.3% and78.5%, respectively. The analysis of both good parental supervision and parenting understandinghas reduced the loneliness, anxiety and suicidal thoughts among the adolescents population,compared to those who don't have good parental engagement. Conclusion: It is seen that there isa higher prevalence of parental and children engagement in Sri Lanka compared to otherdemographical regions. However, the prevalence of mental health remains higher as compared tothe global average. The results suggest that national policies and programs should be integrated forboth parents and children. Parents need more knowledge on good parenting, while adolescents needsupport on coping with their mental health.

Faithful chromosome segregation during meiosis I requires tight control of interhomolog recombination. In budding yeast, the meiotic chromosome axis, built on Rec8-containing cohesin together with Red1 and Hop1, acts as a central platform regulating meiotic recombination from programmed DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation to checkpoint signaling and chromosome segregation, yet how cohesin recruits axis proteins remains unclear. Here, we identified a conserved cohesin-interacting motif (CIM) in Red1 that directly binds Rec8. AlphaFold3 modeling predicted that Red1-CIM forms a short α-helix that docks into a conserved hydrophobic pocket within the Rec8 C-terminal winged-helix domain, which we confirmed biochemically. Disruption of the Red1-CIM preferentially impaired Red1 recruitment to Rec8-dependent chromosomal regions, while relative enrichment in Rec8-independent domains was preserved, leading to reduced DSB formation in Rec8-dependent domains. The Red1-CIM mutation also reduced crossover formation, increased chromosome missegregation, and reduced spore viability. Notably, this spore lethality exceeded that predicted by the reduction in DSB formation. Consistently, red1-CIM mutants failed to activate the meiotic checkpoint kinase Mek1. Finally, we provide evolutionary, structural, and biochemical evidence that this Red1–Rec8 interaction is conserved across fungi and plants. Together, these findings define a direct molecular bridge linking cohesin to chromosome-axis organization, spatial DSB regulation, and checkpoint signaling during meiosis.