Depression has become one of the major global public health burdens. In recent years, lipid metabolic abnormalities have garnered increasing attention as potential influencing factors. Among these, the ratio of non-high-density lipoprotein to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (NHHR) is regarded as an integrated indicator for assessing atherosclerosis risk. Obesity, as a hallmark of metabolic dysregulation, has a complex interplay with depression. This study aimed to investigate the association between NHHR and depression among obese adults and to evaluate the mediating role of body mass index (BMI) in this relationship.

This study utilized data from the 2013-2023 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), ultimately including 13,991 adult participants with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m². NHHR was analyzed both as a continuous variable and by quartiles, while depression was assessed using the PHQ-9 scale. The primary analyses were conducted without weighting to explore within-sample associations, with core analyses including nonlinear fitting and mediation analysis. To assess the robustness of the findings, sensitivity analyses incorporated NHANES sampling weights and complex survey design, applied multiple imputation for missing covariates, and performed stratified analyses to evaluate the generalizability of the results to the representative population.

After multivariable adjustment, NHHR showed a significant nonlinear positive association with depression risk. Threshold effect analysis identified NHHR = 2.95 as the inflection point. To the left of this threshold, higher NHHR was significantly associated with increased depression risk (OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.06-1.09), whereas the association changed beyond this point. Mediation analysis indicated that 15.81% of the total effect of NHHR on depression was mediated indirectly through BMI (β = 0.0013, 95% CI: 0.0008-0.0018). However, given the cross-sectional design, reverse causality cannot be ruled out. Sensitivity analyses further demonstrated that the association was more pronounced among individuals without diabetes, those with prediabetes, and ever-smoker, with evidence of interaction effects (P for interaction < 0.05). Notably, the core findings were consistent in direction and overall trend with the unweighted analyses, further supporting the robustness of our results, although the effect sizes were not identical.

Among obese adults, higher NHHR levels are significantly associated with an increased risk of depression, with BMI partially mediating this relationship and diabetes status and smoking history serving as moderators. These findings suggest that NHHR may provide valuable insight for early intervention in mental health disorders among obese populations.

The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis's response to stress, with cortisol as a key hormone, has an important impact on cognitive function. Specifically, the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR), an index of HPA axis functioning, has been linked to declarative memory performance. Autobiographical Memory (AM), a specific form of declarative memory, becomes especially relevant in aging due to its relationship with identity, emotional regulation, and cognitive functioning. However, engaging with the autobiographical past can become maladaptive when it is dominated by negative, self-critical reflections, a pattern referred to as negative reminiscence. This study aimed to examine whether the CAR and negative reminiscence independently predict the specificity of personal memories in healthy older adults, and whether their interaction further explains variability in AM specificity. A sample of 150 healthy older adults (aged 56-81) provided eight saliva samples over two consecutive days to assess the CAR, and they completed standardized measures of AM and reminiscence. Our results showed no significant direct associations between the CAR or negative reminiscence and AM specificity. However, moderation analyses revealed that the CAR significantly predicted a greater tendency to retrieve overgeneral memories, that is, less specific autobiographical memories, but only among individuals with higher negative reminiscence. These results suggest that the way individuals relate to their past plays a key role in the impact of physiological stress on autobiographical recall. The findings underscore the importance of considering both biological and emotional factors to better understand AM in aging.

Effective restoration of mental health in psychiatric disorders increasingly hinges on bridging neurobiological insights with clinically validated pharmacotherapies. The etiological heterogeneity of anxiety and depression underscores the need for novel compounds capable of modulating multiple neurochemical systems. In this study, we describe the synthesis and detailed characterization of a hydroxyl phenethyl acetamide analog (LQFM334) designed to target key receptors involved in mood regulation. LQFM334 exhibited a favorable safety profile and elicited robust anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects in mouse models. These behavioral outcomes were supported by in silico receptor profiling and in vitro functional assays, identifying LQFM334 as a potential agonist at serotonergic (5-HT_1A/5-HT_2A) and melatonergic (MT₁/MT₂) receptors. Pharmacological blockades of these receptors, but not of α-adrenergic or dopaminergic receptors, attenuated its behavioral effects. These findings position LQFM334 as a promising multireceptor ligand exemplifying a polypharmacology approach for the treatment of complex psychiatric conditions. The dual serotonergic and melatonergic mechanisms confer strong translational relevance involving the modulation of mood, stress resilience, and circadian rhythms domains that are frequently disrupted in affective disorders. These findings support LQFM334's potential in delivering broad-spectrum and clinically relevant psychiatric symptom relief.

