The implication of alexithymia in personality disorders: a systematic review.

Background: Alexithymia, characterized by difficulty identifying and expressing emotions, is often associated with various psychiatric disorders, including personality disorders (PDs). This study aimed to explore the relationship between alexithymia and PD, focusing on their common origins and implications for treatment.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines using databases such as MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, and Web of Science.

Sexual counseling for people with acute coronary syndrome: educational video development.

Objective: to assess validity evidence of an educational video on safe sexual activity after acute coronary syndrome.

Method: study in three phases: video development; content validity analysis by 11 experts; and analysis of validity based on response processes by seven people with coronary disease. The content validity ratio (CVR) was calculated with critical values for the second phase of 0.

Factors associated with satisfaction and perceived helpfulness of mental healthcare: a World Mental Health Surveys report.

Background: Mental health service providers are increasingly interested in patient perspectives. We examined rates and predictors of patient-reported satisfaction and perceived helpfulness in a cross-national general population survey of adults with 12-month DSM-IV disorders who saw a provider for help with their mental health.

Methods: Data were obtained from epidemiological surveys in the World Mental Health Survey Initiative.

The performance of K6 as a screening tool for mood disorders: A population-based study of the São Paulo metropolitan area.

Aim: The use of screening instruments allows the detection of psychological and behavioural manifestations there are often not identified in users of health services. We evaluated the performance of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) in identifying mood disorders (MD), using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) as gold-standard, in a population-based sample (n = 5037) of adult residents of metropolitan São Paulo.

Methods: Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy were calculated to assess the performance of K6 in detecting 30-day CIDI MD.

Age of onset and cumulative risk of mental disorders: a cross-national analysis of population surveys from 29 countries.

Background: Information on the frequency and timing of mental disorder onsets across the lifespan is of fundamental importance for public health planning. Broad, cross-national estimates of this information from coordinated general population surveys were last updated in 2007. We aimed to provide updated and improved estimates of age-of-onset distributions, lifetime prevalence, and morbid risk.

Towards measuring effective coverage: critical bottlenecks in quality- and user-adjusted coverage for major depressive disorder in São Paulo metropolitan area, Brazil.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) contributes to a significant proportion of disease burden, disability, economic losses, and impact on need of treatment and health care in Brazil, but systematic information about its treatment coverage is scarce. This paper aims to estimate the gap in treatment coverage for MDD and identify key bottlenecks in obtaining adequate treatment among adult residents in the São Paulo Metropolitan area, Brazil.

Methods: A representative face-to-face household survey was conducted among 2942 respondents aged 18+ years to assess 12-month MDD, characteristics of 12-month treatment received, and bottlenecks to deliver care through the World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview.

Food-related substrate preference in juveniles seastar Echinaster (Othilia) brasiliensis (Müller & Troschel,1842) in captivity.

There are only a few studies that describe the larval development of Echinaster or aspects on culture systems for the genus. For starfishes, the choice of suitable substrates has received special attention since it could influence the acid-base balance of the water, movement capacity and predation rate. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ideal food-related substrate for the rearing of juvenile Echinaster brasiliensis.

Determinants of effective treatment coverage for posttraumatic stress disorder: findings from the World Mental Health Surveys.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with significant morbidity, but efficacious pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy are available. Data from the World Mental Health Surveys were used to investigate extent and predictors of treatment coverage for PTSD in high-income countries (HICs) as well as in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods: Seventeen surveys were conducted across 15 countries (9 HICs, 6 LMICs) by the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health Surveys.

Antidepressant use in low- middle- and high-income countries: a World Mental Health Surveys report.

Background: The most common treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) is antidepressant medication (ADM). Results are reported on frequency of ADM use, reasons for use, and perceived effectiveness of use in general population surveys across 20 countries.

Methods: Face-to-face interviews with community samples totaling = 49 919 respondents in the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys asked about ADM use anytime in the prior 12 months in conjunction with validated fully structured diagnostic interviews.

The Well-being of Brazilian Industry Workers on Returning to the Physical Workplace During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: Our aim was to assess the prevalence and predictors of well-being among Brazilian industry workers on returning to the physical workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Two thousand two hundred forty-one participants completed an online survey between October and November 2021. Well-being was assessed with the World Health Organization Well-being Index, and the questionnaire also addressed sociodemographic and occupational characteristics and the health of workers and their contacts.

Influence of an Intensive Speech Therapy Program on the Speech of Individuals with Cleft Lip and Palate.

 Compensatory articulations are speech disorders due to the attempt of the individual with cleft palate/velopharyngeal dysfunction to generate intraoral pressure to produce high-pressure consonants. Speech therapy is the indicated intervention for their correction, and an intensive speech therapy meets the facilitating conditions for the correction of glottal stop articulation, which is the most common compensatory articulation.  To investigate the influence of an intensive speech therapy program (ISTP) to correct glottal stop articulation in the speech of individuals with cleft palate.

Correlates and prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorders in the São Paulo metropolitan area, Brazil.

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition, which generates an extensive burden. We aimed to investigate in a huge metropolitan area, the prevalence of traumatic experiences, the development of PTSD, and its predictors.

Methods: Traumatic experiences and PTSD were assessed in 5037 adult individuals of the general population.

