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Statistical Genetic Approaches To Investigate Genotype-By-Environment Interaction: Review And Novel Extension Of Models, Vincent P. Diego, Eron G. Manusov, Marcio Almeida, Sandra Laston, David Ortiz, John Blangero, Sarah Williams-Blangero

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Statistical genetic models of genotype-by-environment (G×E) interaction can be divided into two general classes, one on G×E interaction in response to dichotomous environments (e.g., sex, disease-affection status, or presence/absence of an exposure) and the other in response to continuous environments (e.g., physical activity, nutritional measurements, or continuous socioeconomic measures). Here we develop a novel model to jointly account for dichotomous and continuous environments. We develop the model in terms of a joint genotype-by-sex (for the dichotomous environment) and genotype-by-social determinants of health (SDoH; for the continuous environment). Using this model, we show how a depression variable, as measured by the …

“It’S Not That We Care Less”: Insights Into Health Care Utilization For Comorbid Diabetes And Depression Among Latinos, Sharon Borja, Miriam G. Valdovinos, Kenia M. Rivera, Natalia Giraldo-Santiago, Robin Gearing, Luis R. Torres-Hostos

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite robust knowledge regarding the socio-economic and cultural factors affecting Latino* access to healthcare, limited research has explored service utilization in the context of comorbid conditions like diabetes and depression. This qualitative study, embedded in a larger mixed-methods project, aimed to investigate perceptions held by Latinos and their social support systems (i.e., family members) regarding comorbid diabetes and depression and to identify barriers and facilitators to their help-seeking behaviors and treatment engagement. Bilingual and bicultural researchers conducted eight focus groups with 94 participants in a large U.S. metropolitan area and were primarily conducted in Spanish. The participants either had a …

Assessing The Mental Health Of Older Hispanic/Latinx Adults: Focus On The Impact Of The Hispanic Cultural Value Of Fatalismo On Depressive Symptomatology, Anna J. Prado, Amie Bostic, Mario Gil

Research Colloquium

Introduction: The impact of depression in older Hispanic/Latinx adults in the United States is poorly understood. The influence of the deeply embedded Hispanic/Latinx cultural value of fatalismo, referring to the belief that one’s future is predetermined and related to feelings of helplessness, has been found to negatively impact their psychological health [1, 2]. The present study explores the association between the Hispanic/Latinx cultural value of fatalismo and mental health.

Objective: To contribute to the identification and understanding of psycho-social-cultural determinants of depression in the Hispanic/Latinx population.

Methods: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) …

Gene-By-Environment Interaction In Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease And Depression: The Role Of Hepatic Transaminases, Eron G. Manusov, Vincent P. Diego, Edward Abrego, Kathryn Herklotz, Marcio A. Almeida, Xi Mao, Sandra L. Laston, John Blangero, Sarah Williams-Blangero

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) encompasses a range of liver conditions, from benign fatty accumulation to severe fibrosis. The global prevalence of NAFLD has risen to 25-30%, with variations across ethnic groups. NAFLD may advance to hepatocellular carcinoma, increases cardiovascular risk, is associated with chronic kidney disease, and is an independent metabolic disease risk factor. Assessment methods for liver health include liver biopsy, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, and vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE by FibroScan). Hepatic transaminases are cost-effective and minimally invasive liver health assessment methods options.

This study focuses on the interaction between genetic factors underlying the traits (hepatic transaminases …

The Comorbidity Of Depression And Neurocognitive Disorder In Persons With Hiv Infection: Call For Investigation And Treatment, Karl Goodkin, Teresa H. Evering, Albert M. Anderson, Ann Ragin, Cynthia L. Monaco, Christina Gavegnano, Ryan J. Avery, Sean B. Rourke, Lucette A. Cysique, Bruce J. Brew

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Depression and neurocognitive disorder continue to be the major neuropsychiatric disorders affecting persons with HIV (PWH). The prevalence of major depressive disorder is two to fourfold higher among PWH than the general population (∼6.7%). Prevalence estimates of neurocognitive disorder among PWH range from 25 to over 47% – depending upon the definition used (which is currently evolving), the size of the test battery employed, and the demographic and HIV disease characteristics of the participants included, such as age range and sex distribution. Both major depressive disorder and neurocognitive disorder also result in substantial morbidity and premature mortality. However, though anticipated …

