Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with advanced epigenetic age cross-sectionally, but the association between these variables over time is unclear. This study conducted meta-analyses to test whether new-onset PTSD diagnosis and changes in PTSD symptom severity over time were associated with changes in two metrics of epigenetic aging over two time points.

We conducted meta-analyses of the association between change in PTSD diagnosis and symptom severity and change in epigenetic age acceleration/deceleration (age-adjusted DNA methylation age residuals as per the Horvath and GrimAge metrics) using data from 7 military and civilian cohorts participating in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium PTSD Epigenetics Workgroup (total N = 1,367).

Meta-analysis revealed that the interaction between Time 1 (T1) Horvath age residuals and new-onset PTSD over time was significantly associated with Horvath age residuals at T2 (meta β = 0.16, meta p = 0.02, p-adj = 0.03). The interaction between T1 Horvath age residuals and changes in PTSD symptom severity over time was significantly related to Horvath age residuals at T2 (meta β = 0.24, meta p = 0.05). No associations were observed for GrimAge residuals.

Results indicated that individuals who developed new-onset PTSD or showed increased PTSD symptom severity over time evidenced greater epigenetic age acceleration at follow-up than would be expected based on baseline age acceleration. This suggests that PTSD may accelerate biological aging over time and highlights the need for intervention studies to determine if PTSD treatment has a beneficial effect on the aging methylome.

Current knowledge on psychiatric illness following periods of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic is mostly limited to smaller studies in selected populations. This nationwide study of all 4.6 million Danish adults examined if periods of social distancing were associated with changes in surrogate measures of mental health.

All Danish adults (≥18 years) were included and rates of collection of antidepressant prescriptions, psychiatric hospital admissions, and suicide or suicide attempts for the periods March 12, 2020–May 20, 2020 (lockdown period 1), and December 21, 2020–March 1, 2021 (lockdown period 2), were compared to corresponding periods 1 year prior. Individuals were censored due to death or SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Antidepressant consumption increased for both period 1 and period 2, with an incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 1.02 (95% CI: 1.01–1.02, p < 0.001) and IRR 1.08 (95% CI: 1.08–1.09, p < 0.001) respectively, compared to the control periods. Psychiatric hospitalization rates decreased significantly, with an IRR of 0.65 (95% CI: 0.63–0.66, p < 0.001) for period 1, and IRR 0.86 (95% CI: 0.84–0.88, p < 0.001) for period 2. The risk of suicide did not increase in period 1, IRR 0.96 (95% CI: 0.82–1.13, p = 0.64), but seemed increased during period 2, IRR 1.19 (95% CI: 1.02–1.38, p = 0.03).

Periods of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with an increase of antidepressant consumption, but decreased rates of psychiatric hospitalization. Suicide risk seemed increased during the second lockdown period.

Accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder (BPD) is difficult in clinical practice, with an average delay between symptom onset and diagnosis of about 7 years. A depressive episode often precedes the first manic episode, making it difficult to distinguish BPD from unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD).

We use genome-wide association analyses (GWAS) to identify differential genetic factors and to develop predictors based on polygenic risk scores (PRS) that may aid early differential diagnosis.

Based on individual genotypes from case–control cohorts of BPD and MDD shared through the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, we compile case–case–control cohorts, applying a careful quality control procedure. In a resulting cohort of 51 149 individuals (15 532 BPD patients, 12 920 MDD patients and 22 697 controls), we perform a variety of GWAS and PRS analyses.

Although our GWAS is not well powered to identify genome-wide significant loci, we find significant chip heritability and demonstrate the ability of the resulting PRS to distinguish BPD from MDD, including BPD cases with depressive onset (BPD-D). We replicate our PRS findings in an independent Danish cohort (iPSYCH 2015, N = 25 966). We observe strong genetic correlation between our case–case GWAS and that of case–control BPD.

We find that MDD and BPD, including BPD-D are genetically distinct. Our findings support that controls, MDD and BPD patients primarily lie on a continuum of genetic risk. Future studies with larger and richer samples will likely yield a better understanding of these findings and enable the development of better genetic predictors distinguishing BPD and, importantly, BPD-D from MDD.

The majority of studies of mental health interventions for young adolescents have only evaluated short-term benefits. This study evaluated the longer-term effectiveness of a non-specialist delivered group-based intervention (Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions; EASE) to improve young adolescents’ mental health.

