Background: Attitudes toward aging influence many health outcomes, yet their relationship with cognition and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains unknown. To better understand their impact on cognition and AD risk, we examined whether positive attitudes predict better cognition and diminished risk on AD biomarkers. Methods: A subsample of older adults with a family history of AD (n=54; women=39) from the McGill PREVENT-AD cohort participated in this study. Participants completed the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (AAQ-24), providing three scores: psychosocial loss, psychological growth and physical change. Participants underwent cognitive testing (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, RAVLT; Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System-Color Word Interference Test, D-KEFS-CWIT), and AD blood-based biomarker assessments (p-tau217, Aβ42/40). Regression models tested associations, adjusting for covariates (age, sex, education, depression, APOE4), and were Bonferroni corrected. Results: Positive attitudes were associated with better recall and recognition (RAVLT) and improved word reading, colour naming, switching, and inhibition (D-KEFS-CWIT) (p<0.00077), while negative attitudes showed the opposite pattern. Negative attitudes were correlated with lower Aβ42/40 ratios, while positive attitudes were linked to lower p-tau217 (p<0.0167). Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that positive attitudes predict better cognition and a lower risk profile for AD biomarkers, suggesting that life outlook may be an early disease feature or a risk factor.

Psychologists and psychological research have shaped sleep and circadian science for over a century. Yet, psychology has not fully embraced sleep as a core area of inquiry, and sleep medicine has not distinctly acknowledged the foundational role psychology plays in understanding sleep and circadian rhythms. This Question Paper invites submissions exploring psychology’s profound impact on the study, measurement and intervention strategies in sleep and circadian science, as well as reciprocal influences. Manuscripts may include historiographies of key contributors, laboratory milestones, theoretical advancements and methodological innovations within a historical context. We aim to capture the full scope of sleep psychology from its origins to a vision of its future.

Sleep value is the relative worth individuals assign to sleep. We previously found that individual differences in several sleep value subfactors relate to demographic, health and sleep variables. Given the pivotal role values play in health behavior and the positive association between sleep value and sleep disturbance, individual differences in sleep value may influence vulnerability/resilience to sleep and circadian disturbance. This survey study (N = 455) aimed to establish the latent factor structure of sleep value and identify whether sleep value profiles relate to demographic and sleep characteristics. Factor analysis on the Sleep Valuation Item Bank 2.0 identified five factors (wanting, prioritizing, devaluing, appreciating and preferring). Latent profile analyses revealed five distinct sleep value profiles (unconcerned, appreciative, devalue, ambivalent priority and concerned). Depression, sleep disturbance and sleep-related impairment were highest among those who highly value sleep (concerned profile) and lowest among those who neither value nor devalue sleep (unconcerned profile). Findings suggest sleep value is a complex aspect of sleep health rather than a “more is better” construct and highlight that individual differences in sleep value profiles may be associated with vulnerability/resilience to sleep disturbance.

We evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of frailty screening using handgrip strength with gait speed measures within four primary care-based memory clinics in Ontario. This mixed methods quality improvement initiative examined the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance of frailty screening from the perspective of patients (N = 216), care partners (N = 142), and healthcare providers (N = 9). Frailty screening was well-received by patients and care partners and perceived as quick and easy to administer and integrate into assessment processes by healthcare providers at all four memory clinics. The ease of integrating frailty screening into clinic processes was a key factor facilitating implementation; few challenges or suggestions for improvement were identified. All four clinics plan to continue frailty screening, three using the methods adopted in this study. Integrating frailty screening into memory assessments is feasible and acceptable and, given the interactional relationship between frailty and dementia, provides a significant opportunity to improve health outcomes for older adults.

A healthcare-associated group A Streptococcus outbreak involving six patients, four healthcare workers, and one household contact occurred in the labor and delivery unit of an academic medical center. Isolates were highly related by whole genome sequencing. Infection prevention measures, healthcare worker screening, and chemoprophylaxis of those colonized halted further transmission.

Understanding the intricate relationship between sleep, circadian rhythms and psychological development is a pressing question within the field of Sleep Psychology. This initiative calls upon researchers to submit manuscripts that contribute to answering the fundamental query, “What is the role of sleep and circadian rhythms in psychological development?” By delving into the intersection of sleep and psychological development, we aim to illuminate this critical connection and its implications for human well-being. Specifically, it is our hope that through addressing this question, we can better design and tailor interventions that aim to enhance psychological well-being across the lifespan.

