Chinese university students showed less disordered eating during the COVID-19 campus lockdown.

OBJECTIVE: The rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in China had resulted in campus lockdown in many universities since February 2022, profoundly affecting students' daily lives. Campus lockdown conditions differ considerably from home quarantine, so that the eating patterns of university students may be different. Thus, the current study aimed to: (1) investigate university students' eating patterns during campus lockdown; (2) identify factors associated with their disordered eating. METHOD: An online survey about recent life changes, disordered eating, stress, depression, and anxiety was carried out from April 8th to May 16th, 2022. A total of 2541 responses from 29 provinces/cities of China were received. RESULTS: 2213 participants were included in the main analysis, and other 86 participants were analyzed separately as a subgroup due to their diagnosis of eating disorder. Participants who were undergoing campus lockdown (the lockdown group) showed less disordered eating than those who had never been in campus lockdown (the never-lockdown group), as well as those who had experienced campus lockdown before (the once-lockdown group). However, they perceived more stress and felt more depressed. Being female, higher BMI, gaining weight, increasing exercise, spending more time on social media, higher level of depression and anxiety were all related to disordered eating in the lockdown group. CONCLUSIONS: Disordered eating among Chinese university students was less prevalent during campus lockdown due to the strict and regular diet. However, there is a potential risk of "revenge eating" after campus lockdown ends. Thus, there should be further tracking and related prevention. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV, uncontrolled trials without any interventions.

The dynamic changes of psychosomatic symptoms in three waves of COVID-19 outbreak and fatigue caused by enduring pandemic in China.

BACKGROUND: Two years have passed since the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first reported. The persistent pandemic might lead to severe psychosomatic problems and fatigue. In addition, the recent rapid rising COVID-19 cases in China have become a trending issue. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the dynamic changes in psychosomatic problems at the initial and current stages of the pandemic. METHODS: Three waves of cross-sectional online survey were conducted during the initial COVID outbreak in China. The psychosomatic symptom scale (PSSS), perceived stress scale (PSS), and pandemic fatigue scale (PFS) were used to assess the psychosomatic problems, stress, and fatigue. RESULTS: 4317, 1096, and 2172 participants completed the first, second, and third surveys. The prevalence of psychosomatic disorder was 22 %, 28 %, and 39 %, respectively. The network structure of PSSS symptoms has not significantly changed as the pandemic progresses. However, the global strength of the PSSS networks, indicating the overall connectivity, in the third wave was significantly higher than in the first wave (s = 0.54, P = 0.007). The most central symptoms in the first and third wave networks were depressed mood and tiredness. The PFS score was higher in the people concerned with indirect impact than those concerned with health (P < 0.001). PFS has positive relationships with PSSS and PSS score (R = 0.41, P < 0.001 and R = 0.35, P < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The persistence of the pandemic caused critical psychosomatic issues, stress, and indirect burden over time, leading to inevitable fatigue. People endured needing immediate attention to prevent or reduce psychosomatic disorders.

The Moderating Role of Family Resilience on the Relationship between COVID-19-Related Psychological Distress and Mental Health among Caregivers of Individuals with Eating Disorders in Post-Pandemic China.

COVID-19 has amplified long-standing emotional distress for vulnerable families. While abundant research highlights the importance of resilience under adverse circumstances, little has been undertaken to understand its effectiveness in helping caregivers of individuals with eating disorders (ED) navigate pandemic-related challenges. This paper presents findings of a cross-sectional study investigating the effects of COVID-19-related life disruptions (COLD) and COVID-19-related psychological distress (CORPD) on caregivers' depression, anxiety and stress, as well as the moderation role of individual resilience (IR) and family resilience (FR) during the post-pandemic period in China. A total of 201 caregivers of individuals experiencing ED participated in our online survey from May 2022 to June 2022. The association between pandemic-related stressors (i.e., COLD and CORPD) and mental health conditions were confirmed. FR moderated the relationship between CORPD and mental health outcomes, while IR independently contributed to low emotional distress. We call for intervention programs strengthening caregivers' FR and IR, which might benefit both patients and caregivers' well-being in the post-pandemic period.

Implementing the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Strategic Vision in the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences-2022 Update.

