Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Comprehensive Community Medicine, Alexander Walther

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Comprehensive Community Medicine (CCM) is a theoretical framework designed to address the complex needs of individuals with dual diagnoses of mental illness and substance use disorders (SUDs). Dual diagnosis is highly prevalent, particularly among populations experiencing homelessness, and is associated with poorer health outcomes and increased healthcare service utilization. Structural inequities, including a fractured healthcare system, exacerbate the challenges faced by this vulnerable group. Research indicates that effective care for dually diagnosed individuals requires a layered approach addressing clinical, systemic, legal, and housing barriers.

The development of CCM has been informed by interviews with local stakeholders, including County EMS board …

Addressing The Public Health Concern Of Maternal Mortality In Houston, Texas, Lucy Couture

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Maternal mortality remains a pressing public health concern in the United States, with disproportionate consequences for marginalized communities. Despite being a developed nation, the U.S. reports one of the highest maternal mortality rates among its peers, with approximately 80% of maternal deaths deemed preventable. Texas reflects this national crisis, particularly affecting Black women, whose maternal mortality rate is significantly higher than that of other racial and ethnic groups. This thesis explores maternal mortality trends in Houston, Texas, analyzing the roles of systemic inequities, social determinants of health, and disparities in access to quality care. Drawing on data from the Texas …

The Effects Of First Responder Stress & Trauma On Spouses And Romantic Partners, Eden Thiess

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

First responder jobs pose unique difficulties due to the sheer number of traumatic events that they witness and personally experience. Research has demonstrated some effects of stress and trauma on family relationships, but the literature lacks an understanding of the ways that first responder trauma and stress affects their marriages and romantic relationships. The current study’s purpose was to investigate the experiences of first responder spouses and partners within the Las Vegas area in regards to stress, trauma, and relationship dynamics as influenced by the first responder role. In this study, 11 participants who were in a marriage or romantic …

Opioid Knowledge And Experiences In Nebraska College Students, Natalie Holding

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This study investigated opioid-related knowledge and experiences among 83 Nebraska college students, with an emphasis on awareness, perceived risks, and educational needs regarding opioids and the overdose-reversing drug, naloxone. For participants who have used opioids outside of a doctor’s orders, questions were asked regarding motivations, comorbidities, coping mechanisms, and treatment experiences. Data were collected via an anonymous survey featuring closed- and open-ended questions. Results showed that 41% of participants reported feeling moderately knowledgeable about opioid risks, while 34% felt only slightly knowledgeable. Although 80.7% of participants were aware of naloxone, most were uncertain either about (22.9%) or did not know …

Volunteering For Medically Underserved Children: Clinic With A Heart–Back-To-School Clinics, Isabella Marie Kerby Kessinger

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Medically underserved children, often from low-income families or areas with limited healthcare resources, face significant barriers in accessing essential medical services and represent a fundamental challenge to equity and social justice. School physicals and back-to-school clinics play a crucial role in addressing these healthcare needs, serving as a gateway to educational and extracurricular opportunities.

Clinic With a Heart (CWH), a non-profit medical and dental clinic in Lincoln, Nebraska, serves as a model for addressing healthcare disparities. In 2023, CWH provided 3,109 visits to 1,846 unique patients, with 83% lacking health insurance and 63% having household incomes below $16,000 annually. The …

Creating A Space For Relaxation And Wellbeing At The University Of South Alabama, Mary Wolf

Honors Theses

A program to provide supplementary support for the mental health and wellness of students at a midsize Southern University by providing a centrally located “relaxation space” for students on campus during the last two weeks of the semester is proposed and tested. A central location was found on campus to host the space. The researcher also developed an online survey for students to review the space. The trial was run for two weeks, and participants were able to access the online survey throughout those weeks. The results of the survey were analyzed to better understand the students’ responses to the …

Assessing The Short-Term Outcomes Of Erase And Replace: A Series Of Health & Wellness Activities, Gabriela Murza, Christina Pay, Eva Timothy, Melanie Dabb, Cris Meier

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Utah State University Extension faculty addressed Utah's high rate of poor mental health with activities that improved participants’ connections, confidence, and abilities. These efforts positively impacted adults' mental health and quality of life and offered an additional resource to address self-care needs while encouraging connection and skill-building.

