Home quarantine during COVID-19 blunted childhood trauma-related psychiatric symptoms in Chinese college students.

Background: Childhood trauma confers risks to mental health. However, little is known about whether home quarantine (HQ) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic exaggerated or mitigated the effect of childhood trauma on mental health. Objective: To examine the modulating effects of prior childhood traumas on the longitudinal changes of psychiatric symptoms in college students before and after HQ during the pandemic. Methods: This was a two-wave longitudinal study on the mental health of 2,887 college students before and after HQ during the COVID-19 pandemic. The relationships between the changes in the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), 16-item Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-16), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) scores were analyzed. Results: The students with childhood trauma showed a significantly greater decrement in psychiatric symptoms after HQ (F = 17.21, 14.11, 18.87, and 17.42 for PHQ-9, PQ-16 objective and distress, and SCL-90, respectively). The correlation coefficients between the CTQ and these symptoms scales were significant at baseline (r = 0.42, 0.34, 0.37, and 0.39), and decreased after HQ (r = 0.17, 0.20, 0.18, and 0.19). The decrement of depressive, psychotic, and overall symptoms was positively correlated with the scores of the CTQ (r = 0.08-0.27) but negatively correlated with SSRS (r = -0.08--0.14). Multilinear regression analysis confirmed the results of the CTQ and SSRS regarding the modulation of the dynamic changes in psychiatric symptoms. A constructed structural equation model indicated that the total effects of childhood trauma on decreased psychiatric symptoms were partly mediated by lower baseline social support. Conclusion: Home quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic could blunt the adverse effects of childhood trauma on mental health, especially for prodromal psychotic symptoms in college students. Changes in relative deprivation and social support may be mediating factors.

Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among frontline healthcare workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: As some countries announced to remove Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) border, it indicates that the COVID-19 may have entered its terminal stage. In this COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health of frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) experienced unprecedented challenges. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among frontline HCWs lacks a high-quality and long-term systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis according to PRISMA guidelines. The system searches EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, ScienceNet, and ERIC. Analyze the mental health problems of frontline HCWs in different regions and periods, including insomnia, stress, anxiety and depression. This study was registered in PROSPERO under the number CRD42021253821. Results: A total of 19 studies on the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among frontline HCWs were included in this study. The overall prevalence of insomnia was 42.9% (95% CI, 33.9-51.9%, I 2 = 99.0%) extracted from data from 14 cross-sectional studies (n = 10 127), 1 cohort study (n = 4,804), and 1 randomized controlled trial (RCT; n = 482) in 10 countries. The overall prevalence of stress was 53.0% (95% CI, 41.1-64.9%, I 2 = 78.3%) extracted from data from nine cross-sectional studies (n = 5,494) and 1 RCT study (n = 482) from eight countries. The overall prevalence of anxiety and depression was 43.0% (95% CI, 33.8-52.3%, I 2 = 99.0%) and 44.6% (95% CI, 36.1-53.1%, I 2 = 99.0%) extracted from data from 17 cross-sectional studies (n = 11,727), one cohort study (n = 4,804), and one RCT study (n = 482) from 12 countries. The prevalence of stress and depression was higher in 2020, while the prevalence of insomnia and anxiety was higher in 2021. The prevalence of mental health problems among physicians was higher than that of other frontline HCWs. The prevalence of mental health problems among frontline HCWs is higher in South America and lower in North America. Conclusions: This systematic review and meta-analysis showed that the COVID-19 pandemic have significant effects on mental health among frontline HCWs. The overall prevalence of insomnia, stress, anxiety and depression among frontline HCWs is high. Therefore, the health policy-makers should pay attention to and respond to the mental health problems of frontline HCWs in the context of public health emergencies. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/.

The Potential Impact of Childhood Traumatic Experiences on Coping Styles and Emotion Regulation of Nurse Practitioners During the COVID-19 Outbreak.