In this single-blind, parallel, controlled trial, Syrian refugees aged 10-14 years in Jordan who screened positive for psychological distress were randomised to receive either EASE or enhanced usual care (EUC). Primary outcomes were scores on the Paediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) assessed at Week 0, 8-weeks, 3-months, and 12 months after treatment. Secondary outcomes were disability, posttraumatic stress, school belongingness, wellbeing, and caregivers’ reports of distress, parenting behaviour, and their perceived children’s mental health.

Between June, 2019 and January, 2020, 185 adolescents were assigned to EASE and 286 to EUC, and 149 (80.5%) and 225 (78.7%) were retained at 12 months, respectively. At 12 months there were no significant differences between treatment conditions, except that EASE was associated with less reduction in depression (estimated mean difference -1.6, 95% CI –3.2 to -0.1; p=.03; effect size, -0.3), and a greater sense of school belonging (estimated mean difference -0.3, 95% CI –5.7 to -0.2; p=.03; effect size, 5.0).

Although EASE led to significant reductions in internalising problems, caregiver distress, and harsh disciplinary parenting at 3-months, these improvements were not maintained at 12 months relative to EUC. Scalable psychological interventions for young adolescents need to consider their ongoing mental health needs. Prospectively registered: ACTRN12619000341123.

Studies show that people with severe mental illness (SMI) have a greater risk of dying from colorectal cancer (CRC). These studies mostly predate the introduction of national bowel cancer screening programmes (NBCSPs) and it is unknown if these have reduced disparity in CRC-related mortality for people with SMI.

We compared mortality rates following CRC diagnosis at colonoscopy between a nationally representative sample of people with and without SMI who participated in Australia’s NBCSP. Participation was defined as the return of a valid immunochemical faecal occult blood test (iFOBT). We also compared mortality rates between people with SMI who did and did not participate in the NBCSP. SMI was defined as receiving two or more Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prescriptions for second-generation antipsychotics or lithium.

Amongst NBCSP participants, the incidence of CRC in the SMI cohort was lower than in the controls (hazard ratio [HR] 0.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.61–0.98). In spite of this, their all-cause mortality rate was 1.84 times higher (95% CI 1.12–3.03), although there was only weak evidence of a difference in CRC-specific mortality (HR 1.82; 95% CI 0.93–3.57). People with SMI who participated in the NBCSP had better all-cause survival than those who were invited to participate but did not return a valid iFOBT (HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.50–0.88). The benefit of participation was strongest for males with SMI and included improved all-cause and CRC-specific survival.

Participation in the NBCSP may be associated with improved survival following a CRC diagnosis for people with SMI, especially males, although they still experienced greater mortality than the general population. Approaches to improving CRC outcomes in people with SMI should include targeted screening, and increased awareness about the benefits or participation.

Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (Trial ID: ACTRN12620000781943).

Clinical research is critical for healthcare advancement, but participant recruitment remains challenging. Clinical research professionals (CRPs; e.g., clinical research coordinator, research assistant) perform eligibility prescreening, ensuring adherence to study criteria while upholding scientific and ethical standards. This study investigates the key information CRP prioritizes during eligibility prescreening, providing insights to optimize data standardization, and recruitment approaches.

We conducted a freelisting survey targeting 150 CRPs from diverse domains (i.e., neurological disorders, rare diseases, and other diseases) where they listed essential information they look for from medical records, participant/caregiver inquiries, and discussions with principal investigators to determine a potential participant’s research eligibility. We calculated the salience scores of listed items using Anthropac, followed by a two-level analytic procedure to classify and thematically categorize the data.

The majority of participants were female (81%), identified as White (44%) and as non-Hispanic (64.5%). The first-level analysis universally emphasized age, medication list, and medical history across all domains. The second-level analysis illuminated domain-specific approaches in information retrieval: for instance, history of present illness was notably significant in neurological disorders during participant and principal investigator inquiries, while research participation was distinctly salient in potential participant inquiries within the rare disease domain.

This study unveils the intricacies of eligibility prescreening, with both universal and domain-specific methods observed. Variations in data use across domains suggest the need for tailored prescreening in clinical research. Incorporating these insights into CRP training and refining prescreening tools, combined with an ethical, participant-focused approach, can advance eligibility prescreening practices.