Preventing Depression In Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: An Educational Video Series, Sabrina Casares, Steven Gerardi, Meghan Skidmore

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

Grandparent caregivers often face increased risk for depression, yet access to mental health resources—particularly self-help approaches—is limited. Texas Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (TXGRG), a non-profit organization supporting grandparent caregivers, lacked a specific mental health resource to address this need. This capstone project developed and implemented a self-help, occupation-based educational video series to provide practical strategies for preventing and managing depression. Designed for accessibility and ease of use, the video series offers tools grounded in daily occupations to promote mental well-being. This project fills a critical gap by equipping TXGRG and its caregivers with a proactive, occupation-focused mental health resource to support …

Life Review And Reminiscence In Occupational Therapy Practice: An Educational Video Series, Andrea Garza, Steven M. Gerardi Phd, Otd, Mss, Otr

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

Dementia is a progressive neurological disorder that impacts millions of people, leading to cognitive decline and functional impairment. Life review therapy and reminiscence therapy are effective treatment approaches that have been used with people with dementia to stimulate cognitive processes and provide emotional support by reflecting on past experiences. Although therapeutic occupations based on reminiscence and life review have been used in occupational therapy (OT) practice, there is limited literature on the topic to guide clinical practice. Problem: There is a lack of guidance on the integration of occupation-based life review and reminiscence into OT practice for people with dementia. …

Neurodivergent Adults: Cultivating Intimate Partner Relationships Through Diverse Dating Platforms To Improve Well-Being And Life Satisfaction, Victoria R. Wolf, Mary Jan Greer

Fall 2024 OTD Capstone Symposium

This capstone project focuses on program development to increase the social participation of neurodivergent adults in establishing intimate partner relationships (AOTA, 2020). Creating an opportunity for neurodivergent individuals to meet each other with the intent of forming intimate partner relationships can increase their social participation and overall life satisfaction (Mitran, 2022). According to AOTA (2020), intimate partner relationships are essential to many individuals' lives. Altering the modern-day approach and building online and in-person platforms that support the individuality of the neurodivergent population will enable them to form connections without prejudice or judgment (Mitran, 2022).

Bridging The Gap: Fostering Open Dialogue On Resource Access And Service Needs, Cameron Castillo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This project investigates whether there are additional resources desired by clients or are needed to better support said clients in their recovery at the Interim, Inc. organization. This agency is a nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to build community connections through providing services to individuals facing mental health and substance use challenges. While there is a wide range of programs available, there may still be clients with unmet needs. The purpose of this project was to identify any service gaps by conducting separate surveys of clients and staff members. Through the use of open-ended questions, the expectation of receiving …

Understanding And Intervening In Children's Tick Risk Perceptions And Protective Behaviors: A Grounded Theory, Ariel Dawdy

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Children, ages 8 years and younger, are at a particularly high risk of contracting a tick-borne disease. This is partially due to the misconceptions spread about tick protective behavior and a poor understanding of how antibiotic treatment can help. Because most communities and families believe that tick control is the individual’s responsibility, looking at the interaction between ticks and human children is essential to understanding the individual’s motivations to protect themselves. To help alleviate the number of individuals contracting tick-borne diseases, misconceptions must be addressed, intervention programs implemented, and a behavioral change must occur. This study used a qualitative research …

The Life And Discoveries Of Yellapragada Subbarow, Nikhil R, Varuni Pragya, Subramanian Ramaswamy, Shiva Prasad B N, Mahabaleshwar Mamadapur

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

Dr. Yellapragada Subbarow was a researcher, teacher, and a wizard of wonder drugs who constantly made efforts in the discoveries/ inventions such as vitamins, anti-vitamins, antibiotics, and many more by disentangling the mysteries of nature for the betterment of the people. He inspired the youngsters to take up the challenges and to stand up above mediocrity. The reward for his achievement was delayed. The article describes a true humanist's journey, discoveries, and his achievements that are largely unknown to date.

