Abstract Background Seasonal patterns have been observed in several psychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, but there is no consensus on the seasonality of alcohol use disorders. Objectives We thus retrospectively analyzed a large-scale database to explore whether seasonality affects hospitalization for alcohol use disorders. Method In this study, a total of 14,357 inpatients with alcohol use disorders were recruited over a 7- year time span, and after applying rigorous data criteria, 2,176 inpatients were ultimately included in the statistical analysis. Results Patients with alcohol use disorders admitted in various seasons had significant differences in length of stay (H=13.592, df=3, P=0.004), and corrected Bonferroni post hoc tests suggested that patients admitted in spring had a shorter length of stay than in the other three seasons (P=0.009, P=0.013, P=0.048 for summer, autumn and winter, respectively). In addition, seasonality may have influenced the relapse of the disease. We found that disease recurrence was unevenly distributed across various seasons (X2=10.486, df=3, P=0.015), with corrected Bonferroni post hoc tests suggested a higher proportion of recurrent admissions in summer(P<0.05). We then performed a Binary logistic regression, and the effect of seasonality on disease recurrence remained significant after controlling for gender, occupation, and marital status. Taking winter as a reference, the risk of relapse was higher in spring and summer (OR=1.284, 95CI%=1.00-1.65, P=0.048; OR=1.393, 95CI%=1.08-1.80, P=0.011, respectively). Conclusion This is the first large sample size study to explore the seasonality of hospitalization for alcohol use disorders in a Chinese population. Our study found that patients with alcohol use disorders admitted in the spring had shorter hospital stays, but also had more relapses in the spring and summer. These findings will contribute to the exploration of risk factors for alcohol use disorders as well as provide preliminary evidence for clinical development of prevention strategies.
There is a lack of rigorous experimental evidence to verify the effects of bubble tea on body weight and mental health, especially whether it is an addictive thing.Male adult C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to two groups, including the bubble-tea and the control group. The change in their body weight was calculated. Behavior tests include novel object recognition test (NORT), elevated plus maze test (EPMT), forced swim test (FST), tail suspension test (TST), conditioned place preference (CPP).There was a significant time effect on weight change of the two groups (F = 36.83, P < 0.01). The bubble tea-treated mice spent significantly less time in the open arms, indicating an increase in anxiety (t = 2.39, P = 0.03). In FST, bubble tea treatment produced a significantly increased immobility time (186.58 ± 29.67 s) as compared to pure water treated group (112.50 ± 46.67 s) (t = -3.79, P < 0.01). Similarly, the immobility time in the TST was also significantly increased by bubble tea treatment (437.63 ± 27.72 s) compared to the treatment with pure water (340.24 ± 77.22 s) (t = -3.36, P < 0.01). We investigated the rewarding effects of bubble tea, using the CPP paradigm, which measures the rewarding properties of abused drugs. Independent-samples t-test revealed no significant difference between the two groups (t = -0.47, P = 0.65).In conclusion, we showed that long-term administration of bubble tea could not induce addictive behavior in mice. Meanwhile, the long-term effects of bubble tea on weight were also very limited. However, long-term consumption of bubble tea can lead to anxiety and depression-like behaviors and impair cognitive function in mice.
Abstract Background Age of onset(AOO) influences the prognosis of many diseases and even serves as potential driver. But in Alcohol Use Disorders(AUD), there is no consensus regarding the effect of AOO on the course. Objectives We thus retrospectively investigated a large-scale cohort to explore the effect of AOO on the course of AUD. Method In this study, a total of 14,357 inpatients with alcohol use disorders were recruited over a 7- year time span, and after applying rigorous data criteria, 2,176 inpatients were ultimately included in the statistical analysis. Patients were divided into three age subgroups according to their age of onset, which were early adult onset(EAO), middle adult onset(MAO) and late adult onset(LAO). Results The proportion of recurrence was statistically different in the subgroups with different age of onset (X2=9.819, df=3, P=0.007), the Bonferroni post hoc test suggested a higher proportion of recurrence in the EAO than that in the MAO subgroup (66.1% vs 59.5%, P<0.05). We then performed a Binary logistic regression. Taking patients in the EAO subgroup as a reference, patients with MAO had a lower risk of recurrence (OR=0.75, 95%CI=0.63-0.90, P=0.002), however, the risk of recurrence in the LAO subgroup was not statistically different from the EAO (OR=0.78, 95%CI=0.54-1.11, P=0.17). Subsequently, a survival analysis for recurrence within one year was performed. There were statistically differences in Kaplan-Meier method estimates of the probability of disease-free survival (DFS) at day 365 between the three age of onset subgroups (33.9%, 40.5%, 39.7%, respectively; P=0.03). Specifically, post hoc tests suggested that DFS was lower in the EAO subgroup than in the other two groups (median DFS=197, 95%CI=172.10-221.90, P=0.012). Finally, we follow-up all patients for 5 years for cerebral atrophy onset, and the results suggest that the incidence of cerebral atrophy during the follow-up period was lower in the EAO subgroup than that in the other two subgroups (OR=1.42, 95%CI=1.19-1.70, P<0.001; OR=1.62, 95%CI=1.14-2.31, P=0.007, respectively), but this difference was no longer statistically significant after controlling for the age factor (both P>0.05). Conclusion This is the first large sample size study to explore the influence of age of onset on alcohol use disorders in a Chinese population. Our study found that alcohol use disorders with onset in early adult are associated with more recurrences. These findings will help explore risk factors for alcohol use disorders and provide preliminary evidence for clinical development of prevention strategies.
Purpose: Masks are designed to reduce the spread of airborne pathogens, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), although wearing a mask has some adverse effects. The primary objective of this study was to explore the effects of surgical masks and N95 respirators on patients diagnosed with anxiety. Methods: Subjects diagnosed with first-episode anxiety disorders were recruited from outpatient departments between February and July, 2023. A self-administered questionnaire was administered at baseline and at follow-up. The questionnaire addressed demographic information, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Subjects were divided into three groups (n=30 each): control (no mask); surgical mask; and N95 respirator. The Kruskal–Wallis test and repeated measures analysis of variance were used to examine associations between face mask use and emotion. Results: Ninety subjects completed the study, of whom 51 (56.67%) were male and 39 (43.33%) were female. Time and group effects were observed in HAM-A score among the 3 groups. After 4 weeks, mean (± SD) HAM-A score decreased from 32.63± 13.37 to 28.07± 9.33 in the control group, increased from 33.67± 12.47 to 36.80± 10.32 in the surgical mask group, and from 32.33± 14.73 to 41.13± 8.29 in the N95 respirator group, with no sex differences among the 3 groups. HAM-A score was significantly higher in the mask groups than that in the control group at follow-up. Only N95 respirator group exhibited significant time effects on HAM-D and ISI scores, with a decreasing trend in HAM-D score and an opposite trend in ISI score. Conclusion: Prolonged mask use may exacerbate anxiety, especially among those wearing N95 respirator masks. In a post-pandemic environment, governments should improve public health beliefs regarding coronavirus disease 2019 and promote the safety of face mask use, thus reducing the physiological and psychological effects of improper mask use. Keywords: anxiety, COVID-19, health beliefs, mask, N95
'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(23.036 .093 25.536)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(45.87 1.273 16.18)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(69.945 .996 12.078)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(20.66 -19.689 31.932)'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)