Spurred by the 2016 release of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Strategic Vision, the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences developed its Strategic Vision Implementation Plan-a blueprint for reigniting the decline in cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality rates, improving health equity, and accelerating translation of scientific discoveries into better cardiovascular health (CVH). The 6 scientific focus areas of the Strategic Vision Implementation Plan reflect the multifactorial nature of CVD and include (1) addressing social determinants of CVH and health inequities, (2) enhancing resilience, (3) promoting CVH and preventing CVD across the lifespan, (4) eliminating hypertension-related CVD, (5) reducing the burden of heart failure, and (6) preventing vascular dementia. This article presents an update of strategic vision implementation activities within Division of Cardiovascular Sciences. Overarching and cross-cutting themes include training the scientific workforce and engaging the extramural scientific community to stimulate transformative research in cardiovascular sciences. In partnership with other NIH Institutes, Federal agencies, industry, and the extramural research community, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences strategic vision implementation has stimulated development of numerous workshops and research funding opportunities. Strategic Vision Implementation Plan activities highlight innovative intervention modalities, interdisciplinary systems approaches to CVD reduction, a life course framework for CVH promotion and CVD prevention, and multi-pronged research strategies for combatting COVID-19. As new knowledge, technologies, and areas of scientific research emerge, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences will continue its thoughtful approach to strategic vision implementation, remaining poised to seize emerging opportunities and catalyze breakthroughs in cardiovascular sciences.

Mental health status of students' parents during COVID-19 pandemic and its influence factors.

BACKGROUND: During the outbreak of COVID-19, the national policy of home quarantine may affect the mental health of parents. However, few studies have investigated the mental health of parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. AIMS: To investigate the depression, anxiety and stress of the students' parents during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to explore the influence factors, especially the influence of social support and family-related factors. METHODS: The Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Perceived Stress Scale-10 and Social Support Rating Scale were applied to 1163 parents to measure the parents' depression, anxiety, stress and social support. RESULTS: (1) The detection rates of depression and anxiety in parents were 6.1% and 4.0%. The depression, anxiety and perceived stress of parents in central China were significantly higher than those in non-central China. The anxiety of college students' parents was lower than that of parents of the primary, middle and high school students. The depression, anxiety and perceived stress of parents with conflicts in the family were significantly higher than those with a harmonious family. Other factors that influence parents' depression, anxiety and perceived stress include marital satisfaction, social support, parents' history of mental illness and parenting style, etc. (2) The regression analysis results showed that perceived stress, social support, marital satisfaction, family conflicts, child's learning stage as well as parents' history of mental illness had significant effects on parents' anxiety and depression. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health of parents was affected by a variety of factors. Good marital relationships, good social support, family harmony and parents without a history of mental illness may be protective factors for parents' mental health, while perceived stress and child in middle or high school are risk factors for parents' mental health.

COVID Isolation Eating Scale (CIES): Analysis of the impact of confinement in eating disorders and obesity-A collaborative international study.

Confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a serious and complex impact on the mental health of patients with an eating disorder (ED) and of patients with obesity. The present manuscript has the following aims: (1) to analyse the psychometric properties of the COVID Isolation Eating Scale (CIES), (2) to explore changes that occurred due to confinement in eating symptomatology; and (3) to explore the general acceptation of the use of telemedicine during confinement. The sample comprised 121 participants (87 ED patients and 34 patients with obesity) recruited from six different centres. Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) tested the rational-theoretical structure of the CIES. Adequate goodness-of-fit was obtained for the confirmatory factor analysis, and Cronbach alpha values ranged from good to excellent. Regarding the effects of confinement, positive and negative impacts of the confinement depends of the eating disorder subtype. Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and with obesity endorsed a positive response to treatment during confinement, no significant changes were found in bulimia nervosa (BN) patients, whereas Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) patients endorsed an increase in eating symptomatology and in psychopathology. Furthermore, AN patients expressed the greatest dissatisfaction and accommodation difficulty with remote therapy when compared with the previously provided face-to-face therapy. The present study provides empirical evidence on the psychometric robustness of the CIES tool and shows that a negative confinement impact was associated with ED subtype, whereas OSFED patients showed the highest impairment in eating symptomatology and in psychopathology.

Effectiveness and influencing factors of online education for caregivers of patients with eating disorders during COVID-19 pandemic in China.

OBJECTIVE: The goals were twofold: To estimate the depression and anxiety levels among caregivers of patients with eating disorders (ED) in China during the COVID-19 pandemic when compared with a control group, and to assess whether an online education program was effective in decreasing the anxiety and depression of the caregivers of patients with ED, and associated factors. METHOD: Caregivers of patients with ED (n = 254) and a comparison group of non-ED caregivers (N = 254) were recruited at baseline. Additionally, caregivers of patients with ED were invited into a free 4-week online education program, with an additional online group as support. Depression and anxiety levels were assessed at baseline and after the intervention. RESULTS: Caregivers of patients with ED showed significantly higher levels of depression and anxiety than the comparison group of non-ED caregivers. The online education program showed no significant effect on decreasing depression and anxiety levels of caregivers of patients with ED overall. Caregivers who had older loved ones and not living with them were more likely to decrease their depression levels. Caregivers of patients with longer illness duration were less likely to decrease their anxiety levels. DISCUSSION: These results showed that caregivers of ED patients suffered more serious psychological distress during the pandemic. A more structured and intensive online intervention with a limited number of participants might be required to address caregivers' distress in post-COVID-19 China.