Biological Validation Of Peak-Width Of Skeletonized Mean Diffusivity As A Vcid Biomarker: The Markvcid Consortium, Alison M Luckey, Saptaparni Ghosh, Chen-Pin Wang, Alexa Beiser, Rebecca Bernal, Zhiguang Li, Djass Mbangdadji, Elyas Fadaee, Haykel Snoussi, Angel Gabriel Velarde Dediós, Hector A Trevino, Monica Goss, Laura J Hillmer, Christopher E Bauer, Adam M Staffaroni, Lara Stables, Marilyn Albert, Jayandra J Himali, Thomas H Mosley, Lars Forsberg, Vilmundur Guðnason, Baljeet Singh, Herpreet Singh, Kristin Schwab, Joel H Kramer, Gary A Rosenberg, Karl G Helmer, Steven M Greenberg, Mohamad Habes, Danny J J Wang, Brian T Gold, Hanzhang Lu, Arvind Caprihan, Myriam Fornage, Lenore J Launer, Konstantinos Arfanakis, Sudha Seshadri, Charles Decarli, Pauline Maillard, Claudia L Satizabal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Peak-width of skeletonized mean diffusivity (PSMD), a neuroimaging marker of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), has shown excellent instrumental properties. Here, we extend our work to perform a biological validation of PSMD.

METHODS: We included 396 participants from the Biomarkers for Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (MarkVCID-1) Consortium and three replication samples (Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology = 6172, Rush University Medical Center = 287, University of California Davis Alzheimer's Disease Research Center = 567). PSMD was derived from diffusion tensor imaging using an automated algorithm. We related PSMD to a composite measure …

Msw Portfolio, Dallin C. Ball

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Psychological Distress Among Family Caregivers Of Persons With Alzheimer’S Disease And Related Dementias In Uganda, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) present growing global health challenges, especially in aging populations, such as Uganda. In Uganda, familial caregiving, predominantly undertaken by female relatives, is the primary form of support provided to patients with ADRD. Cultural stigma around dementia and limited access to support services amplify caregivers' challenges. This study examined psychological distress, depression, and quality of life (QoL) among family caregivers of patients with ADRD in Wakiso District, Uganda. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 90 caregivers from three sub-counties in Wakiso, selected through purposive sampling to capture diverse experiences. Participants included caregivers aged 18 years …

Discrimination, Sexual Orientation, And Alcohol Amongst Latine, Brian Juarez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Existing research acknowledges the influence of discrimination on alcohol use, this study emphasizes the equally significant role of sexual orientation on alcohol use. Associations between these factors and alcohol consumption demonstrate the necessity for ongoing research to analyze their intricate relationships and subsequent health outcomes. This study highlights the crucial need for an in-depth exploration of discrimination as well as marginalized identities as contributing factors in alcohol consumption.

Using a quantitative approach to assess secondary data gathered from the National Alcohol Surveys (NAS), this paper underscores the importance of a comprehensive and timely approach to research the multifaceted impact of …

Letter To The Editor Regarding ‘Unique Pharmacodynamic Properties And Low Abuse Liability Of The Μ-Opioid Receptor Ligand (S)-Methadone’, Marco Pappagallo, Thomas R Kosten, Charles W Gorodetzky, Frank J Vocci, Frank L Sapienza, Sara De Martin, Stefano Comai, Andrea Mattarei, Charles E Inturrisi, Paolo L Manfredi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Trauma Exposure And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder On Perceived Social Support In Youth: A Longitudinal Investigation, Erin Logue, John Leri, Jeffrey D Shahidullah, Caitlin M Pinciotti, Paul J Rathouz, Josh M Cisler, D Jeffrey Newport, Karen Dineen Wagner, Charles B Nemeroff

