Su-Woo Lee

Objective This study aimed to examine the associations of childhood trauma, psychosocial resources (social support and resilience), and emotional distress with quality of life (QoL) in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD), and to explore potential differences between the epigastric pain syndrome (EPS) and postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) subtypes.Methods This cross-sectional study included 152 FD patients and 79 healthy controls who completed the Korean versions of the following instruments: Beck Depression Inventory-II (K-BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (K-BAI), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (KCTQ), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-K), and World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument Brief Form (WHOQOL-BREF). Negative affect was computed as a principal component analysis-derived composite from K-BDI-II emotional/cognitive items and K-BAI; QoL was a composite of WHOQOLBREF domains. Group differences were assessed using analysis of variance, and hierarchical regression analysis identified predictors of QoL within the patient group. Finally, multivariate regression models compared subtype-specific psychosocial associations.Results Compared to controls, patients with FD reported higher emotional distress and childhood trauma, lower psychosocial resources and QoL. Negative affect was consistently associated with lower QoL in both subtypes (EPS: β=-0.360; PDS: β=-0.300). Although direct statistical comparison of pathways between subtypes showed no significant differences, the most prominent protective factor within each group appeared to differ: in the EPS group, higher social support was the most significant predictor of better QoL (β=0.381, p=0.001), whereas in the PDS group, resilience was the key protective factor (β=0.360, p=0.001).Conclusion Reducing emotional distress remains a central target for improving QoL in FD. Subtype-tailored emphases may be helpful— enhancing social support in EPS and bolstering resilience in PDS—while noting that between-subtype differences were limited and require confirmation in larger samples.

Objective This study aimed to estimate the proportion meeting Rome III criteria for functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) and examine associations with suicide ideation (Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation, BSS), depression (Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression Scale for Children, CES-DC), anxiety (Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, SCARED), and perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale, PSS) in child and adolescent psychiatric outpatients, including subgroup analyses by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional constipation (FC), and subtype complexity (single vs. multiple).Methods We recruited 137 outpatients aged 12–18 years (2021–2023). FGIDs were classified with the Questionnaire on Pediatric Gastrointestinal Symptoms–Rome III (QPGS–Rome III). BSS, CES-DC, SCARED, and PSS assessed psychosocial burden. Group differences used standard comparisons (two-sided p<0.05).Results Overall, 69.3% met Rome III criteria for ≥1 FGID subtype. Compared with the non-FGID group, the FGID group had higher scores on BSS (p=0.048), CES-DC (p=0.035), SCARED (p<0.001), and PSS (p=0.003). In three-group comparisons (non/single/multiple), CES-DC, SCARED, and PSS differed significantly, with single and multiple FGID groups exceeding non-FGID. In subgroup analyses, IBS-related groups showed higher anxiety and stress than non-FGID, whereas the single FC subtype did not differ significantly.Conclusion Among child and adolescent psychiatric outpatients, the proportion meeting the Rome III criteria for FGIDs was high and was significantly associated with psychological burden. These findings support integrating gastrointestinal symptom screening with mental health assessments at intake, with risk-stratified management for IBS-related presentations.

Yeong-Dae Jo, Dae-Jin Kim, Kyu-Sic Hwang, Chan-Gyu Jung, Su-Woo Lee, Dong-Ho Lee, Su-In Jung, Sung-Hoon Yoon, Sang-Yeol Lee, Chan-Mo Yang. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci 2025;23:453-66. https://doi.org/10.9758/cpn.25.1294

Objective The objective of this study is to compare the psychosocial characteristics of functional dyspepsia (FD) with its subgroups, epigastric pain syndrome (EPS) and postprandial distress syndrome (PDS), against a healthy control group, and to investigate the quality of life (QoL).Methods All of the subjects were 210 adults, 131 patients with FD were diagnosed by gastroenterologist and 79 adults with no observable symptoms of FD were selected as the normal control group. Demographic factors were investigated. The Korean-Beck Depression Inventory-II, Korean-Beck Anxiety Inventory, Korean-Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and WHO Quality of Life Assessment Instrument Brief Form were used to assess psychological factors. A one-way analysis of variance was used to compare differences among the groups. Further, a stepwise regression analysis was conducted to determine factors affecting the QoL of the FD group.Results Between-group differences in demographic characteristics were not significant. Depression (F=37.166, p<0.001), anxiety (F=30.261, p<0.001), and childhood trauma (F=6.591, p<0.01) were all significantly higher in FD group compared to the normal control. Among FD subgroups, EPS exhibited higher levels of both depression and anxiety than PDS. Social support (F=17.673, p<0.001) and resilience (F=8.425, p<0.001) were significantly lower in FD group than in other groups, and the values were higher in PDS than in EPS. Resilience (β=0.328, p<0.001) was the most important explanatory variable. The explained variance was 46.6%.Conclusion Significantly more symptoms of depression, anxiety, childhood trauma was observed for both FD sub-group. These groups also had less social support, resilience, and QoL than the control groups.

Large Language Models (LLMs) offer promising opportunities in mental health domains, although their inherent complexity and low controllability elicit concern regarding their applicability in clinical settings. We present MindfulDiary, an LLM-driven journaling app that helps psychiatric patients document daily experiences through conversation. Designed in collaboration with mental health professionals, MindfulDiary takes a state-based approach to safely comply with the experts’ guidelines while carrying on free-form conversations. Through a four-week field study involving 28 patients with major depressive disorder and five psychiatrists, we examined how MindfulDiary facilitates patients’ journaling practice and clinical care. The study revealed that MindfulDiary supported patients in consistently enriching their daily records and helped clinicians better empathize with their patients through an understanding of their thoughts and daily contexts. Drawing on these findings, we discuss the implications of leveraging LLMs in the mental health domain, bridging the technical feasibility and their integration into clinical settings.

Su-Woo Lee, MD, Chan-Mo Yang, MD, Sang-Yeol Lee, MD, PhD, Seung-Ho Jang, MD. Mood Emot 2023;21:28-30. https://doi.org/10.35986/me.2023.21.2.28