Background: During an epidemic of a novel infectious disease, frontline medical staff suffer from high psychological stress. Previous studies have found that traumatic childhood experiences are associated with mental and physical health in adulthood. Anxiety and depression were measured and analyzed in relation to childhood trauma and coping styles. This study aims to explore the correlational study between traumatic childhood experiences and coping styles among nurse practitioners. Method: This study sampled 278 nurse practitioners from hospitals designated for the treatment of the novel coronavirus in Sichuan Province. The study measures included the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form. This research intends to use correlational study methods to explore the relationship between the two factors. Results: Statistical analysis showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the general demographic data between the two groups. Conclusion: Childhood traumatic experiences have a significant impact on the active coping of nurse practitioners, and active coping may be emotionally protective for nurse practitioners.

The effect of prohibiting outside food during COVID-19 pandemic on the body weight of schizophrenic patients taking olanzapine or clozapine: a retrospective self-controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Olanzapine and clozapine are atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) with the greatest risk of weight gain, and changes in feeding behavior are among the most important underlying mechanisms. However, few studies have investigated the role of diet-alone interventions in improving individuals' weight gain by taking AAPs. In closed management mental hospitals of China, family members are allowed to bring food to patients regularly, causing patients to have caloric intake added to their 3 daily meals. However, during the global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing food to the hospital was temporarily prohibited in mental health institutions in China to prevent the spread of the virus. This study sought to compare the body weight and body mass index (BMI) changes of patients taking olanzapine or clozapine undergoing diet-alone interventions caused by this prohibition. METHODS: A retrospective self-controlled study was conducted on 90 patients with schizophrenia from a single-center treated with olanzapine or clozapine monotherapy, or combined with aripiprazole or ziprasidone which has a small metabolic impact. A paired-samples t-test was used to compare the changes in body weight and BMI before and after the 3-month prohibition, and general linear regression was used to analyze the effects of gender, age, disease course, duration of drug exposure, and equivalent dose on the BMI improvement. Also, the percentage of people who lost weight and that of individuals who lost 5% of their pre-prohibition body weight were calculated. RESULTS: Paired-samples t-test showed that after 3-month prohibition, the patients' body weight (71.68±6.83 vs. 66.91±7.03, P<0.001) and BMI (26.43±2.11 vs. 24.63±1.81, P<0.001) decreased significantly. Weight loss rate accounted for 99.1%, and weight loss of 5% from the pre-prohibition body weight accounted for 71.8%. General linear regression showed that the duration of drug exposure (ß =-0.678, P<0.001) was significantly and negatively correlated with the BMI changes. No significant correlation of gender, age, disease course, or equivalent dose with BMI changes was found. CONCLUSIONS: Diet-alone interventions facilitate weight loss in chronically hospitalized schizophrenia patients taking AAPs. Conduction of dietary intervention in the early stages of medication may yield greater benefits.

Bronchial Fistula: Rare Complication of Treatment with Anlotinib.

BACKGROUND: Anlotinib is a newly developed small molecule multiple receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitor that was approved for the treatment of patients with lung cancer in China. We aim to report 3 cases of rare complication of anlotinib-bronchial fistula (BF) during the treatment of lung cancer patients and summarize the possible causes. METHODS: We collected three patients who developed BF due to anlotinib treatment, and conducted a search of Medline and PubMed for medical literature published between 2018 and 2020 using the following search terms: "anlotinib," "lung cancer," and "fistula." RESULTS: Our literature search produced two case reports (three patients) which, in addition to our three patients. We collated the patients' clinical characteristics including demographic information, cancer type, imaging features, treatment received, risk factors for anlotinib related BF, and treatment-related outcomes. The six patients shared some common characteristics: advanced age, male, concurrent infection symptoms, diabetes mellitus (DM), advanced squamous cell and small cell lung cancers, centrally located tumors, tumor measuring ≥5 cm in longest diameter, and newly formed tumor cavitation after multi-line treatment especially after receiving radiotherapy. Fistula types included broncho-pericardial fistula, broncho-pleural fistula, and esophago-tracheobronchial fistula. Six patients all died within 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Although anlotinib is relatively safe, it is still necessary to pay attention to the occurrence of BF, a rare treatment side effect that threatens the quality of life and overall survival of patients. Anlotinib, therefore, requires selective use and close observation of high-risk patients.