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The aim of this study was to examine relationships among trauma burden, post-traumatic stress disorder, and perceived social support in a large, diverse group of trauma-exposed children and adolescents followed longitudinally. Specifically, we tested the social erosion hypothesis (i.e., mental health challenges negatively affect the quality of social relationships and contribute to reduced social support over time) using a sample of 1,829 trauma-exposed youth (aged 8-21) recruited through the multi-site Texas Childhood Trauma Research Network. Youth who reported more trauma burden (i.e., a greater number of traumas) perceived significantly lower levels of social support from family and peers, and those …

Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis In Psychiatry: Focus On Depressive Disorders, I-Ching Wang, Shelly A Buffington, Ramiro Salas

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Purpose of review: Gut microbiota contribute to several physiological processes in the host. The composition of the gut microbiome is associated with different neurological and neurodevelopmental diseases. In psychiatric disease, stress may be a major factor leading to gut microbiota alterations. Depressive disorders are the most prevalent mental health issues worldwide and patients often report gastrointestinal symptoms. Accordingly, evidence of gut microbial alterations in depressive disorders has been growing. Here we review current literature revealing links between the gut microbiome and brain function in the context of depression.

Recent findings: The gut-brain axis could impact the behavioral manifestation of depression …

Increasing Access To Behavioral Health Care: Examples Of Task Shifting In Two Us Government Health Care Systems, Kathryn E Kanzler, Mark E Kunik, Chase A Aycock

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Addressing U.S. health disparities in behavioral health care requires innovative solutions to expand access beyond the traditional specialty behavioral health (BH) service model. One evidence-based strategy to increase access is task shifting, whereby tasks usually reserved for licensed clinicians are delegated to less specialized but uniquely capable health workers. Health care systems in the United States have been slow to adopt this approach, despite the widespread success of task shifting in other countries. However, two large government health care systems have employed unique task-shifting models for decades, integrating nonclinician health workers into BH settings: the Defense Health Agency (behavioral …

