To investigate mechanisms of suicide risk in people bereaved by suicide, prompted by observations that bereaved people experience higher levels of distress around dates of emotional significance. We hypothesised that suicide-bereaved first-degree relatives and partners experience an increased risk of self-harm and suicide around dates of (i) anniversaries of the death and (ii) the deceased’s birthday, compared with intervening periods.

We conducted a self-controlled case series study using national register data on all individuals living in Denmark from 1 January 1980 to 31 December 2016 and who were bereaved by the suicide of a first-degree relative or partner (spouse or cohabitee) during that period, and who had the outcome (any episode of self-harm or suicide) within 5 years and 6 weeks of the bereavement. We compared relative incidence of suicidal behaviour in (i) the first 30 days after bereavement and (ii) in the aggregated exposed periods (6 weeks either side of death anniversaries; 6 weeks either side of the deceased’s birthdays) to the reference (aggregated unexposed intervening periods). As an indirect comparison, we repeated these models in people bereaved by other causes.

We found no evidence of an elevated risk of suicidal behaviour during periods around anniversaries of a death or the deceased’s birthdays in people bereaved by suicide (adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRRadj] = 1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.87–1.16) or other causes (IRRadj = 1.04; 95% CI = 1.00–1.08) compared with intervening periods. Rates were elevated in the 30 days immediately after bereavement by other causes (IRRadj: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.77–2.22).

Although people bereaved by suicide are at elevated risk of self-harm and suicide, our findings do not suggest that this risk is heightened around emotionally significant anniversaries. Bereavement care should be accessible at all points after a traumatic loss as needs will differ over the grief trajectory.

The nature of the association between child psychiatric symptoms and adolescent suicide-related thoughts (SRT) and attempts (SA) remains unclear. Our objective was to assess whether child psychiatric symptoms from 6 to 10 years of age mediate the association between exposure to maternal depressive symptoms in childhood and offspring SRT and SA in adolescence.

A population-based cohort study was constructed by linking all eight cycles from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), a nationally representative Canadian panel survey conducted from 1994 to 2009. Self-reported maternal depressive symptoms were measured when offspring were between 0 and 5 years. Maternal-reported child psychiatric symptoms and psychiatric comorbid symptoms were measured from 6 to 10 years, and offspring self-reported SRT and SA were measured between 11 and 19 years. Indirect effects, the effect proportion mediated and their corresponding bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated.

Hyperactivity and inattention significantly mediated the association between maternal depressive symptoms in childhood and risk of both SRT and SA from 11 to 19 years, where approximately 60% (SRT 95% CI 23–94%; SA 95% CI 27–95%) of this association was explained by hyperactivity and inattention. Psychiatric comorbid symptoms also significantly mediated this relationship and accounted for 50% (95% CI 18–81%) of this association with SA.

Targeting hyperactivity and inattention, and co-occurring psychiatric symptoms in offspring of depressed mothers could reduce risk of SRT, eventual SA and halt progression towards suicide. However, further understanding of comorbid psychiatric symptoms in childhood that most strongly predict adolescent SA is needed.

Although injuries have been linked to worse mental health, little is known about this association among the general population in low- and middle-income countries (LAMICs). This study examined the association between injuries and depression in 40 LAMICs that participated in the World Health Survey.

Cross-sectional information was obtained from 212 039 community-based adults on the past 12-month experience of road traffic and other (non-traffic) injuries and depression, which was assessed using questions based on the World Mental Health Survey version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Multivariable logistic regression analysis and meta-analysis were used to examine associations.