The Common-Sense Model of Illness Self-Regulation (CSM) provides a theoretical framework for understanding how individuals make sense of health conditions and regulate their emotional responses through coping strategies. This study aimed to apply the CSM to parents of children with anorectal malformations (ARMs), exploring whether illness representation (threat and control perceptions) is associated with depressive symptoms directly and indirectly through coping strategies.

A total of 106 caregivers (Mage = 48.07) of individuals diagnosed with ARMs completed a self-report questionnaire including the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, the Brief-COPE Inventory, the Brief-Coping Health Inventory for Parents, and the Depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Path analysis was conducted to evaluate direct and indirect associations between illness representation, coping strategies (negative and positive), and depressive symptoms.

The model showed excellent fit to the data. Illness representation as threat was significantly and positively associated with depressive symptoms, while illness representation as control was not directly related to depressive symptoms. Threat representation predicted greater use of negative coping, which in turn was associated with higher depressive symptoms. Conversely, higher illness control was related to greater use of positive coping strategies, which predicted lower depressive symptoms. The model accounted for 36% of the variance in depressive symptoms.

These findings underscore the importance of targeting illness representation and coping strategies in interventions for parents of children with ARM. Psychological support and psychoeducation aimed at reframing threat-focused representation and reinforcing positive coping may help mitigate depressive symptoms in this caregiving context.

Cardiac regulation is a complex process involving interplay between neuroautonomic and neuroendocrine systems. Occupations frequently exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs; e.g., fire or explosion, natural disaster, sexual assault), such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), report elevated Posttraumatic Stress Injuries (PTSIs; e.g., Posttraumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD], Major Depressive Disorder [MDD], Generalized Anxiety Disorder [GAD], Social Anxiety Disorder [SAD], Alcohol Use Disorder [AUD]). Neurohormonal pathway dysfunction is associated with mental health disorder symptoms, but meaningful evaluations remain methodologically challenging, especially in high-stress occupations (e.g., police). The current study tested for associations among cardiac function and mental health disorder symptoms. Participants included RCMP cadets (n = 81; 28.4 % women) who completed self-report symptom measures at pre-training and pre-deployment of PTSD, MDD, GAD, SAD, and AUD. To test for longitudinal associations between cardiac function and mental health disorder symptoms, a series of paired-samples t-tests and bootstrapped partial correlations controlling for age and sex were conducted. The current study evidenced positive associations between changes in the myocardial performance index, the diastolic performance index, and isovolumic relaxation time comparable in magnitude to changes in MDD, GAD, and SAD symptoms (but not AUD symptoms), as well as between IVRT and PTSD symptoms, and rapid ejection time and GAD symptoms. The associations provide rationale for integrating cardiac rehabilitation exercise guidelines into occupational fitness programs as a method to mitigate the cumulative impact of occupational stressors.

Emotion regulation (ER) in parenting is crucial for parental well-being and children's mental health. However, ER in parenting is often studied as a general construct, overlooking the unique challenges of caregiving, particularly for sexual and gender minority (SGM) parents. This study examines the psychometric properties of the Regulating Emotions in Parenting Scale (REPS) in parents across SGM status. Specifically, we leverage cross-sectional survey data from two national samples of ethno-racially diverse parents (n = 1,958, 32.3% sexual minority, 11.2% gender minority) to evaluate measurement invariance, reliability, and predictive validity of the REPS. Model fit indices suggest that the REPS has a consistent structure, item loadings, and intercepts across groups. In terms of validity, results indicate that adaptive strategies predicted lower child psychopathology, while suppression and rumination were more strongly associated with emotional and behavioral issues. Importantly, parent SGM status did not significantly moderate the associations between REPS and child psychopathology, suggesting that these associations are consistent across diverse family structures. By validating the REPS as a robust tool for assessing parenting-specific ER across diverse parent populations, this work addresses critical gaps in parenting research and promotes more inclusive and equitable approaches to understanding parenting and child development.