Sleep Apnea And Substance Use Disorders Associated With Co-Occurrence Of Anxiety Disorder And Depression Among U.S. Adults: Findings From The Nsduh 2008–2014, Chun Xu, Priscila Acevedo, Liang Wang, Nianyang Wang, Kaysie Ozuna, Saima Shafique, Annu Karithara, Victoria I. Padilla, Chunxiang Mao, Xin Xie, Kesheng Wang

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Few studies have focused on sleep apnea and substance use disorders with co-occurrence of anxiety disorder and depression. This study included a total of 270,227 adults, 9268 with co-occurrence of anxiety disorder and depression in the past year, from the combined 2008–2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data, which are the latest datasets with measures of anxiety disorder and sleep apnea. Weighted multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the associations between anxiety disorder and depression and their co-occurrence. Comorbidity was highly prevalent: 40.4% of those with depression also met the criteria for anxiety disorder, whereas …

Symptoms Of Depression And Anxiety And Subsequent Use Of Nicotine And Thc In Electronic Cigarettes, Stephanie Clendennen, Jacob Smith, Aslesha Sumbe, Baojiang Chen, Anna Wilkinson

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Background: This study examines whether symptoms of depression, anxiety, or comorbid depression and anxiety are associated with future use of nicotine or THC in e-cigarettes.

Methods: Data were from an online survey of youth and young adults in urban areas of Texas with complete data (n = 2,307) in spring 2019 (baseline) and spring 2020 (12-month follow-up). Multivariable logistic regression models examined associations between self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, or comorbid depression and anxiety at baseline and past 30-day e-cigarette use with nicotine or THC at 12-month follow-up. Analyses adjusted for baseline demographics and baseline past 30-day e-cigarette, combustible tobacco, …

Homicidal Ideation And Psychiatric Comorbidities In The Inpatient Adolescents Aged 12–17, Ching-Fang Sun, Zeeshan Mansuri, Chintan Trivedi, Ramu Vadukapuram, Abhishek Reddy

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Objectives: Adolescents with a homicidal tendency is a growing concern in the United States. Studies in the past have showcased the relationship between homicidal ideation (HI) and psychiatric illnesses, but very limited information is available on the adolescent and inpatient population. We aim to evaluate the prevalence of demographic characteristics and psychiatric disorders in adolescents with and without HI.

Materials and methods: Adolescent (age 12–17) population admitted to the hospital with the diagnosis of homicidal ideation was identified from the 2016–2018 National Inpatient Sample Dataset (NISD). Patients without HI were defined as the control group. The prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities …

College Students’ Well-Being During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Michaela Q. Iglesia, Ming-Tsan Lu

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Studies have shown increased levels of distress during the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, and college students are becoming more recognized as a vulnerable population. This narrative systematic review aims to synthesize the current understanding of mental health, lifestyle, and socioeconomic impacts that the pandemic had on college students in the United States. A search was conducted on PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science. A total of 34 observational studies were included which examined aspects of college students’ health and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. A great deal of students was shown to experience a moderate level …

Effects Of Environmental Enrichment In Maternally Separated Rats: Age And Sex-Specific Outcomes, Raura J. Doreste-Mendez, Efraín J. Ríos-Ruiz, Leslie L. Rivera-Lopez, Alfredo Gutierrez

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Maternal separation (MS) early in life is related to an increase in anxiety and depressive-like behaviors and neurobiological alterations mostly related to alterations in hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity. Environmental enrichment (EE) has been used to ameliorate the effects of MS. However, the outcomes of this intervention at different developmental periods after MS have not been studied. We subjected male and female Sprague-Dawley pups to MS and subsequently compared the effects of EE started either in the pre-pubertal period [postnatal day (PND) 22] or adulthood (PND 78). Anxiety and depressive-like behaviors as well as in hippocampal synaptic density and …

Ovarian Hormones Modify Anxiety Behavior And Glucocorticoid Receptors After Chronic Social Isolation Stress, Dinah L. Ramos-Ortolaza, Raura J. Doreste-Mendez, John K. Alvarado-Torres, Annelyn Torres-Reveron

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Chronic social isolation could lead to a disruption in the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, resulting in anxiety and depressive-like behaviors but cycling estrogens could modify these behaviors. The aim of this study was to determine if changes in ovarian hormones during the normal cycle could interact with social isolation to alter anxiety and depressive-like behaviors. In parallel, we examined the expression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and synaptic vesicle protein synaptophysin in the hippocampus and hypothalamus of Sprague Dawley normal cycling female rats. We assigned rats to either isolated or paired housing for 8 weeks. To assess anxiety and depressive-like behaviors, we …

Quality Of Life And Depression Among Patients With Type I Diabetes: A Study Of Gender Differences, Eisha Gohil, Ruby Charak, Haroon Rashid, Priyanka Sharma

Psychological Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Diabetes is a progressive chronic condition which places a significant burden of self management on the individual, such as daily monitoring and medications management, worry about the future and distress about the impact of diabetes on various aspects of life. It is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by elevated blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action or both. The present study aimed to assess gender differences in quality of life and depression in patients suffering from type I diabetes. A sample of 70 participants (44 male and 26 female) in the age range of …

Structural Equation Model Of Disability In Low Back Pain, Brittany L. Melton, Murad Moqbel, Saddam Kanaan, Neena K. Sharma

Information Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Study Design—The effects of participant characteristics along with descriptions of pain, and psychological involvement, such as fear avoidance, were assessed using structural equation modeling to identify relationships between these factors and disability as a result of low back pain.

Objective—The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between factors related to pain description, participants’ characteristics, psychological involvement and disability through structural equation modeling.

Summary of Background Data—Low back pain is a complex multifactorial condition that can lead to disability. Understanding which factors contribute to disability and how those factors interact is important for predicting and …

Depression In Mexican Americans With Diagnosed And Undiagnosed Diabetes, Rene L. Olvera, Susan P. Fisher-Hoch, Douglas E. Williamson, Kristina Vatcheva, Joseph B. Mccormick

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Depression and diabetes commonly co-occur; however, the strength of the physiological effects of diabetes as mediating factors towards depression is uncertain.

Method: We analyzed extensive clinical, epidemiological and laboratory data from n = 2081 Mexican Americans aged 35-64 years, recruited from the community as part of the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (CCHC) divided into three groups: Diagnosed (self-reported) diabetes (DD, n = 335), Undiagnosed diabetes (UD, n = 227) and No diabetes (ND, n = 1519). UD participants denied being diagnosed with diabetes, but on testing met the 2010 American Diabetes Association and World Health Organization definitions of diabetes. …

Anxiety, Depression And Smoking Status Among Adults Of Mexican Heritage On The Texas-Mexico Border, Anna V. Wilkinson, Kristina Vatcheva, Adriana Pérez, Belinda M. Reininger, Joseph B. Mccormick, Susan P. Fisher-Hoch

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The goal of the current analysis is to examine relationships between smoking status and anxiety and depression among adults of Mexican heritage to inform the development of culturally relevant smoking cessations efforts. Mexican heritage residents (N=1,791) of the city of Brownsville, TX, aged 18 years or older, enrolled in the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort, were selected through two stage cluster sampling of randomly selected census tracts from the first and third quartile of SES using Census 2000. Among current smokers, anxiety and depression scores were highest among women who had not completed high school (p<0.05). Former smoking women, but not men, with at least a high school education and former smoking women born in the United States reported higher levels of anxiety and depression than never smoking women. Negative affective states may represent a greater barrier to smoking cessation among women than men.

Prevalence And Incidence Rates Of Dementia And Cognitive Impairment No Dementia In The Mexican Population: Data From The Mexican Health And Aging Study, Silvia Mejía-Arango, Luis Miguel Gutierrez

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Objective

To estimate the prevalence and incidence of dementia and cognitive impairment without dementia (CIND) in the Mexican population.

Methods

The MHAS study is a prospective panel study of health and aging in Mexico with 7,000 elders that represent 8 million subjects nationally. Using measurements of cognition and activities of daily living of dementia cases and CIND were identified at baseline and follow up. Overall incidence rates and specific rates for sex, age and education were calculated.

Results

Prevalence was 6.1% and 28.7% for dementia and CIND, respectively. Incidence rates were 27.3 per 1,000 person-years for dementia and 223 per …