Comparison of Clinical, Laboratory and Radiological Characteristics Between COVID-19 and Adenovirus Pneumonia: A Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND: The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global public health problem. It is important for clinical physicians to differentiate COVID-19 from other respiratory infectious diseases caused by viruses, such as human adenovirus. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective observational study. We analyzed and compared the clinical manifestations, laboratory findings and radiological features of two independent cohorts of patients diagnosed with either COVID-19 (n=36) or adenovirus pneumonia (n=18). RESULTS: COVID-19 did not show a preference in males or females, whereas 94.4% of patients with adenovirus pneumonia were males. Fever and cough were common in both COVID-19 and adenovirus pneumonia. But the median maximal body temperature of the adenovirus pneumonia cohort was significantly higher than in COVID-19 (P<0.001). Furthermore, 77.8% of patients with adenovirus pneumonia had a productive cough versus only 13.9% of COVID-19 patients (P<0.001). Compared with adenovirus pneumonia, constitutional symptoms were less common in COVID-19, including headache (16.7% vs 38.9%, P=0.072), sore throat (8.3% vs 27.8%, P=0.058), myalgia (8.3% vs 61.1%, P<0.001) and diarrhea (8.3% vs 44.4%, P=0.002). Furthermore, patients with COVID-19 were less likely to develop respiratory failure (8.3% vs 83.3%, P<0.001) and showed less prominent laboratory abnormalities, including lymphocytopenia (61.1% vs 88.9%, P=0.035), thrombocytopenia (2.8% vs 61.1%, P<0.001), elevated procalcitonin (2.8% vs 77.8%, P<0.001) and elevated C-reactive protein (36.1% vs 100%, P<0.001). Besides, a higher percentage of patients with adenovirus pneumonia showed elevated transaminase, myocardial enzymes, creatinine and D-dimer compared with COVID-19 patients. On chest CT, the COVID-19 cohort was characterized by peripherally distributed ground-glass opacity and patchy shadowing, while the adenovirus pneumonia cohort frequently presented with consolidation and pleural effusion. CONCLUSION: There were many differences between patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and those with adenovirus pneumonia in their clinical, laboratory and radiological characteristics. Compared with adenovirus pneumonia, COVID-19 patients tended to show a lower severity of illness.

Overexpression of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 is induced by cigarette smoke in bronchial and alveolar epithelia.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been identified as the functional receptor of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and a target for disease prevention. However, the relationship between ACE2 expression and its clinical implications in SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis remains unknown. Here, we explored the location and expression of ACE2, and its correlation with gender, age, and cigarette smoke (CS), in a CS-exposed mouse model and 224 non-malignant lung tissues (125 non-smokers, 81 current smokers, and 18 ex-smokers) by immunohistochemistry. Moreover, the correlations of ACE2 with CS-induced oxidative stress-related markers, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) were investigated. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter assays identified the cause of ACE2 overexpression in human primary lung epithelial cells. We demonstrated that ACE2 was predominantly overexpressed on the apical surface of bronchial epithelium, while reduced in alveolar epithelium, owing to the dramatically decreased abundance of alveolar type II pneumocytes in CS-exposed mouse lungs. Consistent with this, ACE2 was primarily significantly overexpressed in human bronchial and alveolar epithelial cells in smokers regardless of age or gender. Decreased ACE2 expression was observed in bronchial epithelial cells from ex-smokers compared with current smokers, especially in those who had ceased smoking for more than 10 years. Moreover, ACE2 expression was positively correlated with the levels of HIF-1α, iNOS, and 4-HNE in both mouse and human bronchioles. The results were further validated using a publicly available dataset from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and our previous integrated data from Affymetrix U133 Plus 2.0 microarray (AE-meta). Finally, our results showed that HIF-1α transcriptionally upregulates ACE2 expression. Our results indicate that smoking-induced ACE2 overexpression in the apical surface of bronchial epithelial cells provides a route by which SARS-CoV-2 enters host cells, which supports clinical relevance in attenuating the potential transmission risk of COVID-19 in smoking populations by smoking cessation. © 2020 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.