Depression and anxiety are very frequent and associated with high societal costs, much suffering and functional impairment. Employment is essential and pivotal recovery after sick-leave. In many countries, health care interventions are delivered separately from vocational rehabilitation services. This fragmented placement of interventions often implies lack of coordination, creating despair among sick-listed persons.

The aim of this trial was to investigate an integrated mental health care and vocational rehabilitation intervention to improve and hasten the return-to-work process among people sick-listed with anxiety or depression.

In this RCT, participants were randomly allocated to A) integrated interventions (INT), B) improved mental health care (MHC) or B) service as usual (SAU). Primary outcome was time to return-to-work during 12-month. Secondary outcomes were time to return-to-work at 6-month follow-up; levels of anxiety, depression, stress symptoms and social and occupational functioning at 6-month follow-up; and return-to-work measured as proportion in work at 12-month follow-up.

631 individuals randomized. INT showed higher proportion in work compared with both SAU and MHC at the 12-month follow-up. We found no differences regarding return-to-work time at either the 6- or 12-month follow-up. No differences in symptoms between SAU, MCH or INT were detected, but MHC and INT showed lower scores on Cohen’s perceived stress scale compared with SAU at 12-month follow-up.

Although INT did not hasten return-to-work, it yielded higher proportion in work compared with MHC and SAU.

No significant relationships.

Background: Copy-number variants (CNVs) of chromosome 15 have been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and developmental delay.

We report 6 patients with autistic features and other neurodevelopmental problems carrying CNVs of chromosome 15.

Materials and methods: The probands belong to a group of patients referred to our clinic and laboratory with autism as main feature. A complete clinical evaluation was performed with focus on neurologic, psychiatric, and psychological evaluation with specific autism tests. Array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) was performed using 180K platform (Agilent technology).

six patients investigated by array-CGH had a CNV involving chromosome 15. Four of these patients, previously reported by us (ref 1), had small duplications of 15q13.3 involving CHRNA7 and OTUD7A genes. The other two patients had large deletions of 15q21q22 and 15q24, respectively. A deletion of 15q21.2 - q22.2 was detected in one patient. The deleted region contains 62 genes and has been rarely reported in patients with neurodevelopmental disorders. A deletion of 15q24.1 - q24.2 was detected in the other patient. This region is recurrently deleted in developmentally delayed patients (ref 3).

Our data highlight that chromosome 15 is a hub for neurodevelopmental disorder and illustrates the utility of array-CGH in the investigation of patients with autism, specifically in the context of complex phenotypes. Acknowledgment: The research leading to these results has received funding from the EEA Grant 2014-2021, under the project contract No 6/2019. References: Genes (Basel). 2021 Jul 1;12(7):1025. https://www.omim.org/entry/618060 Clinical Genome Resource. https://dosage.clinicalgenome.org/clingen_region.cgi?id=ISCA-46296

No significant relationships.

The incidence of suicide is much higher in people with mental health disorders, estimating that up to 9 out of 10 people who commit suicide suffer from at least one of them. For this reason, suicide is considered by many authors as the most serious complication of psychiatric disorders. The literature and the experience of clinicians support the potential usefulness of specific measures and programs aimed at its prevention.

Congruently, throughout the last decade, consecutive strategic mental health plans in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Spain, have included suicide prevention plans among their priorities, setting the objective of reducing suicidal behavior in the population of Madrid by implementing practical measures in the healthcare system.

In the presented work we aim to summarize the multidisciplinary therapeutic process in the context of this program and the results obtained during its years of experience.

Retiro Community Mental Health Treatment Center launched a specific program in 2013 to meet these objectives. This initiative, that received the name PRISURE (Spanish acronym for Suicide Risk Prevention Program in Retiro), is an outpatient intervention program for immediate care, as the first appointment is scheduled within a week after referral. Intensive, comprehensive and multidisciplinary care is provided for patients with moderate to severe suicide risk.

All professional categories that work in the Community Mental Health Treatment Center actively participate. In parallel with clinical performance, these professionals also carry out coordination tasks with other entities that are dedicated to suicide prevention, as well as with patients’ and families’ associations.

No significant relationships.

Paranoid ideas occur very often in humans (prevalence of 0.2%). According to several studies, the origin could be found in a genetic predisposition to a selective hyperdopaminergia related to the D2 receptor and dopamine neurotransmitter dysfunction.

