Examination of the COVID-19 Pandemic's Impact on Mental Health From Three Perspectives: Global, Social, and Individual.

The extent of the deleterious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health is recognized ubiquitously. However, these effects are subject to many modulatory factors from a plethora of domains of examination. It is important to understand the intersection of societal and individual levels for global stressors compared with local phenomena and physical-health outcomes.

Influences of the Immune System and Microbiome on the Etiology of ASD and GI Symptomology of Autistic Individuals.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental condition associated with impairments in communication and social interactions, and repetitive and restricted behavior or interests. Autistic individuals are more likely to experience gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms than neurotypical individuals. This may be partially due to dysbiosis of the gut microbiome.

Sex Differences in the Gut-Brain Axis: Implications for Mental Health.

Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this article is to highlight how sex differences in the gut-brain axis may contribute to the discrepancies in incidence of neurodevelopmental, psychiatric, and neurodegenerative disorders between females and males. We focus on autism spectrum disorder, psychotic disorders, stress and anxiety disorders, depression, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease and additionally discuss the comorbidity between inflammatory bowel disorder and mental health disorders.

Recent Findings: Human and animal studies show that sex may modify the relationship between the gut or immune system and brain and behavior.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Children with a Developmental Disability and Co-occurring Medical Conditions.

Objective: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate differences in the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) usage among children with and without developmental disabilities (DD). Secondarily, the association between CAM usage and comorbid chronic medical conditions was explored among children with DD.

Design: Data come from the 2012 Child Complementary and Alternative Medicine Supplement of the National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative sample of children in the United States between the ages of 4 and 17 (n = 10,218).