Comparative efficacy and acceptability of psychosocial interventions for PTSD, depression, and anxiety in asylum seekers, refugees, and other migrant populations: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled studies.

Background: Migrant populations are at increased risk of developing mental health problems. We aimed to compare the efficacy and acceptability of psychosocial interventions in this population.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA).

Psychotherapeutic treatments for depression in older adults.

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the benefits and harms of psychotherapeutic interventions in the treatment of older adults with depression and whether the effects of different types of psychotherapeutic treatments vary for older adults with depression.

Peripartum allopregnanolone blood concentrations and depressive symptoms: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis.

Neuroactive steroids including allopregnanolone are implicated in the pathophysiology of peripartum depressive symptoms (PDS). We performed a systematic review searching PubMed/Embase/PsychInfo/Cinhail through 08/2023 (updated in 07/2024), and conducted a random-effects meta-analysis of studies comparing allopregnanolone blood concentrations in women with versus without PDS at various timepoints during the 2 and 3 trimester and the postpartum period, calculating standardized mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Meta-regression and subgroup analyses included age, diagnoses of affective disorders before pregnancy, antidepressant treatment, analytical methods, and sample type.

Efficacy and acceptability of long-acting antipsychotics in acutely ill individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

To assess the effect of Long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics in acutely ill patients, we systematically searched major databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing LAIs with other LAIs, oral antipsychotics, or placebo in acutely symptomatic adults with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Data were analyzed with a random-effects network meta-analysis. Co-primary outcomes were efficacy (mean change in psychopathology rating scales) and acceptability (all-cause discontinuations) at study endpoint.

Psychological and social interventions for the promotion of mental health in people living in low- and middle-income countries affected by humanitarian crises.

Background: Because of wars, conflicts, persecutions, human rights violations, and humanitarian crises, about 84 million people are forcibly displaced around the world; the great majority of them live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). People living in humanitarian settings are affected by a constellation of stressors that threaten their mental health. Psychosocial interventions for people affected by humanitarian crises may be helpful to promote positive aspects of mental health, such as mental well-being, psychosocial functioning, coping, and quality of life.

Antipsychotic-Related DRESS Syndrome: Analysis of Individual Case Safety Reports of the WHO Pharmacovigilance Database.

Introduction: Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome is gaining attention in pharmacovigilance, but its association with antipsychotics, other than clozapine, is still unclear.

Methods: We conducted a case/non-case study with disproportionality analysis based on the World Health Organization (WHO) global spontaneous reporting database, VigiBase®. We analyzed individual case safety reports of DRESS syndrome related to antipsychotics compared to (1) all other medications in VigiBase®, (2) carbamazepine (a known positive control), and (3) within classes (typical/atypical) of antipsychotics.

Post-traumatic stress disorder as a risk factor for major adverse cardiovascular events: a cohort study of a South African medical insurance scheme.

Aims: Prior research, largely focused on US male veterans, indicates an increased risk of cardiovascular disease among individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Data from other settings and populations are scarce. The objective of this study is to examine PTSD as a risk factor for incident major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in South Africa.

Psychotherapies for Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Adults: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.

Importance: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most common mental disorders in adults. Psychotherapies are among the most recommended treatments for GAD, but which should be considered as first-line treatment needs to be clarified.

Objective: To use a network meta-analysis to examine the short- and long-term associations of different psychotherapies with outcomes of effectiveness and acceptability in adults with GAD.

Updating the WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines to promote global access to the most cost-effective and safe medicines for mental disorders.

Since 1977, the WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines (EML) have been a benchmark to guide the procurement of medicines at the national level, especially in low-income and middle-income countries. Aiming to include the most effective, safe, and cost-effective medicines for priority conditions, WHO updates the EML for adults and the EML for children every 2 years. Over the past 45 years, updates to the EML mental health section have been infrequent, in most cases with additions of individual medicines.

Postpartum hemorrhage and postpartum depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Objective: To assess the postpartum depression (PPD) risk in women with postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) and moderators.

Methods: We identified observational studies of PPD rates in women with versus without PPH in Embase/Medline/PsychInfo/Cinhail in 09/2022. Study quality was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa-Scale.

CBT treatment delivery formats for panic disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Several in-person and remote delivery formats of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for panic disorder are available, but up-to-date and comprehensive evidence on their comparative efficacy and acceptability is lacking. Our aim was to evaluate the comparative efficacy and acceptability of all CBT delivery formats to treat panic disorder. To answer our question we performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Have the COVID-19 outbreak and related restrictions affected the right to mental health of people with severe mental health conditions?

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, and the restrictions implemented by governments to limit its public health impact, may have determined a reduction of the right to mental health of people with severe mental health conditions, that is a limitation to adequate, human, and value-based mental healthcare, with rising inequalities in comparison with the general population. This systematic review was, therefore, conducted to collate evidence on the impact of the pandemic period on the mental health of individuals with pre-existing severe mental health conditions. Of 3,774 retrieved citations, we selected 21 studies meeting the inclusion criteria.