To delve into this pathology, including origin and development, epidemiology, diagnostic criteria, clinical aspects, differential diagnosis, treatment, evolution and prognosis.

We conducted a literature review of delusional disorder.

The disease appears in middle age, between ages 35 and 55, being slightly more frequent in women. It seems to affect more economically and educationally disadvantaged social strata, and it is more frequent in immigrants. The onset is usually progressive and insidious. Correct perception but delusional interpretation: the objectivity of what is perceived is disturbed by the subjectivity of what is registered. The delirium is usually logical, contagious, and frequently credible. Patients retain their lucidity. It is very important to make a correct differential diagnosis with schizophrenia. With regard to treatment, the therapeutic relationship with the patient will be basic. If possible, psychotherapy should be combined with pharmacological treatment (second generation antipsychotics being the treatment of choice). In general, their evolution is compatible with out-of-hospital life, being considered “odd guys”.

The risk of suffering from Delusional Disorder during the lifetime is between 0.05 and 0.1%. This pathology constitutes 1-4% of all psychiatric admissions. Therefore, it is essential to know it in depth in order to be able to manage it properly.

No significant relationships.

Anxiety is an ambiguous term, meaning an emotional state, a clinical symptom, a disorder, or a group of disorders. Anxiety is a normal feeling that arises when a person believes he is in danger from a threat or unidentified danger, ensuing with a state of alertness, arousal, and exploratory attention. Its distinction from neighbouring concepts, such as anguish, fear, worry, anxiety, panic, or uneasiness, is valuable but controversial.

Review and synthesize various contributions from phenomenology and philosophy to the understanding of what it is like to experience generalized anxiety.

Selective review of the most prominent literature regarding anxiety psychopathology, namely that of Jaspers, Heidegger, López-Ibor, Sims, Berrios, Femi Oyebode, Pio Abreu, James Aho, Picazo Zappino and Gerrit Glas.

Jaspers described free-float anxiety as common and painful, floating and detached, as a feeling of misunderstood genesis, imposing despite the inapparent object, driving an inescapable need to provide some content to it, but also susceptible to insight by those who experience it. It can take a vitalized or primarily psychic form. Anxiety is closely related to the limits of the human being and to (hopelessness). For Heidegger, angst is the expression of authentic existence. López-Ibor considered anxiety and anguish nuances of the same experience, in both of which there is fear of the dissolution of the unity and continuity of the self (anguish). When what exists is not a fear, but only a threat, anxiety arises.

Phenomenologically informed psychopathology is relevant for clinicians. Complementing neurosciences, each answers questions that the other cannot.

No significant relationships.

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), the most common conversion disorder, are episodic alterations in behaviour that resemble epileptic seizures without its characteristic EEG changes. PNES presumably reflect a physical manifestation of underlying psychological distress and can be as disabling as epilepsy. Standardized treatment approaches for PNES care are lacking.

Our aim is to review the literature for therapeutic interventions in PNES.

A literature search was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE database for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the effect(s) of specific intervention(s) in patients with PNES. Search terms were “psychogenic-nonepileptic-seizures” and selection was based on the abstracts of all the studies retrieved. Priority outcome was frequency of PNES.

We identified 8 eligible RCTs. Samples ranged from 19 to 82 patients. Follow-up periods varied from 6 weeks to 18 months. Regarding reduction of PNES frequency, several interventions were effective: motivational interviewing combined with psychotherapy; cognitive behavioural therapy informed psychotherapy (CBT-ip); combination of CBT-ip and sertraline; immediate withdrawal of antiepileptic drugs after PNES diagnosis; a standardized diagnostic approach associated with psychiatric inpatient consultation. Treatment with sertraline alone and brief educational interventions didn’t reduce PNES frequency significantly. Beside PNES rate reduction, most interventions conveyed some type of benefit such as improvement in quality of life, mood or functionality.

The majority of the beneficial interventions included a structured communicational approach and/or psychotherapeutic treatment. Our analysis highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary strategy that includes psychotherapy. Further studies with larger samples and longer follow-up periods are needed to robustly inform evidence-based treatment for PNES.

No significant relationships.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder with a high risk of suicide, which is one of the leading causes of early death in schizophrenia patients.

It was aimed to examine the relationship between the SIRT1 gene and suicidal behavior in patients with schizophrenia, to identify specific polymorphisms and to provide individual protective approaches by predicting suicidal behavior.