A minority of naturally cycling individuals experience clinically significant affective changes across the menstrual cycle. However, few studies have examined cognitive and behavioral constructs that may maintain or worsen these changes. Several small studies link rumination with premenstrual negative affect, with authors concluding that a tendency to ruminate amplifies and perpetuates hormone-sensitive affective symptoms. Replication in larger samples is needed to confirm the validity of rumination as a treatment target.

190 cycling individuals (M = 30.82 years; 61.1% Caucasian) were recruited for moderate perceived stress, a risk factor for cyclical symptoms. They completed the Rumination Response Scale at baseline, then reported daily affective and physical symptoms across 1–6 cycles. Multilevel growth models tested trait rumination as a predictor of baseline levels, luteal increases, and follicular decreases in symptoms.

The degree of affective cyclicity was normally distributed across a substantial range, supporting feasibility of hypothesis tests and validating the concept of dimensional hormone sensitivity. Contrary to prediction, higher brooding did not predict levels or cyclical changes of any symptom. In a subsample selected for luteal increases in negative affect, brooding predicted higher baseline negative affect but still did not predict affective cyclicity.

An individual's trait-like propensity to engage in rumination may not be a valid treatment target in premenstrual mood disorders. State-like changes in rumination should still be further explored, and well-powered prospective studies should explore other cognitive and behavioral factors to inform development of targeted psychological treatments for patients with cyclical affective symptoms.

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and dementia present major and escalating public health concerns for the U.S., especially among ethnoculturally diverse (e.g., Latinx, non-Latinx Black [NLB]) populations who represent an increasing percentage of the older adult population in the US and bear greater AD burden compared to non-Latinx Whites (NLWs). Notably, neurocognition and functional status are highly correlated in those with AD. However, little has been done to understand these associations and validate functional measures across geographically diverse, multiethnic samples. The aims of this study were to characterize the neurocognition and functional status of a large, multiethnic sample and subsequently examine any associations between neurocognition and functional status among Latinx, NLB, and NLW older adults.

This cross-sectional, retrospective study utilized archival data drawn from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). ADNI is a national, longitudinal, multi-site, observational study aiming to measure the progression of AD (see https://adni-info.org). Study measures included the: 1) Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale Cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog; 13-items), a global neurocognitive battery evaluating neurocognition in people with AD; 2) Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ; 10-item questionnaire) to assess functional status; 3) Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS; 15-item questionnaire) for depression; and 4) American National Adult Reading Test (ANART; 50-word test) for reading level. The sample included 1537 older adults who completed baseline visits for the ADNI study, 1333 of whom were NLW, 123 NLB, and 81 Latinx. The average age of the sample was 73 years, average 16 years of education, and 53% male. Compared to the NLW group, the NLB and Latinx groups were significantly younger and had a higher percentage of female participants. Compared to NLW and Latinx groups, the NLB group also had significantly fewer years of education and lower reading scores. Potential confounds (i.e., demographic variables, depression) were identified a priori based on the literature and subsequently analyzed for inclusion as covariates in the primary analyses. Analyses revealed variables were non-normally distributed, therefore Independent Samples Kruskal-Wallis tests and Spearman’s Correlations were computed to examine differences and correlations between ethnocultural groups.

After controlling for age and education, Latinx and NLB groups had significantly higher ADAS-cog and FAQ scores than the NLW group (Hs = 9.50-21.53, ps < .05). Spearman’s partial correlations controlling for age, education, gender, and depression revealed that higher ADAS-cog scores were associated with higher FAQ scores within Latinx (p=.49, p<.001), NLB (p=.66, p<.001), and NLW (p=.60, p<.001) groups.

Findings indicate that neurocognition is positively associated with functional status and support the ecological and external validity of the ADAS-cog and FAQ for use with NLB and Latinx older adults, in addition to previously established work with more homogenous samples. Study strengths include the overall sample size, geographic diversity, and standardization of research approaches. Study limitations include high education level and low comorbidity rates present in the sample, limiting the generalizability of the results, in addition to the unbalanced ethnocultural groups, further emphasizing the need for increased inclusion efforts of ethnoculturally diverse older adults into brain health research studies.

