A recent Finnish study reveals that people are often given misleading information about depression, making it harder for them to understand the causes of their distress. The researchers point out that most psychiatric diagnoses, including depression, are purely descriptive and do not explain the causes of symptoms. Despite this, depression is frequently discussed as a disorder that causes low mood and other symptoms, which the researchers describe as circular reasoning. This misconception complicates people's understanding of their mental health. "Depression should be considered as a diagnos ..read more

A new study from Ohio State University reveals that adults who consistently played organized sports during their childhood have fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression than those who either never played or dropped out. Notably, those who dropped out of sports had poorer mental health than those who never participated at all. The research, published in the Sociology of Sport Journal, analyzed data from 3,931 adults nationwide, focusing on their childhood sports participation and current mental health. Results showed that continuous participation in sports was linked to lower depressive and an ..read more

A new study by UCL, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, found that women are 40% more likely to experience depression during perimenopause than those not experiencing menopausal symptoms. A meta-analysis of seven studies involving 9,141 women from around the world showed perimenopausal women had a significantly higher risk of depressive symptoms compared to premenopausal women. The perimenopause stage usually begins around three to five years before the onset of menopause. During this stage, a woman's oestrogen and progesterone levels start to fluctuate, causing them to experienc ..read more

This #ResearchAppreciationDay we are celebrating five recent breakthroughs in mental health research. Some of the members of the IDEA team 1. We are learning more about the role of inflammation in depression Researchers on the IDEA Flame project are working to understand the biological mechanisms behind depression. They have found that adolescent boys and girls with depression have different inflammation markers in their blood. "We found that the severity of depressive symptoms was associated with increased levels of the cytokine interleukin-2 in boys, but interleukin-6 in girls. We know ..read more

MQ Ambassador Dr Esther Beierl is a data scientist, trial statistician, and psychometrician in psychology and mental health research (currently the University of Cambridge, previously the University of Oxford), yoga teacher, and personal trainer. She also has personal lived experience of mental health conditions. For Research Appreciation Day, Esther explains why data science is integral for mental health research.   Individual needs   75% of mental health problems start before adulthood, and 50% of all lifetime mental health problems begin before the age of 14 years (MQ Mental ..read more

For Research Appreciation Day, Dr Chukwuemeka Nwuba, a speciality doctor in eating disorders, explains why patient participation is integral in research.  Working collaboratively in the healthcare space is absolutely essential; there is no single service, hospital, or clinician that can operate independently of wider systems and organisations. And by far the most important people that should be at the centre of such collaboration—and of pretty much every decision both strategic and operational—are patients. Those with the lived experience. That is, if systemic issues are to be addressed ..read more

Dr Valentina Zonca, from the Department of Pharmacology and Biomolecular Science at the University of Milan shares with us the most recent findings about the role of inflammation in depression from the MQ funded IDEA RiSCo study, in this recently published paper.   Depression is becoming increasingly common among adolescents, making it crucial to understand the biological causes of this condition to develop novel and better prevention and treatment strategies. Most of the research investigating the biological mechanisms underlying depression has focused on adults, mainly from wealthy c ..read more

New research suggests that daily instances of loneliness may be harmful to our physical health. A study by Penn State researchers highlights the harmful effects of loneliness on daily health. Published in Health Psychology, it underscores how even temporary feelings of loneliness can lead to symptoms like fatigue, headaches, and nausea, supporting the U.S. Surgeon General's 2023 statement on loneliness as a public health crisis. The study involved 1,538 participants aged 35-65 from the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE), one of the studies in the MacArthur Foundation Survey of Midlife ..read more

A new study presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting found a link between sleep duration, social media usage, and brain activation in areas responsible for executive control and reward processing in young people. As a part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, the researchers analyzed data from adolescents aged 10-14 using questionnaires. They measured their brain activity using a functional MRI during a reward-processing task. The study used multiple models and adjusted for factors like age, the COVID-19 pandemic, and socio-demographic characteristics. The study found that t ..read more

MQ Mental Health Research has been featured in a new documentary film produced by Reuters.com. The film gives an insightful view into MQ’s mission, and why mental health research is so important in the role of changing the outcomes for millions of people worldwide. One of the critical points underscored in the film is the stark disparity in funding. Despite the profound impact mental health has on individuals and society, it remains underfunded compared to physical health research. This lack of investment hampers our ability to develop effective treatments and support systems. MQ is championi ..read more