100 patients with schizophrenia were included in our study. The SIRT1 gene was analyzed using the whole exome sequencing method, and 22 SNPs were identified. In addition, participants’ socio-demographic, psychiatric history, and suicidal behavior evaluation form data were recorded. A comparison was made between the two groups according to suicidal behavior.

When sociodemographic and psychiatric history of the participants were compared in terms of suicidal behavior, no significant difference was found. SIRT1 gene SNP; rs2236318; (TT genotype), rs10997870 (GG genotype) was associated about 4 times increased risk in suicidal behavior; rs41299232 (CC genotype) 3.7 times; rs7896005 (AA genotype) with 3.4 times also. Although rs201230502 (TC genotype) and rs36107781 (TC genotype) were more common in the group with suicidal behavior, they lost their significance in regression analysis due to the low number of cases.

Our study showed that schizophrenia has many risks that increase suicidal behavior , but clinical and sociodemographic data are insufficient to predict suicidal behavior. Considering the inheritability of the disease and the effect of genetics on behavior, SIRT1 gene SNP; (rs2236318, rs10997870, rs41299232, rs7896005, rs201230502 and rs36107781) genotypes were found to be associated with suicidal behavior in schizophrenia patients.

No significant relationships.

Despite existing observations of religious delusions in epilepsy in classical psychiatric literature, such clinical cases are rare in current practice.

To reveal features of disease progression, interference of combined mental pathology, treatment specifics, markers of possible harmful behavior.

Psychopathological, Multichannel eyes closed resting EEG in interictal period.

Patient N, 39 years old, manifested her illness at age 13 with affective bipolar disorder; phases lasted several months each. From age 19, rare recurrent generalized convulsive paroxysms preceded by an aura; non-convulsive paroxysms were observed. The patient was uncritical of paroxysms and discontinued anticonvulsive therapy. At age 29 and 30 she suffered two psychotic attacks (lasting several weeks) with sensory delusions of meaning, staging, persecution, megalomaniacal ideas of apocalyptic content (ideas that she was responsible for possible outbreak of nuclear war, coming of the Apocalypse, her son was the antichrist). Delusional behavior (tried to take the naked infant out into the cold, throwing him out of the window). Anticonvulsive therapy accompanied by antipsychotic medications. Schizoaffective disorder and epilepsy diagnosed. From age 35, acute psychotic attacks with apocalyptic delirium preceded by the same aura lasted maximum one day, followed by partial amnesia. Epileptiform polyspikes (up to 150 μV) registered in the right temporal-central EEG leads.

Presence of religious delusion in combined schizoaffective disorder and epilepsy, requires special approach: combination of anticonvulsants and antipsychotics. Religiosity of patient should be taken into account as well.

No significant relationships.

Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) with acute suicidal ideation or behavior (MDSI) require immediate intervention. Though oral antidepressants can be effective at reducing depressive symptoms, they can take 4–6 weeks to reach full effect.

This study aimed to identify unmet needs in the treatment of patients with MDSI, specifically exploring the potential clinical benefits of rapid reduction of depressive symptoms.

A Delphi panel consisting of practicing psychiatrists (n=12) from the US, Canada and EU was conducted between December 2020–June 2021. Panelists were screened to ensure they had sufficient experience with managing patients with MDD and MDSI. Panelists completed two survey rounds, and a virtual consensus meeting.

This research confirmed current unmet needs in the treatment of patients with MDSI.

Hopelessness, functional impairment, worsening of MDD symptoms, recurrent hospitalization and higher risk of suicide attempt were considered as key consequences of the slow onset of action of oral antidepressants.

Treatment with rapid acting antidepressant was anticipated by panelists to provide short-term benefit such as rapid reduction of core MDD symptoms which may contribute to shorter hospital stays and improved patient engagement/compliance, allowing for earlier interventions and improved patient outcomes. For long-term benefits, panelists agreed that improved daily functioning and increased trust/confidence in treatment options, constitute key benefits of rapid-acting treatments

There is need for rapid-acting treatments which may help address key unmet needs and provide clinically meaningful benefits driven by the rapid relief of depressive symptoms particularly in patients with MDSI.

SB, ED, KJ, MO’H, QZ, MM, MH, SR, JA and DZ are employees of Janssen and hold stock in Johnson & Johnson Inc. AN is currently employed by Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. RP is an employee of Adelphi Values PROVE hired by Janssen.