Clinical trajectories of individuals with severe mental illness continuing and discontinuing long-acting antipsychotics: a one-year mirror-image analysis from the STAR Network Depot study.

Evidence on long-acting antipsychotics (LAIs) in unselected populations with severe mental illness is scant. In this mirror-image study, we compared multiple clinical outcomes 1 year before and after a first LAI prescription in adults with severe mental illness, describing clinical trajectories of LAI continuers and discontinuers. We compared LAI continuers and discontinuers through Mann-Whitney U test, Kaplan-Meier survival curves, regression for interval-censored data, and a maximum-likelihood mixed-model with individual random-effect and time as predictor.

Essential medicines for mental disorders: comparison of 121 national lists with WHO recommendations.

Background: To compare the medicines for mental disorders included in national essential medicines lists with the World Health Organization (WHO) essential medicines list and assess the extent to which economic status and WHO Region account for the differences.

Methods: We searched WHO repository and government sites for national essential medicines lists and we abstracted medicines for mental disorders. We calculated the proportion of WHO essential medicines included, the total number of differences (counting both additions and deletions) between national and WHO model list and the proportion of lists including one second-generation oral antipsychotic plus one new-generation antidepressant.

Efficacy of psychological interventions for PTSD in distinct populations - An evidence map of meta-analyses using the umbrella review methodology.

We aimed at mapping the meta-analytic evidence base on the efficacy of psychological treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in specific populations. We conducted a systematic search until January 2022 in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PTSDpubs, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials. We contrasted all eligible meta-analyses irrespective of overlapping datasets to present a comprehensive overview of the state of research.

Withdrawal Syndrome Following Discontinuation of 28 Antidepressants: Pharmacovigilance Analysis of 31,688 Reports from the WHO Spontaneous Reporting Database.

Introduction: Evidence is lacking on withdrawal syndrome related to individual antidepressants and relevant risk factors for severe reactions.

Objective: To ascertain whether antidepressants are associated with an increased reporting of withdrawal syndrome as compared with other medications, and to investigate risk factors for severe reactions.

Methods: This is a case/non-case pharmacovigilance study, based on the VigiBase, the WHO global database of individual case safety reports of suspected adverse drug reactions.

Neonatal withdrawal syndrome following in utero exposure to antidepressants: a disproportionality analysis of VigiBase, the WHO spontaneous reporting database.

Background: Evidence on neonatal withdrawal syndrome following antidepressant intrauterine exposure is limited, particularly for antidepressants other than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs).

Methods: In our case/non-case pharmacovigilance study, based on VigiBase, the WHO database of suspected adverse drug reactions, we estimated reporting odds ratio (ROR) and the Bayesian information component (IC) with 95% confidence/credibility intervals (CI) as measures of disproportionate reporting of antidepressant-related neonatal withdrawal syndrome. Antidepressants were first compared to all other medications, then to methadone, and finally within each class of antidepressants: SSRIs, tricyclics (TCA) and other antidepressants.

Continuing, reducing, switching, or stopping antipsychotics in individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders who are clinically stable: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: Although antipsychotic maintenance treatment is widely recommended to prevent relapse in chronic psychoses, evidence-based guidelines do not provide clear indications on different maintenance treatment strategies, including continuing the antipsychotic at standard doses, reducing the dose, switching to another antipsychotic, or even stopping the antipsychotic. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of these maintenance treatment strategies, hypothesising the superiority of all strategies over stopping, and of continuing at standard doses over both switching and reducing the dose.

Methods: We did a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated antipsychotics for relapse prevention in adults with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders who were clinically stable, and which compared four treatment strategies: continuing the current antipsychotic at standard doses recommended for acute treatment; reducing the current antipsychotic dose; switching to a different antipsychotic; and stopping the antipsychotic and replacing it with placebo.

Long-term effectiveness of Self-Help Plus in refugees and asylum seekers resettled in Western Europe: 12-month outcomes of a randomised controlled trial.

Aims: As refugees and asylum seekers are at high risk of developing mental disorders, we assessed the effectiveness of Self-Help Plus (SH + ), a psychological intervention developed by the World Health Organization, in reducing the risk of developing any mental disorders at 12-month follow-up in refugees and asylum seekers resettled in Western Europe.

Methods: Refugees and asylum seekers with psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire-12 ⩾ 3) but without a mental disorder according to the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.

Calling for policy actions to increase access to long-acting antipsychotics in low-income and middle-income countries.

Schizophrenia-spectrum disorders are associated with substantial impairment and disability. Lack of treatment adherence is a major issue, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite growing evidence supporting second-generation long-acting antipsychotics (LAIs) as an effective strategy to ensure continued maintenance treatment in schizophrenia, access to these technologies has been very limited in constrained-resource settings.