The prevalence of adolescent depressive symptoms has been rising, and maternal depression is a key predictor. This review synthesizes evidence on mechanisms of influence and on intervention research. The intergenerational transmission of risk from maternal depression appears more pronounced than that associated with paternal depression. At the biological level, genetic susceptibility and neurodevelopmental alterations underpin intergenerational transmission; at the social level, negative parenting practices and stressful family environments create a vicious cycle; at the psychological level, deficits in emotion regulation and insecure attachment amplify vulnerability to depression. Family-based interventions, including cognitive-behavioral therapy and family systems therapy, can mitigate intergenerational transmission. However, more longitudinal research is needed, and future work may integrate digital technologies to develop structured intervention protocols.

To analyze the prevalence and interrelationship of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and birth-related post-traumatic stress disorder.

Data from a cohort of postpartum women from the Nascer no Brasil II study, representative of births that occurred in the state of Rio de Janeiro between 2021 and 2023, were analyzed. Participants were interviewed face-to-face in the immediate postpartum period and again by telephone two months after birth. Women who responded to all questions on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7, and City Birth Trauma Scale were included, whereas pregnancies that ended in miscarriage or stillbirth were excluded, resulting in a total of 1,752 postpartum women. To test the homogeneity of proportions, the chi-square test (χ²) was used, with p-values below 5% considered statistically significant. The analysis of the interrelationships among the three symptoms was conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM), employing the weighted least squares mean and variance adjusted (WLSMV) estimator and theta parameterization.

The prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and birth-related post-traumatic stress disorder was 17.9, 16.3, and 7.7%, respectively. A positive score on at least one of the scales was found in 24.6% of participants, and the simultaneous occurrence of two or three comorbidities was 12% and 3.7%, respectively. Low educational attainment and a history of mental disorders were significantly more prevalent in all three conditions analyzed. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed a significant and positive association among the three scales, and all latent variables in the model showed items with factor loadings greater than 0.5.

The postpartum period is critical for the diagnosis of mental disorders and may involve complex conditions in which symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress overlap. It is important that healthcare professionals be aware of the occurrence and co-occurrence of these disorders, as well as their potential consequences for the health of both the woman and the newborn.

Insulin resistance (IR) is linked to several metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), metabolic syndrome, and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFD). The factors that contribute to IR in rural African populations remain largely unknown. Understanding the determinants of IR will contribute to the management of several non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

A cross-sectional study was conducted in two rural districts in northern Ghana involving male and female participants, aged 40 to 60 years, who were recruited into the study between the years 2015 and 2016. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, anthropometric, ultrasound, blood lipid profile, blood glucose and insulin, urine creatinine and urine protein data were collected. Insulin resistance was determined using the Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) formula. Multivariable linear regression analyses were performed between log-transformed IR and several variables. All association analyses were considered significant at p < 0.05.

The median (log-transformed) IR among women (0.54) was significantly higher than that among men (0.43) (p < 0.001). The prevalence of IR was 7.6% in the study population with more women having IR (9.9%) than men (4.5%) (p = 0.007). Drivers of IR among women were unmarried status (β = 1.19, p = 0.037), smoking (β = 8.33, P = 0.001) and triglyceride (TG) (β = 2.09, p = 0.016) while that among men were body mass index (BMI) (β = 0.47, p = 0.013), right carotid intima median thickness (CIMT_right) (β = 5.08, p = 0.033), visceral adipose tissue (VAT) (β = 0.59, p = 0.031) and TG (β = 5.58, p < 0.001). Among the total population, vendor meal consumption (β = 0.41, p = 0.001), CIMT_right (β = 3.54, p = 0.028), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (β = 1.08, p = 0.012), and TG (β = 2.87, p < 0.001) were linked to IR.

Lifestyle, adiposity, CIMT_right and lipid markers contribute to driving IR levels and that these factors are gender-specific in this northern rural Ghanaian population.