The network paradigm for psychiatric disorder nosology was proposed based on the hypothesis that mental disorders are caused by networks of symptoms that are themselves causally related. Researchers have widely applied and integrated this paradigm to examine a variety of mental disorders, particularly depression. Existing studies generally focus on the correlation structure of symptoms, inferring causal relationships. Thus, presumption of causality may not be justified. The goal of this review was to examine the assumptions necessary for causal inference in network studies of depression. Specifically, we examined whether and how network studies address common violations of causal assumptions (i.e. no measurement error, exchangeability, and positivity). Of the 41 studies reviewed, five (12%) studies discussed sources of confounding unrelated to measurement error; none discussed positivity; and five conducted post-hoc analysis for measurement error. Depression network studies, in principle, are conducted under the assumption that symptom relationships are causal. Yet, in practice, studies seldomly discussed or adequately tested assumptions required to infer causality. Researchers continue to design studies that are unable to support the credibility of the network paradigm for the study of depression. There is a critical need to ensure scientific efforts cease to perpetuate problematic designs and findings to a potentially unsubstantiated paradigm.

Managing and assessing well-being in laboratory mice (Mus musculus) is both challenging and necessary. Assessments intended to detect negative welfare states in mice are usually performed via observation of animals in the home cage, but a substantial amount of time and skill may be required to detect subtle behavioural changes. The Time to Integrate to Nest Test (TINT) is a simple, cageside assessment tool that identifies the presence or absence of a highly motivated normal behaviour in mice. The test is conducted by adding a small amount of new nesting material to a mouse cage. A positive outcome is achieved when this new material is integrated into the home nest within 10 min. This study examined whether housing condition or nesting experience affects TINT outcome. Single or group housing did not influence the TINT outcome, but a significant difference in latency to integration was found; singly housed mice took longer than group-housed mice to integrate TINT substrate. Mice which were raised naïve to nesting material had no significant delays when tested. However, experience with the TINT procedure showed increased speed to incorporate the testing substrate, indicating that previous experience to the paradigm prior to experimental testing may be necessary. These findings help to define the expected outcomes of the TINT, better positioning it for use as an assessment tool in varied research settings.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: A qualitative study was performed to characterize experiences of Black and White women going through menopause, as well as identify barriers and facilitators for participating in a lifestyle program targeting weight management during menopause. This abstract includes data from Black women. Results from White women will be available by ACTS 2022. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Perimenopausal and postmenopausal Black women with a self-reported desire to lose or maintain weight during menopause participated in a total of six focus groups. Women were asked about their past experiences with diet, exercise, and weight management; their menopause experiences; as well as specific components and considerations for developing a lifestyle program for weight management. Thematic analysis was conducted on coded transcripts and four main themes emerged, each containing three to seven subthemes. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Twenty-seven Black women (age 54±4 years, BMI 35.1±9.0 kg/m2) were enrolled. Overall, women felt unprepared for the changes they experienced during menopause and had difficulty maintaining or losing weight. While women were receptive to trying different diets and exercises, they wanted a diet that was flexible with their lifestyle and exercises that considered their existing health status. Women were also interested in learning about menopause alongside other women, stating that medical professionals did not provide them with adequate information or help. Social support, accountability, and seeing results were perceived critical to achieve long-lasting behavioral change. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Women were interested in receiving menopause information and improving their overall health as part of a lifestyle program during menopause. Associating with other women affected by menopause will allow for the creation of more sustainable lifestyle programs during menopause.

Early life nutrition fundamentally influences neonatal development and health. Human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) are key components of breast milk but not standard infant formula that support the establishment of the newborn gut microbiota. Using an artificial rearing system, our objective was to test the effect of two HMO on the whole body and organ growth, adiposity, glucose tolerance and faecal microbiota in young rat pups. From postnatal days 4 to 21, Sprague–Dawley rats were randomised to receive one of: (1) CTR (rat milk substitute); (2) 2′FL (CTR + 1·2 g/l 2′-fucosyllactose); (3) 3′SL (CTR + 1·2 g/l 3′-sialyllactose) and (4) 2′FL + 3′SL (CTR + 0·6 g/l 2′-FL + 0·6 g/l 3′-SL). Body weight (BW), bowel movements and food intake were monitored daily, faecal samples collected each week and oral glucose tolerance, body composition and organ weight measured at weaning. No significant differences were observed between groups in growth performance, body composition, organ weight and abundance of dominant faecal microbes. A decreased relative abundance of genus Proteus in week 1 faecal samples and Terrisporobacter in week 3 faecal samples (P < 0·05) was suggestive of a potential pathogen inhibitory effect of 3′SL. Longitudinal changes in the faecal microbiota of artificially reared suckling rats were primarily governed by age (P = 0·001) and not affected by the presence of 2′-FL and/or 3′-SL in rat milk substitutes (P = 0·479). Considering the known protective effects of HMO, further investigation of supplementation with these and other HMO in models of premature birth, extremely low BW or malnutrition may show more pronounced outcomes.