The overall prevalence (95% CI) of past 12-month traffic injury, other injury, and depression was 2.8% (2.6–3.0%), 4.8% (4.6–5.0%) and 7.4% (7.1–7.8%), respectively. The prevalence of traffic injuries [range 0.1% (Ethiopia) to 5.1% (Bangladesh)], and other (non-traffic) injuries [range 0.9% (Myanmar) to 12.1% (Kenya)] varied widely across countries. After adjusting for demographic variables, alcohol consumption and smoking, the pooled OR (95%CI) for depression among individuals experiencing traffic injury based on a meta-analysis was 1.72 (1.48–1.99), and 2.04 (1.85–2.24) for those with other injuries. There was little between-country heterogeneity in the association between either form of injury and depression, although for traffic injuries, significant heterogeneity was observed between groups by country-income level (p = 0.043) where the pooled association was strongest in upper middle-income countries (OR = 2.37) and weakest in low-income countries (OR = 1.46).

Alerting health care providers in LAMICs to the increased risk of worse mental health among injury survivors and establishing effective trauma treatment systems to reduce the detrimental effects of injury should now be prioritised.

Healthcare staff use coercive measures to manage patients at acute risk of harm to self or others, but their effect on patients’ mental health is underexplored. This nationwide Swiss study emulated a trial to investigate the effects of coercive measures on the mental health of psychiatric inpatients at discharge.

We analysed retrospective longitudinal data from all Swiss adult psychiatric hospitals that provided acute care (2019–2021). The primary exposure was any coercive measure during hospitalization; secondary exposures were seclusion, restraint and forced medication. Our primary outcome was Health of the Nations Outcome Scale (HoNOS) score at discharge. We used inverse probability of treatment weighting to emulate random assignment to the exposure.

Of 178,369 hospitalizations, 9.2% (n = 18,800) included at least one coercive measure. In patients exposed to coercive measures, mental health worsened a small but statistically significant amount more than in non-exposed patients. Those who experienced at least one coercive measure during hospitalization had a significantly higher HoNOS score (1.91-point, p < .001, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.73; 2.09) than those who did not experience any coercive measure. Results were similar for seclusion (1.60-point higher score, p < .001, 95% CI: 1.40; 1.79) and forced medication (1.97-point higher score, p < .001, 95% CI: 1.65; 2.30). Restraint had the strongest effect (2.83-point higher score, p < .001, 95% CI: 2.38; 3.28).

Our study presents robust empirical evidence highlighting the detrimental impact of coercive measures on the mental health of psychiatric inpatients. It underscores the importance of avoiding these measures in psychiatric hospitals and emphasized the urgent need for implementing alternatives in clinical practice.

Caused by multiple risk factors, heavy burden of major depressive disorder (MDD) poses serious challenges to public health worldwide over the past 30 years. Yet the burden and attributable risk factors of MDD were not systematically known. We aimed to reveal the long-term spatio-temporal trends in the burden and attributable risk factors of MDD at global, regional and national levels during 1990–2019.

We obtained MDD and attributable risk factors data from Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. We used joinpoint regression model to assess the temporal trend in MDD burden, and age–period–cohort model to measure the effects of age, period and birth cohort on MDD incidence rate. We utilized population attributable fractions (PAFs) to estimate the specific proportions of MDD burden attributed to given risk factors.

During 1990–2019, the global number of MDD incident cases, prevalent cases and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) increased by 59.10%, 59.57% and 58.57%, respectively. Whereas the global age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR) and age-standardized DALYs rate (ASDR) of MDD decreased during 1990–2019. The ASIR, ASPR and ASDR in women were 1.62, 1.62 and 1.60 times as that in men in 2019, respectively. The highest age-specific incidence, prevalence and DALYs rate occurred at the age of 60–64 in women, and at the age of 75–84 in men, but the maximum increasing trends in these age-specific rates occurred at the age of 5–9. Population living during 2000–2004 had higher risk of MDD. MDD burden varied by socio-demographic index (SDI), regions and nations. In 2019, low-SDI region, Central sub-Saharan Africa and Uganda had the highest ASIR, ASPR and ASDR. The global PAFs of intimate partner violence (IPV), childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and bullying victimization (BV) were 8.43%, 5.46% and 4.86% in 2019, respectively.