The Immigrant Health Paradox (IHP) suggests that immigrants have better health upon arrival in comparison to their U.S.-born Latinx counterparts, indicating that immigrants’ unique experiences may buffer against negative health outcomes, including cognition. Some studies indicate that IHP-related cognitive health benefits diminish with increased time spent in the U.S., while others suggest that this relationship may be age-dependent such that compared to migration during earlier or later life, migration during young/middle adulthood may be related to better cognition-potentially due to higher simultaneous cognitive demands associated with this age epoch (e.g., language acquisition, acculturation). However, this literature is equivocal and has methodological limitations (e.g., cognition typically assessed with cognitive screeners, lack of clinical populations) Thus, this study aimed to examine the role of age related to IHP and cognition within a well-characterized sample of HIV+ Latinx adults. It was hypothesized that compared to U.S.-born Latinx adults and those who immigrated earlier or later in life, the Latinx immigrant subgroup who migrated during young/middle adulthood would demonstrate better cognitive functioning.

This cross-sectional study included a HIV+ sample (A/=105) of 34 Latinx immigrants (Mage=45.56, SD=6.99) and 71 U.S.-born Latinx individuals (Mage=46.03, SD=7.63), who completed a comprehensive sociocultural questionnaire and cognitive battery. Demographically-adjusted average T-scores were computed for each cognitive test and domain (e.g., learning, memory). A series of Welch’s-corrected ANOVAS with post hoc Games-Howell tests for multiple comparisons were conducted to compare cognitive function across three groups: Latinx immigrants who migrated during earlier (<19 yrs) or later adulthood (>50 yrs), young/middle adulthood (20-49 yrs), and U.S.-born Latinx adults.

Compared to the other Latinx subgroups, Latinx immigrants who migrated during middle adulthood performed worse in Verbal Fluency (F(2,98)=8.04, p<.001), Attention/Working Memory (f(2,96)=6.10, p<.01), Executive Function (f(2,99)=5.11, p<.01), and Processing Speed (F(2,101)=3.36, p<.05). Posthoc Games-Howell tests showed that the mean Verbal Fluency (p<.01, 95% C.I.=[-21.37, -2.66]), Attention/Working Memory (p<.05, 95% C.I.=[-16.82, -1.59]), Executive Function (p<.01, 95% C.I.=[-14.66, -2.49]) and Processing Speed (p<.05, 95% C.I.=[-13.60, -1.31]) T-scores were significantly lower in Latinx immigrants who migrated in young/middle adulthood compared to the U.S.-born Latinx sample. Further, there were no differences between the U.S.-born Latinx group compared to the Latinx immigrant group who migrated earlier or later in life (ps>.05).

This preliminary study is the first to examine whether the potential protective cognitive effects of the IHP vary across the lifespan among Latinx immigrants with HIV, using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Age-related IHP benefits were not observed in this study. Moreover, Latinx immigrants who migrated during young/middle adulthood had worse cognitive functioning compared to their U.S.-born Latinx counterparts and those that migrated earlier or later in life. A possible explanation for this study’s unexpected findings is that the IHP is outdated due to the current sociopolitical climate immigrants experience compared to the 1980s when the theory was developed. Future studies, with larger samples, longitudinal designs, and greater sociocultural characterization (e.g., immigration reason/s, country of origin, discrimination), are needed to better understand the role of IHP in cognition.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a highly prevalent mental illness that is associated with clinically significant distress, functional impairment, and poor emotional regulation. Primary functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of GAD report neural abnormalities in comparison to healthy controls. However, many of these findings in the primary literature are inconsistent, and it is unclear whether they are specific to GAD or shared transdiagnostically across related disorders.

This meta-analysis seeks to establish the most reliable neural abnormalities observed in individuals with GAD, as reported in the primary fMRI activation literature.

We conducted an exhaustive literature search in PubMed to identify primary studies that met our pre-specified inclusion criteria and then extracted relevant data from primary, whole-brain fMRI activation studies of GAD that reported coordinates in Talairach or MNI space. We then used multilevel kernel density analysis (MKDA) with ensemble thresholding to examine the differences between adults with GAD and healthy controls in order to identify brain regions that reached statistical significance across primary studies.

Patients with GAD showed statistically significant (α=0.05–0.0001; family-wise-error-rate corrected) neural activation in various regions of the cerebral cortex and basal ganglia across a variety of experimental tasks.

These results inform our understanding of the neural basis of GAD and are interpreted using a frontolimbic model of anxiety as well as specific clinical symptoms of this disorder and its relation to other mood and anxiety disorders. These results also suggest possible novel targets for emerging neurostimulation therapies (e.g., transcranial magnetic stimulation) and may be used to advance our understanding of the effects of current pharmaceutical treatments and ways to improve treatment selection and symptom-targeting for patients diagnosed with GAD.

None Declared