Suspension of social welfare services and mental health outcomes for women during the COVID-19 pandemic in a peripheral neighborhood in São Paulo, Brazil.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazilian urban peripheries have been severely affected both by the spread of the virus and by social, political, and economical dynamics, raising concerns about the psychological wellbeing and mental health of the population living in these areas. The pandemic broke out in a context of reduced public spending in social and health policies as well as in a process of erosion of social rights, fostering processes of exclusion and highlighting the association between austerity, the increase in poverty and inequality as well as in health and mental health problems indicators. This article presents the results of a qualitative participatory research that investigated subjective experiences in a peripheral neighborhood of São Paulo, Brazil, aiming to understand how contextual dynamics played a role in shaping mental health experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of /ENBT1 Expression and Function on 6-Mercaptopurine Transport and Cytotoxicity in Human Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cells.

6-Mercaptopurine (6-MP) is used extensively in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and inflammatory bowel diseases. Our laboratory determined previously, using a recombinant HEK293 cell model, that the -encoded equilibrative nucleobase transporter 1 (ENBT1) transports 6-MP into cells and significantly impacts the cytotoxicity of 6-MP in that model. To further investigate the clinical relevance of this finding, we now extend this work to an analysis of the impact of /ENBT1 expression and function on 6-MP uptake and cytotoxicity in leukemic lymphoblasts, the therapeutic target of 6-MP in ALL.

Determinants of effective treatment coverage for major depressive disorder in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys.

Background: Most individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) receive either no care or inadequate care. The aims of this study is to investigate potential determinants of effective treatment coverage.

Methods: In order to examine obstacles to providing or receiving care, the type of care received, and the quality and use of that care in a representative sample of individuals with MDD, we analyzed data from 17 WHO World Mental Health Surveys conducted in 15 countries (9 high-income and 6 low/middle-income).

(Re) thinking urban mental health from the periphery of São Paulo in times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Urban mental health studies traditionally search for causal relationships between elements of the city and the prevalence of mental disorders. This paper discusses the importance of (re)thinking the 'lived urban experience' from the perspective of city residents about how the immediate environment affects their mental health and how people cope with inequalities. A participatory-action research was implemented in a peripheral area of São Paulo - Brazil, in which volunteers from the territory made phone calls to neighbours to provide emotional support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the relationship between valence and arousal in samples across the globe.

Affect is involved in many psychological phenomena, but a descriptive structure, long sought, has been elusive. Valence and arousal are fundamental, and a key question-the focus of the present study-is the relationship between them. Valence is sometimes thought to be independent of arousal, but, in some studies (representing too few societies in the world) arousal was found to vary with valence.

Perceived helpfulness of treatment for social anxiety disorder: findings from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys.

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence and predictors of perceived helpfulness of treatment in persons with a history of DSM-IV social anxiety disorder (SAD), using a worldwide population-based sample.

Methods: The World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys is a coordinated series of community epidemiological surveys of non-institutionalized adults; 27 surveys in 24 countries (16 in high-income; 11 in low/middle-income countries; N = 117,856) included people with a lifetime history of treated SAD.

Results: In respondents with lifetime SAD, approximately one in five ever obtained treatment.

Barriers to treatment for mental disorders in six countries of the Americas: A regional report from the World Mental Health Surveys.

Background: Mental health treatment is scarce and little resources are invested in reducing the wide treatment gap that exists in the Americas. The regional barriers are unknown. We describe the barriers for not seeking treatment among those with mental and substance use disorders from six (four low- and middle-income and two high-income) countries from the Americas.

Dropout from treatment for mental disorders in six countries of the Americas: A regional report from the World Mental Health Surveys.

Objective: To estimate structural and attitudinal reasons for premature discontinuation of mental health treatment, socio-demographic and clinical correlates of treatment dropout due to these reasons, and to test country differences from the overall effect across the region of the Americas.

Methods: World Health Organization-World Mental Health (WMH) surveys were carried out in six countries in the Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and USA. Among the 1991 participants who met diagnostic criteria (measured with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMHCIDI)) for a mental disorder and were in treatment in the prior 12-months, the 236 (12.

Evaluation of an alternative household water treatment system based on slow filtration and solar disinfection.

Drinking water consumption is essential to maintain a good quality of life, but it is not available for all communities. Therefore, this work aimed to develop an alternative and accessible process for water treatment, based on filtration and solar disinfection, and evaluate it in both bench and pilot scales. The construction cost of the system was estimated and compared with other available options so that its economic viability could be discussed.

Perceived helpfulness of service sectors used for mental and substance use disorders: Findings from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys.

Background: Mental healthcare is delivered across service sectors that differ in level of specialization and intervention modalities typically offered. Little is known about the perceived helpfulness of the combinations of service sectors that patients use.

Methods: Respondents 18 + years with 12-month DSM-IV mental or substance use disorders who saw a provider for mental health problems in the year before interview were identified from WHO World Mental Health surveys in 17 countries.

Perceived helpfulness of treatment for alcohol use disorders: Findings from the World Mental Health Surveys.

Aim: We examined prevalence and factors associated with receiving perceived helpful alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment, and persistence in help-seeking after earlier unhelpful treatment.

Methods: Data came from 27 community epidemiologic surveys of adults in 24 countries using the World Health Organization World Mental Health surveys (n = 93,843). Participants with a lifetime history of treated AUD were asked if they ever received helpful AUD treatment, and how many professionals they had talked to up to and including the first time they received helpful treatment (or how many ever, if they had not received helpful treatment).