Over the past 30 years, the global ASIR, ASPR and ASDR of MDD had decreased trends, while the burden of MDD was still serious, and multiple disparities in MDD burden remarkably existed. Women, elderly and populations living during 2000–2004 and in low-SDI regions, had more severe burden of MDD. Children were more susceptible to MDD. Up to 18.75% of global MDD burden would be eliminated through early preventing against IPV, CSA and BV. Tailored strategies-and-measures in different regions and demographic groups based on findings in this studywould be urgently needed to eliminate the impacts of modifiable risk factors on MDD, and then mitigate the burden of MDD.

Despite high levels of psychological distress, mental health service use among Syrian refugees in urban settings is low. To address the mental healthcare gap, the World Health Organization developed group problem management plus (gPM+), a scalable psychological intervention delivered by non-specialist peer facilitators. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of gPM+ in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety among Syrian refugees in Istanbul, Türkiye.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted among 368 distressed (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, K10 > 15) adult Syrian refugees with impaired functioning (World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule, WHODAS 2.0 > 16). Participants were recruited between August 2019 and September 2020 through a non-governmental organization providing services to refugees. Participants were randomly allocated to gPM+ and enhanced care as usual (gPM+/E-CAU) (184 participants) or E-CAU only (184 participants). Primary outcomes were symptoms of depression and anxiety (Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-25)) at 3-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes were post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (PTSD Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5; PCL-5), functional impairment (WHODAS 2.0), and self-identified problems (psychological outcome profiles).

Intent-to-treat analyses showed no significant effect of gPM+ on symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD and self-identified problems. Yet, there was a significant reduction in functional impairment in gPM+/E-CAU compared to E-CAU at 3-month follow-up (adjusted mean difference 1.66, 95 % CI 0.04, 3.27, p = 0.045, d = 0.19). Post-hoc subgroup analyses among participants with probable baseline depression or anxiety showed that there was a small but significant reduction in depression (adjusted mean difference −0.17, 95 % CI −0.32, −0.02, p = 0.028, d = 0.27) and anxiety (adjusted mean difference −0.21, 95 % CI −0.37, −0.05, p = 0.009, d = 0.30) symptoms comparing gPM+/E-CAU to E-CAU only at 1-week post assessment, but not at 3-month follow-up. There was a significant difference between conditions on functional impairment at 3-month follow-up, favouring gPM+/E-CAU condition (adjusted mean difference −1.98, 95 % CI −3.93, −0.02, p = 0.048, d = 0.26).

In this study in an urban setting in Türkiye, gPM+ did not alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety among Syrian refugees experiencing psychological distress and daily living difficulties. However, participants with higher distress at baseline seemed to benefit from gPM+, but treatment gains disappeared in the long term. Current findings highlight the potential benefit of tailored psychosocial interventions for highly distressed refugees in volatile low-resource settings.

Population-based research on mental disorders needs to keep pace with trends in general epidemiology. At present, this requirement is complicated by uncertainty within the parent discipline about its future development. The present study examines proposals for new directions in strategy and methods and considers their significance for psychiatric epidemiology.

Narrative review, cross-checked by search of English-language journals of epidemiology for new trends and developments reported in the years from 2000 onwards.

The proposals reviewed here are divided into three groups:

1. 1. A new research paradigm of ‘eco-epidemiology’, which includes both individual risk factors and macro-environmental systems that mediate population levels of health and sickness.

2. 2. Improved ‘translation’ of research findings – i.e. more rapid and effective implementation of epidemiological evidence into health policy and practice.

3. 3. Adaptation of epidemiology to a globalised economy, with firmer regulation of funding and resources.

Each of these proposals has implications for psychiatric epidemiology. Workers in this field, however, are still preoccupied by relatively specific problems of definition, measurement and classification, and so far the current debates in general epidemiology are scarcely reflected. The proposals outlined above call for:

• • a working model of eco-epidemiology as it relates to psychiatric disorders;

• • implementation strategies to encourage more active participation in epidemiological research by community health services and caregiver organisations;

• • international collaborative projects that offer practical benefits in training and service facilities for the countries taking part.