There is a high comorbidity between psychiatric disorders and juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), observed in up to 58% of these patients; specifically, mood disorders, anxiety and personality disorders (PD). In some patients with PD there are nonspecific alterations in the EEG, which nevertheless sometimes involve pathology. The presence of personality disorders along with JME has been repeatedly described. Previous studies have emphasized the difficulties in treating patients with JME, which have been attributed to some specific psychiatric, psychological and psychosocial characteristics.

Describing distinctive personality traits in JME

Review of scientific literature based on a relevant clinical case.

19-year-old woman, single. Psychiatric history since she was 12 due to anxiety-depressive symptoms, after being diagnosed with JME. 4 admissions in Psychiatry, with a variety of diagnoses: eating disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and borderline personality disorder. The evolution of both disorders has been parallel, presenting epileptic seizures due to irregular therapeutic adherence together with pseudo-seizures, which made difficult their differential diagnosis. In addition, he has had frequent visits to the emergency room for suicide attempts and impulsive behaviors.

In 1957, for the first time, distinctive personality traits were described in patients with JME: lack of control and perseverance, emotional instability, variable self-concept and reactive mood, which have been confirmed in subsequent studies. It is believed as epilepsy progresses, patients tend to develop symptoms of depression, anxiety, social problems, and attention deficit. Therefore, these patients have difficulty in following medical recommendations, especially precautions regarding precipitating factors for seizures.

No significant relationships.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with exposure to an actual death or serious injury threatening event , as is the example of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patient, and it is characterized by dissociative, avoidance, cognitive and mood symptoms. (1) It is known that ICU patients may develop PTSD with an incidence rate of 10%. (2)

Comprehend the correlation between PTSD development and ICU care and its risk factors and ways of prevention.

The authors conducted a literature review by searching the Pubmed database using the keywords PTSD; ICU; Risk Factors; Prevention.

The studies show that the risk factors are associated to: Intensive care like mechanic ventilation, sedation (like using midazolam, lorazepam or opioid); individual’s characteristics like being younger than 50 years old, personal history of depression, feminine gender and lower levels of cortisol, and experiencing cognitive alterations, as hallucinations, delirium, amnesia and delirant memory, or anxiety while under ICU care. (1,3,4,5) As a form of prevention non pharmacological measures are the most consensual. Pharmacologic hypothesis should be applied in the first 6 hours of trauma and could be hydrocortisone, as it is thought to be a protective factor for memory consolidation, but the conclusions are not consistent.(6)

There are a lot of people that develop PTSD in the ICU context who are not diagnosed and therefore not treated. In this way, it is necessary to identify the patients with more risk factors, apply the non-pharmacological measures and evaluate the person after discharge.

No significant relationships.

Successful stabilization of patients with mental disorders requires most of the times the use of more than one antipsychotic medications with increase prevalence of clozapine in refractory cases. Constipation consists one of the most debilitating side effect of the therapy, which gradually progresses to a chronic state of bowel movement dysfunction, with recurrent episode of paralytic ileus of various severity.

We describe the case of a middle age male treated with clozapine for refractory mental disorder, who developed ileus and subsequent bowel dysfunction not amenable to laxatives.

The acute episode have been treated conservatively with nasogastric decompression, intravenous replacement of fluids and electrolytes, antibiotics chemoprophylaxis and low molecular weight heparin. His overall physical status was unremarkable for obesity, diabetes, hypertension, allergies, previous operations and a former endoscopic evaluation conducted in the recent past, which had ruled out malignant neoplastic disease.

A course of per os prucalopride have been instituted, which showed preliminary promising results in restoring proper bowel movements, without any serious side effect and without the need to discontinue his course with antipsychotics. Prucalopride is a 5 HT4 agonist which selectively binds to the receptors of the intestine, resulting in muscular contractions as well as clorium secretion from the mucosa promoting an osmotic defecation.The substance has been extensively use in the treatment of irritable bowel disease of the chronic constipation type.

We suggest the more systematic use of this agent in this group of patients after proper endoscopic evaluation and restoration of all secondary causes of constipation.

No significant relationships.

No significant relationships.

The Internet increasingly influences the lives of people in pandemic times. Although there are many positives, there are also risks related to excessive use and addiction. Internet addiction subject has been explored worldwide.

The aim of this pilot study was to analyze the relationships between social connectedenss, connectedness to nature and the occurrence of Internet addiction.

