jcm-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Natural Environment, Mood and Anxiety Disorders, and Suicidal Behavior

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2020) | Viewed by 7219

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mood and Anxiety Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
Interests: suicide; mood disorders; sleep and biological rhythms; seasonal affective disorder; perinatal and postpartum depression; chronobiology (shift work, jet-lag, circadian shifting, light treatment); neuroimmunology; allergens/allergy and emotional/behavioral dysregulation; infections, brain, and behavior; traumatic brain injury

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For practitioners and researchers of mood and anxiety disorders and suicidal behavior, the environment is mainly understood as the psychosocial adverse environment of childhood, including separation, abuse, and neglect. Few are familiar with the recent progress in the predictive associations of broad and widespread exposure to physical factors (such as light, dark, temperature, negative ions, and mechanical trauma), chemical factors (odorants, ozone), and biological factors (such as pathogens, saprophytic bacteria, and allergens) and mood and anxiety disorders and suicidal behavior. These factors may have a very potent effect on vulnerable individuals, and could be benefic or maleficent in their effect depending on dosage, timing of exposure, repetitive exposure, multiplicity, and sequence of exposure. Exposure may occur at home, at work, or at school and may affect health and performance in occupational, academic, and athletic domains. In this Special Issue, we will present common links between mood and anxiety disorders and exposure to light and dark under conditions of shift-work and jet lag, seasonal alternations in light, bacterial, viral, and parasitic pathogens in the gut and oral microbiome, common immune-mediated conditions, such as autoimmune disease and allergy, allergen exposure, and chronic latent infections. The intent is to facilitate a better understanding of the importance of the Natural Environment—understood as the Evolutionary Environment that selected our ancestors—and the Contemporaneous environment of the macro and microclimates of home, work, and education. We will also point towards future environmental effects related to global warming and interplanetary travel. Prevention of exposure, as well as health-promoting environments and portable benefic environmental factors, will be emphasized. A specific chapter will be dedicated to environmental factors in suicidal behavior together with prevention, prognosis, and the identification of new treatment targets.

Prof. Dr. Teodor T. Postolache
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • major depression
  • bipolar disorder
  • mood disorders
  • seasonal affective disorder
  • generalized anxiety disorders
  • panic disorders
  • jet-lag
  • shift work
  • circadian rhythm sleep disorder
  • allergy
  • aeroallergen
  • pollen
  • infection
  • antimicrobial agents
  • heat
  • cold
  • humidity
  • negative ions
  • traumatic brain injury
  • lipopolysaccharide (LPS)
  • suicidal behavior
  • suicide
  • impulsivity
  • aggression

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

10 pages, 227 KiB  
Article
Anti-Thyroid Peroxidase and Anti-Thyroglobulin Autoantibodies in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients with Unipolar Depression
by Rick Dersch, Ludger Tebartz van Elst, Benedikt Hochstuhl, Bernd L. Fiebich, Oliver Stich, Tilman Robinson, Miriam Matysik, Maike Michel, Kimon Runge, Kathrin Nickel, Katharina Domschke and Dominique Endres
J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9(8), 2391; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9082391 - 27 Jul 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3876
Abstract
Introduction: The risk of developing depression is increased in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis. Autoimmune Hashimoto thyroiditis is diagnosed using the serum markers anti-thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (TG) antibodies. In rare cases, patients with autoimmune thyroiditis can also suffer from the heterogeneous and [...] Read more.
Introduction: The risk of developing depression is increased in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis. Autoimmune Hashimoto thyroiditis is diagnosed using the serum markers anti-thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (TG) antibodies. In rare cases, patients with autoimmune thyroiditis can also suffer from the heterogeneous and ill-defined syndrome of Hashimoto encephalopathy. Biomarkers for Hashimoto encephalopathy or for any brain involvement of autoimmune thyroiditis are currently lacking. The aim of the present descriptive study was therefore to determine whether a subgroup of seropositive patients shows intrathecal anti-thyroid antibody synthesis in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Participants and methods: Paired serum and CSF samples from 100 patients with unipolar depression were examined for anti-TPO and anti-TG antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Antibody-specific indices (ASIs) were calculated for seropositive samples. These ASIs allow the differentiation between the brain-derived fraction of antibodies and antibodies which are passively diffused from the serum. ASIs >1.4 were assessed as positive for brain-derived antibodies. Additionally, for explorative evaluations, a stricter ASI limit of >2 was applied. Results: Anti-TPO antibodies were increased in the serum of 16 patients (16%); increased anti-TPO ASIs (>1.4) were detected in 11 of these patients (69%). Anti-TG antibodies in the serum were detected in three patients (3%), with two of them (67%) showing increased ASIs (>1.4). Overall, the authors found increased anti-thyroid antibodies in 17 of 100 patients (17%), with 13 out of 17 patients showing increased ASIs (76%; range 1.4–4.1). Choosing ASI levels of >2 led to positive findings in six out of 16 patients (38%) with anti-TPO antibodies in their serum but no increase in ASIs in three patients (0%) who were seropositive for anti-TG antibodies. The patients with elevated ASIs (N = 13) were younger than the ASI-negative patients (N = 87; p = 0.009); no differences were noted in the frequency of CSF, electroencephalography, and/or magnetic resonance imaging alterations. Discussion: A subgroup of seropositive patients showed intrathecal synthesis of anti-TPO and, more rarely, of anti-TG antibodies, which might be an indication of central autoimmunity in a subgroup of patients with unipolar depression. The confirmation of elevated ASIs as a biomarker for Hashimoto encephalopathy must await further studies. The relevance of the findings is limited by the study’s retrospective and uncontrolled design. Full article
21 pages, 694 KiB  
Article
Environmental, Health and Sociodemographic Determinants Related to Common Mental Disorders in Adults: A Spanish Country-Wide Population-Based Study (2006–2017)
by Jesús Cebrino and Silvia Portero de la Cruz
J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9(7), 2199; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9072199 - 12 Jul 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2913
Abstract
Common mental disorders (CMD) represent a serious, growing public health concern, especially in women. The aims of this study were to report the prevalence of CMD among the adult population in Spain, to analyze the time trends from 2006 to 2017 and to [...] Read more.
Common mental disorders (CMD) represent a serious, growing public health concern, especially in women. The aims of this study were to report the prevalence of CMD among the adult population in Spain, to analyze the time trends from 2006 to 2017 and to explore the associations between CMD and gender, in relation to the perceived environmental and sociodemographic problems and clinical factors. A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted including 48,505 participants aged 16 to 64 years old who had participated in the Spanish National Health Surveys in 2006, 2011/2012 and 2017. A logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the variables associated with CMD by gender. The prevalence of CMD was 20.4% in 2006, 20.8% in 2011/2012 and 16.9% in 2017 (p = 0.36). In women, the probability of having a CMD was higher in widowed or separated/divorced compared with single individuals and as the perception of distressing noise levels from outside the home increased. The probability of CMD was lower as the level of education increased in men. Foreigners and those with limitations due to health problems, chronic conditions and worse perceived health were more likely to suffer from a CMD in both women and men. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop