This paper aims to study the effect of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen extracts on chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS)-induced depression-like and insomnia behavior models of mice. The CUMS-induced depression-like and insomnia behavior model of mice was established by CUMS treatment for three weeks. The mice were randomly divided into control group, model group, positive drug diazepam group(2 mg·kg~(-1)), as well as low-dose group(1.95 g·kg~(-1)), medium-dose group(3.9 g·kg~(-1)), and high-dose group(7.8 g·kg~(-1)) of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen extracts, with 18 mice in each group. On the 15th day of modeling, the drug was administered intragastrically once a day for one week. Then, the pentobarbital sodium cooperative righting experiment, open field experiment, and elevated plus maze experiment were carried out, respectively. The contents of neurotransmitters 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid(5-HIAA) in serum and thalamus of mice, as well as the levels of corticotropin releasing hormone(CRH), adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH), and corticosterone(CORT) in serum, were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). The neuron damage in the hippocampus of mice was observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining and Nissl staining. Western blot was used to detect the expressions of tryptophan hydroxylase 2(TPH2), serotonin transporter(SERT), monoamine oxidase A(MAOA), five prime repressors under dual repression binding protein 1(Freud1), synaptic plasticity-related proteins [cellular gene FOS(C-FOS), postsynaptic density protein 95(PSD95), synapsin 1(SYN1), and activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated gene(ARC)], blood-brain barrier(BBB) permeability-related proteins [zonula occludens 1(ZO-1), occludin, and claudin 1], inflammatory factors [NOD-, LRR-and pyrin domain-containing protein 3(NLRP3), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein(ASC), gasdermin D(GSDMD), caspase-3, and caspase-8], and antioxidant factors [nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(NRF2) and heme oxygenase 1(HO1)] in thalamic tissue of mice. The results indicated that compared with that in the model group, the sleep latency was significantly shortened, and the sleep duration was significantly prolonged in each dose group of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen extracts. The number of visits to the central area of the open field and the distance and time of visits were significantly increased in each dose group of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen extracts. In addition, the proportion of distance and time of entering the open arm area of the elevated plus maze was significantly increased in each dose group of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen extracts. The contents of 5-HT and 5-HIAA in serum and thalamus of mice increased to varying degrees in each dose group of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen extracts; the contents of CRH, ACTH, and CORT in serum of mice were significantly decreased. The protein expression of TPH2 was significantly increased. The protein expression of MAOA, SERT, and Freud1 was significantly decreased. Ziziphi Spinosae Semen extracts could also significantly reduce the protein expression of C-FOS but significantly increase the protein expression of PSD95, ARC, and SYN1. They could reduce the pathological damage of the hippocampus in mice and significantly increase the protein expression of ZO-1, occluding, and claudin 1. The protein expression of NLRP3, GSDMD, ASC, caspase-3, and caspase-8 in the thalamic tissue of mice was significantly decreased, and the protein expression of HO1 and NRF2 was significantly increased. In conclusion, Ziziphi Spinosae Semen extracts could effectively improve sleep disorders and depression-like behaviors in CUMS-induced model mice, which may be related to regulating the 5-HT anabolism process and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal(HPA) axis-related hormone levels, reducing pathological damage in the hippocampus, improving synaptic plasticity, repairing BBB integrity, and alleviating inflammatory response and oxidative stress damage.
Animals ; Ziziphus/chemistry* ; Mice ; Male ; Depression/psychology* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders/psychology* ; Stress, Psychological/complications* ; Behavior, Animal/drug effects* ; Humans ; Disease Models, Animal

BACKGROUND: Although the influence of maternal distress during pregnancy on newborn Apgar scores has been studied in various populations, there is limited research specifically addressing this issue among Asian women. This study of Japanese women aims to investigate the association between maternal distress during pregnancy and the risk of a low 5-min-Apgar score among newborns. METHODS: We analyzed data from 87,765 mother-newborn pairs in the Japan Environment and Children's Study. Using multivariable logistic regression, we estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for low Apgar scores (<7) at 5 minutes about maternal distress during early and mid-late pregnancy, as measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6). Apgar scores were obtained from newborns' medical records. RESULTS: A higher risk of low Apgar score in newborns at 5 minutes was found in mothers with moderate to severe distress than in those with low distress during mid-late pregnancy. The adjusted OR (95% CI) was 1.22 (1.05-1.42) for moderate distress (K6 = 5-12) and 1.42 (1.00-2.01) for severe distress compared to low distress (p for trend = 0.002). The positive association between maternal distress and the risk of low Apgar score was observed in preterm birth (<37 weeks) and low birth weight (<2,500 g) but not in term birth and normal birth weight. CONCLUSION Maternal distress during mid-late pregnancy was positively associated with the risk of low Apgar score of newborns, specifically in preterm birth and low birth weight.
Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Japan/epidemiology* ; Apgar Score ; Infant, Newborn ; Adult ; Stress, Psychological/epidemiology* ; Male ; Young Adult ; Pregnancy Complications/epidemiology* ; Mothers/psychology* ; Risk Factors

Early-life stress (ES) leads to cognitive dysfunction in female adolescents, but the underlying neural mechanisms remain elusive. Recent evidence suggests that the cell adhesion molecules NECTIN1 and NECTIN3 play a role in cognition and ES-related cognitive deficits in male rodents. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether and how nectins contribute to ES-induced cognitive dysfunction in female adolescents. Applying the well-established limited bedding and nesting material paradigm, we found that ES impairs recognition memory, suppresses prefrontal NECTIN1 and hippocampal NECTIN3 expression, and upregulates corticotropin-releasing hormone (Crh) and its receptor 1 (Crhr1) mRNA levels in the hippocampus of adolescent female mice. Genetic experiments revealed that the reduction of dorsal CA1 (dCA1) NECTIN3 mediates ES-induced object recognition memory deficits, as knocking down dCA1 NECTIN3 impaired animals' performance in the novel object recognition task, while overexpression of dCA1 NECTIN3 successfully reversed the ES-induced deficits. Notably, prefrontal NECTIN1 knockdown did not result in significant cognitive impairments. Furthermore, acute systemic administration of antalarmin, a CRHR1 antagonist, upregulated hippocampal NECTIN3 levels and rescued object and spatial memory deficits in stressed mice. Our findings underscore the critical role of dCA1 NECTIN3 in mediating ES-induced object recognition memory deficits in adolescent female mice, highlighting it as a potential therapeutic target for stress-related psychiatric disorders in women.
Animals ; Female ; Mice ; CA1 Region, Hippocampal/metabolism* ; Cell Adhesion Molecules/metabolism* ; CRF Receptor, Type 1/metabolism* ; Memory Disorders/etiology* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Nectins/genetics* ; Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone/antagonists & inhibitors* ; Recognition, Psychology/physiology* ; Stress, Psychological/complications*

This study aimed to explore the prevalence and risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and psychological distress among female scientists and technicians in China. Accordingly, we included scientists and technicians from representative research institutions, medical institutions, colleges, universities, and businesses in China, and the data were collected from July 1, 2019 to March 31, 2021 via online questionnaires. The parameters evaluated in this study included age, sex, marital status, educational background, monthly income, sleep hours, sleep problems, smoking, alcohol consumption, work-related stress, work burnout, cardiovascular symptoms, CVD, family history, and depressive and anxiety symptoms. A total of 14 530 scientists and technicians were included, comprising 7144 men and 7386 women. We found 34.9% men and 16.6% women with CVD, 35.1% men and 21.4% women with depressive symptoms, 28.7% men and 13.8% women with anxiety symptoms, and 22.0% men and 9.5% women with CVD combined with depressive or anxiety symptoms. This study focused on the details of women. Younger women (age≤35 years) had the highest prevalence of depressive symptoms (24.9%), anxiety symptoms (16.2%), and comorbidity (11.2%). It was established that, despite traditional risk factors, unmanageable work burnout, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms were associated with a higher risk of CVD in women; insomnia, overwhelming work stress, unmanageable work burnout, and CVD were linked to a higher risk of depressive symptoms and anxiety; insomnia, overwhelming work stress, and unmanageable work burnout were related to CVD combined with depressive or anxiety symptoms. A bidirectional relationship was noted between CVD and depression or anxiety in female scientists and technicians, and insomnia and overwhelming work stress were positively associated with comorbidity. It is suggested that effective measures should be taken to protect female scientists and technicians from CVD and psychological distress.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Adult ; Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology* ; Prevalence ; Depression/complications* ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders/epidemiology* ; Anxiety/epidemiology* ; Risk Factors ; Psychological Distress ; Stress, Psychological/psychology*

BACKGROUND: Few studies have explored the modifications by family stress and male gender in the relationship between early exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) and allergic rhinitis (AR) risk in preschool children. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study of 388 children aged 2-4 years in Shenyang, China. These children AR were diagnosed by clinicians. By using measured concentrations from monitoring stations, we estimated the exposures of particulate matter less than 10 μm in diameter (PM RESULTS: The prevalence of AR in children aged 2-4 years (6.4%) was related to early TRAP exposure. With an IQR (20 μg/m CONCLUSIONS Family stress and male gender may increase the risk of AR in preschool children with early exposure to PM
Air Pollution/adverse effects* ; Case-Control Studies ; Child, Preschool ; China/epidemiology* ; Cities ; Family/psychology* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Prevalence ; Rhinitis, Allergic/epidemiology* ; Risk Factors ; Stress, Psychological/complications* ; Traffic-Related Pollution/adverse effects*

Anxiety ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Autism Spectrum Disorder ; complications ; therapy ; Caregivers ; psychology ; Child ; Coronavirus Infections ; complications ; Humans ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral ; complications ; Stress, Psychological ; prevention & control

OBJECTIVE: Anger attacks have been observed in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), often triggered by obsessional triggers. However, few studies have reported the clinical characteristics and correlates of anger attacks among Chinese patients with OCD. METHODS: A total of 90 adults with a primary diagnosis of OCD, ranging from 15 to 78 years old, participated in the study. Participants were administered the Rage Outbursts and Anger Rating Scale (ROARS), Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale-Second Edition, and Brown Assessment of Beliefs Scale by a trained clinician. Patients completed the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21. RESULTS: A total of 31.3% of participants reported anger outbursts in the past week, and ROARS scores had no significant correlation with age, duration of illness, OCD severity, depression, or stress. However, ROARS scores were negatively related to education level, and positively related to obsessing symptoms and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that anger attacks are relatively common in Chinese patients with OCD. The severity of anger attacks is related to educational level, obsessing symptoms, and anxiety, which may be a latent variable reflecting executive functioning and emotion regulation skills.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Anger ; China ; Depression/complications* ; Emotions ; Executive Function ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/psychology* ; Regression Analysis ; Severity of Illness Index ; Stress, Psychological ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To explore the pathogenic role of changes of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in the hippocampus in depression- and anxiety-like behaviors caused by prenatal stress (PS) in offspring rats. METHODS: Twelve female SpragueDawley rats weighing 240-260 g were randomly divided into control and restraint stress groups. The rats in the control group received no interventions, and those in restraint stress group were subjected to restraint stress (three times a day, 45 min each time) at the gestational age of 14-20 days. The 1-month-old offspring rats underwent open field test and forced swimming test to assess the anxiety- and depression-like behaviors, and the expressions of Wnt1, Gsk-3β and β-catenin in the hippocampus were detected using Western blotting. RESULTS: In open field test, the offspring rats with PS showed significantly decreased crossings of the center ( < 0.01) with reduced time spent in the center ( < 0.05) compared with control offspring rats. In forced swimming test, the offspring rats in PS group exhibited a significantly longer immobility time than in the control rats, and showed obvious depression- and anxiety-like behaviors. Compared with those in the control offspring rats, Gsk-3β expression increased significantly while the expressions of β-catenin and Wnt1 were significantly lowered in the hippocampus of the offspring rats in PS group ( < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS PS causes changes in Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in the hippocampus to contribute to the occurrence of depression-and anxiety-like behaviors in rats.
Animals ; Anxiety ; etiology ; metabolism ; Behavior, Animal ; Depression ; etiology ; metabolism ; Female ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta ; Hippocampus ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Restraint, Physical ; psychology ; Stress, Psychological ; complications ; Swimming ; psychology ; Wnt Signaling Pathway

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of genetic polymorphisms of norepinephrine metabolizing enzymes with postpartum depression and analyze the risk factors for postpartum depression in women following cesarean section. METHODS: A total of 591 Chinese woman of Han Nationality undergoing caesarean section were enrolled in this study. The diagnosis of postpartum depression was established for an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score ≥9. For all the women without antepartum depression, the genotypes of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT; at 5 sites including rs2020917 and rs737865) and monoamine oxidase A (rs6323) were determined using Sequenom Mass Array single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. We analyzed the contribution of the genetic factors (SNPs, linkage disequilibrium and haplotype) to postpartum depression and performed logistic regression analysis to identify all the potential risk factors for postpartum depression and define the interactions between the genetic and environmental factors. RESULTS: The incidence of postpartum depression was 18.1% in this cohort. Univariate analysis suggested that COMT polymorphism at rs2020917 (TT genotype) and rs737865 (GG genotype) were significantly correlated with the occurrence of postpartum depression ( < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that COMT polymorphism at rs2020917 (TT genotype) and rs737865 (GG genotype), severe stress during pregnancy, and domestic violence were the risk factors for postpartum depression ( < 0.05); no obvious interaction was found between the genetic polymorphisms and the environmental factors in the occurrence of postpartum depression. CONCLUSIONS The rs2020917TT and rs737865GG genotypes of COMT, stress in pregnancy, and domestic violence are the risk factors for postpartum depression.
Catechol O-Methyltransferase ; genetics ; Cesarean Section ; adverse effects ; Depression, Postpartum ; diagnosis ; enzymology ; genetics ; Domestic Violence ; psychology ; Female ; Gene-Environment Interaction ; Genotype ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; Monoamine Oxidase ; genetics ; Norepinephrine ; metabolism ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Postoperative Complications ; diagnosis ; enzymology ; genetics ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; etiology ; psychology ; Risk Factors ; Stress, Psychological

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation betwen varying degrees of non-acute tinnitus and anxiety and depression. METHOD: Seventy-seven outpatients with non-acute tinnitus as their in chief complaint were submitted to Tinnitus Handicap Inventory(THI), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale(SAS), and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). RESULT: THI and its three subscales were found to have significant correlations with SAS and SDS. The group (THI ≥ 38) had more anxiety and depression than the mild (THI < 38). Significant correlations were also observed between THI, SAS and SDS in the group with THI ≥ 38, in contrast with the group of THI < 38. CONCLUSION Patients with THI ≥ 38 suffered from severe anxiety and depression than the mild. Doctors should pay more attention to these patients, especially their psychological disorders.
Anxiety ; complications ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder ; Humans ; Personality Inventory ; Stress, Psychological ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tinnitus ; complications ; psychology