The data were collected from a group of 200 young adults. A cross-sectional observational study using an online questionnaire was conducted via social media. The semi-structured online questionnaire covered the following areas: (1) general sociodemografic data; (2) Internet usage, measured by Generalized and Problematic Internet Use Scale (GPIUS2) (Caplan, 2002), Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS-SF9) (Pontes & Griffiths, 2015), the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS) (Andreassen et al., 2012); (3) nature conectedness, measured by the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) (Mayer, Frantz, 2004); (4) social connectedness, measured by the Social Connectedness Scale Revised (SCS) (Lee et al., 2001); (4) psychological impact and mental health, measured by Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21) and (5) psychological features, such as coping strategies (Mini-COPE, Carver et al.,1989) and personality traits (TIPI -Gosling, Rentfrow, Swann Jr., 2003)

The detailed results and key findings will be presented during the congress.

As the research of the desribed area is insufficient so far, this pilot study may provide a significant contribution to the knowledge on new aspects of internet addictions’ mechanisms. Moreover, it is predicted that our result may have scientific influence on both research in connectedness and eco-psychology.

No significant relationships.

The study of ideas about death and the mechanisms of their formation in adolescents with suicidal behavior is an important task for both diagnosis and psychotherapy. The parents’ notions of death, and the prohibition on discussing the topic of death in the family, can significantly distort the adolescent’s relationship with death.

Investigate differences in attitudes towards death in parents and adolescents who apply to the crisis care room of a child psychiatric clinic.

The study involved 90 adolescents with their parents who applied to the crisis outpatient care system. The following questionnaires were offered: Death Attitude Profile-Revised, Death Anxiety Scale, Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, GAD-7.

Significant differences were found for most of the scales in the samples of adults and adolescents, of particular interest to us were the scales “death avoidance” (W=317,500,z=3,089,p=0,002) and “perception of family support» (W=288,500,z=3,393,p=0,001). For the group of adolescents, there are higher indicators on the scales of anxiety (W=61,000,z=-2,546,p=0,011), anxiety in close relationships (W=83,000,z=-2,549,p=0,011), avoidance of close relationships (W=28,000,z=-3,870,p=0,000), and death as a means of escape (W=54,500,z=-3,076,p=0,002).

In families of adolescents with suicidal behavior, the severity of dysfunctional patterns of building close relationships and the presence of sharply opposite positions in relation to death in children and parents are observed without the possibility of discussing this topic.

No significant relationships.

Impairment in decision-making capacity is a serious consequence of executive dysfunction secondary to serious mental disorders like schizophrenia. Functional mental capacity (FMC) refers to an individual’s ability to make and communicate legally competent decisions autonomously. Studies have shown that FMC is dependent on severity of psychosis and can improve with treatment.

To ascertain the correlation between the scores on a structured judgement tool, namely the Dundrum Capacity Ladders (DCL) with level of acuity of treatment setting and length of stay in a secure forensic hospital.

Sixty-two patients were interviewed using the DCL across three domains – healthcare, welfare and finances. Correlation between DCL scores, length of hospital stay and level of acuity of treatment setting was assessed.

As patients moved from higher to lower dependency wards, mean DCL score increased, indicating a higher level of capacity. Patients in high dependency wards were most impaired while those in the low dependency wards performed significantly better (rs=0.472, p<0.001). The longer the patients stayed in the hospital, up until five years, the higher the mean welfare domain score (rs=0.402, p=0.011) and mean DCL score (rs=0.376, p=0.018). Beyond five years of hospital stay, those who had lower DCL scores and did not improve had longer length of stay.

Patients’ FMC improve as they progress from high to low level of acuity of treatment setting. However, this is dependent on the length of hospital stay. FMC may be a measure of recovery in the forensic setting.

No significant relationships.

Both public and private sector pharmacists were instrumental in containing this health crisis in Tunisia. The high workload had a considerable impact on their mental health during the outbreak of the Corona Virus.

This study aims to assess burnout and the psychological toll of the pandemic among pharmacists in Tunisia during covid-19.

258 Tunisian pharmacists working in the public and private sector participated in a questionnaire. Burnout was assessed by the Maslach burnout scale. Regression analysis was used to assess the impact of the pandemic on Tunisian pharmacists.

80% of the respondents were women. Participants ranged in age from 22 to 62, 60% were married, 57% had at least one child, and 42% had been working for less than five years. The burnout scale revealed 76% burnout among them. Univariate linear regression showed that female gender (p = 0.014 <0.05) was associated with the development of burnout.

