Publications by authors named "V P Bozikas"
Objective: To identify the COVID-19 pandemic impact on well-being/mental health, coping strategies, and risk factors in adolescents worldwide.
Method: This study was based on an anonymous online multi-national/multi-language survey in the general population (representative/weighted non-representative samples, 14-17 years of age), measuring change in well-being (World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index [WHO-5]/range = 0-100) and psychopathology (validated composite P-score/range = 0-100), WHO-5 <50 and <29, pre- vs during COVID-19 pandemic (April 26, 2020-June 26, 2022). Coping strategies and 9 a priori- defined individual/cumulative risk factors were measured.
Article Synopsis
- The COH-FIT study is a large, multi-country survey aimed at identifying factors affecting wellbeing and mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, involving a representative sample of 121,066 adults.
- Researchers analyzed both modifiable (like coping strategies and pre-pandemic stress) and non-modifiable factors (such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status), finding significant negative effects on wellbeing and psychopathology scores during the pandemic.
- The study identified 15 modifiable and 9 non-modifiable risk factors, alongside 13 modifiable and 3 non-modifiable protective factors, emphasizing the importance of social support and coping strategies in mental health outcomes.
Article Synopsis
- There is a lack of comprehensive international studies examining multidimensional mental health and wellbeing before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly identifying at-risk groups and effective coping strategies.
- The COH-FIT survey, conducted from April 2020 to June 2022 in 30 languages, assessed changes in well-being and psychopathology among over 121,000 participants, revealing significant declines in mental health during the pandemic.
- Key findings indicated that certain demographics, such as young adults and people in low-income countries, were particularly affected, while coping strategies like exercise, internet use, and maintaining social contacts emerged as the most effective for managing stress.
Background: Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are subtle, subclinical perturbations of perceptions and thoughts and are common in the general population. Their characterisation and unidimensionality are still debated.
Methods: This study was conducted by the Electronic-halluCinations-Like Experiences Cross-culTural International Consortium (E-CLECTIC) and aimed at measuring the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) factorial structure across five European countries (Belgium; Czech Republic, Germany; Greece, and Spain) and testing the adequacy of the unidimensional polytomous Rasch model of the tool via Partial Credit Model (PCM) of the CAPE to detect people with a high risk for developing psychosis.
Article Synopsis
- * The study introduced a machine learning (AutoML) approach to analyze DNA methylation data, leading to the identification of SCZ-specific biomarkers such as IGF2BP1, CENPI, and PSME4 from blood samples of SCZ patients compared to healthy controls.
- * An optimized five-feature biosignature was developed that included gene methylation levels and demographic factors, showing promise for being used in clinical diagnostics for SCZ, with a notable performance accuracy.