The considerable prevalence of burnout among pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia can be attributed to the enormous and overwhelming responsibilities that any health care worker endured.

No significant relationships.

Embitterment is an emotion which is known to everybody in reaction to injustice, humiliation, and breach of trust. In greater intensity it can cause severe suffering for the affected person and the social envirnment, can result in lasting impairment, and even lead to dysfunctional behavior, including aggression. Embittered patients need therapeutic help and are regularly seen in psychotherapy. The problem is often not properly recognized, because of the multiple accompanying symptoms and accusations against the environment.

Goal of the present study was to learn about the prevalence of embitterment in psychotherapy patients

Outpatients in routine psychotherapy filled in the PTED scale (post-traumatic embitterment disorder selfrating scale), the K-FAF (short assessment of aggression) and the SCL-90 (symptom-checklist-90). Additionally, sociodemographic data were available.

Included were 118 patients, of whom 22% showed a relevant severity of embitterment, 23.7% a relevant score for reactive aggression, and 54.2% a relevant score for irritable aggression. There was a significant correlation between the PTED scale and the aggression scale.

The data show that embitterment and related aggression are frequent phenomena in psychotherapy patients. Therapists should be aware of this emotion and take proper action to diagnose embitterment and aggressive ideation, which are often covered by other complaints. Special treatments are needed, as the aggressive and negativistic features of embitterment complicate the psychotherapy process.

No significant relationships.

Numerous evidences point out how migrants use health services differently than the natives. Migrants turn more frequently to the ED for psychiatric problems and less to territorial psychiatric services than the native population. Other differences can be found in terms of diagnosis, type of discharge, type of hospitalization.

Our study has the objective of evaluating the incidence of psychiatric hospitalizations of migrant patients compared to natives in a well-defined area of the metropolitan city of Bologna and evaluate the effect of the Covid 19 pandemic on the incidence of psychiatric hospitalizations among migrants and on their clinical characteristics.

The study conducted is of an observational and retrospective type on migrant and native patients admitted to the psychiatric unit “SPDC-Malpighi” of the DSM-DP of Bologna AUSL between 01/01/2018 and 31/12/2020.

Migrants were more likely to be admitted via ED and less likely to be referred from a CMHC or from non-psychiatric hospital unit compared with natives. Most migrants were discharged at home while natives more frequently chose to self-discharge. With regard to diagnosis, migrants were more likely to be admitted due to a SSD, while natives were more likely to be diagnosed with a MD or SUD.

We confirm the presence of differences in access to care, type of discharge and type of diagnosis between migrants and natives. Further studies to investigate changes in pre and post Covid admissions in migrants would be needed.

No significant relationships.

Despite the fact that adolescents have been at higher risk of distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, the effect of pandemic on psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) is not well described.

The study’s objective is to evaluate if PLEs are induced in young individuals aged 18-24 during the pandemic.

A total of 201 college students from Pakistan (ages 18-24) were recruited for a cross-sectional research. We investigated the incidence of PLEs in Pakistan during the pandemic, their links to socio-demographic factors, COVID-19-related characteristics, depression, anxiety, and sleep difficulties. Community Assessment of Psychic Experience’s positive symptom component (CAPE), Patient Health Questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, and IBM SPSS 25 were used.

CAPE-Frequency and CAPE-stress were positively associated with PHQ total (p<0.0010); GAD total (p<0.001); time spent indoors due to COVID-19 (p<0.001). Psychiatric disorder other than bipolar disorder or psychosis (p<0.001 for CAPE-frequency and stress), family history of psychiatric disorders (p<0.001 for CAPE-frequency and stress), chronic medical disease (p=0.021 CAPE-frequency and p=0.026 CAPE-stress), illegal drug usage (p<0.001 for CAPE-frequency and stress) were associated with CAPE-Frequency and CAPE-stress. In linear stepwise regression analysis, the best model predicted CAPE-Frequency explained 77.4% of variance with the following variables: PHQ total (B=0.552, SE= 0.08, t=6.909, p<0.001), GAD total (p<0.001), duration at home (p<0.001), and psychiatric disorder in family (p<0.001).

PLEs have been linked with anxiety and depression during the pandemic. Individuals with a mental condition, family history of psychiatric disorder, chronic medical illness, illicit drug use, and increased time spent at home experienced more PLEs and stress.

No significant relationships.