Global And Risk-Group Stratified Well-Being And Mental Health During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Adults: Results From The International Coh-Fit Study, Marco Solmi, Trevor Thompson, Andrés Estradé, Agorastos Agorastos, Joaquim Radua, Samuele Cortese, Elena Dragioti, Davy Vancampfort, Lau Caspar Thygesen, Harald Aschauer, Monika Schlögelhofer, Elena Aschauer, Andres Schneeberger, Christian G Huber, Gregor Hasler, Philippe Conus, Kim Q Do Cuénod, Roland Von Känel, Gonzalo Arrondo, Paolo Fusar-Poli, Philip Gorwood, Pierre-Michel Llorca, Marie-Odile Krebs, Elisabetta Scanferla, Taishiro Kishimoto, Golam Rabbani, Karolina Skonieczna-Żydecka, Paolo Brambilla, Angela Favaro, Akihiro Takamiya, Leonardo Zoccante, Marco Colizzi, Julie Bourgin, Karol Kamiński, Maryam Moghadasin, Soraya Seedat, Evan Matthews, John Wells, Emilia Vassilopoulou, Ary Gadelha, Kuan-Pin Su, Jun Soo Kwon, Minah Kim, Tae Young Lee, Oleg Papsuev, Denisa Manková, Andrea Boscutti, Cristiano Gerunda, Diego Saccon, Elena Righi, Francesco Monaco, Giovanni Croatto, Guido Cereda, Jacopo Demurtas, Natascia Brondino, Nicola Veronese, Paolo Enrico, Pierluigi Politi, Valentina Ciappolino, Andrea Pfennig, Andreas Bechdolf, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Kai G Kahl, Katharina Domschke, Michael Bauer, Nikolaos Koutsouleris, Sibylle Winter, Stefan Borgwardt, Istvan Bitter, Judit Balazs, Pál Czobor, Zsolt Unoka, Dimitris Mavridis, Konstantinos Tsamakis, Vasilios P Bozikas, Chavit Tunvirachaisakul, Michael Maes, Teerayuth Rungnirundorn, Thitiporn Supasitthumrong, Ariful Haque, Andre R Brunoni, Carlos Gustavo Costardi, Felipe Barreto Schuch, Guilherme Polanczyk, Jhoanne Merlyn Luiz, Lais Fonseca, Luana V Aparicio, Samira S Valvassori, Merete Nordentoft, Per Vendsborg, Sofie Have Hoffmann, Jihed Sehli, Norman Sartorius, Sabina Heuss, Daniel Guinart, Jane Hamilton, John Kane, Jose Rubio, Michael Sand, Ai Koyanagi, Aleix Solanes, Alvaro Andreu-Bernabeu, Antonia San José Cáceres, Celso Arango, Covadonga M Díaz-Caneja, Diego Hidalgo-Mazzei, Eduard Vieta, Javier Gonzalez-Peñas, Lydia Fortea, Mara Parellada, Miquel A Fullana, Norma Verdolini, Eva Andrlíková, Karolina Janků, Mark J Millan, Mihaela Honciuc, Anna Moniuszko-Malinowska, Igor Łoniewski, Jerzy Samochowiec, Łukasz Kiszkiel, Maria Marlicz, Paweł Sowa, Wojciech Marlicz, Georgina Spies, Brendon Stubbs, Joseph Firth, Sarah Sullivan, Asli Enez Darcin, Hatice Aksu, Nesrin Dilbaz, Onur Noyan, Momoko Kitazawa, Shunya Kurokawa, Yuki Tazawa, Alejandro Anselmi, Cecilia Cracco, Ana Inés Machado, Natalia Estrade, Diego De Leo, Jackie Curtis, Michael Berk, Andre F Carvalho, Philip Ward, Scott Teasdale, Simon Rosenbaum, Wolfgang Marx, Adrian Vasile Horodnic, Liviu Oprea, Ovidiu Alexinschi, Petru Ifteni, Serban Turliuc, Tudor Ciuhodaru, Alexandra Bolos, Valentin Matei, Dorien H Nieman, Iris Sommer, Jim Van Os, Therese Van Amelsvoort, Ching-Fang Sun, Ta-Wei Guu, Can Jiao, Jieting Zhang, Jialin Fan, Liye Zou, Xin Yu, Xinli Chi, Philippe De Timary, Ruud Van Winkel, Bernardo Ng, Edilberto Peña De León, Ramon Arellano, Raquel Roman, Thelma Sanchez, Larisa Movina, Pedro Morgado, Sofia Brissos, Oleg Aizberg, Anna Mosina, Damir Krinitski, James Mugisha, Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani, Farshad Sheybani, Masoud Sadeghi, Samira Hadi, Serge Brand, Antonia Errazuriz, Nicolas Crossley, Dragana Ignjatovic Ristic, Carlos López-Jaramillo, Dimitris Efthymiou, Praveenlal Kuttichira, Roy Abraham Kallivayalil, Afzal Javed, Muhammad Iqbal Afridi, Bawo James, Omonefe Joy Seb-Akahomen, Jess Fiedorowicz, Jeff Daskalakis, Lakshmi N Yatham, Lin Yang, Tarek Okasha, Aïcha Dahdouh, Jari Tiihonen, Jae Il Shin, Jinhee Lee, Ahmed Mhalla, Lotfi Gaha, Takoua Brahim, Kuanysh Altynbekov, Nikolay Negay, Saltanat Nurmagambetova, Yasser Abu Jamei, Mark Weiser, Christoph U Correll

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

International studies measuring wellbeing/multidimensional mental health before/ during the COVID-19 pandemic, including representative samples for >2 years, identifying risk groups and coping strategies are lacking. COH-FIT is an online, international, anonymous survey measuring changes in well-being (WHO-5) and a composite psychopathology P-score, and their associations with COVID-19 deaths/restrictions, 12 a-priori defined risk individual/cumulative factors, and coping strategies during COVID-19 pandemic (26/04/2020-26/06/2022) in 30 languages (representative, weighted non-representative, adults). T-test, χ2, penalized cubic splines, linear regression, correlation analyses were conducted. Analyzing 121,066/142,364 initiated surveys, WHO-5/P-score worsened intra-pandemic by 11.1±21.1/13.2±17.9 points (effect size d=0.50/0.60) (comparable results in representative/weighted non-probability samples). Persons with …

A Comprehensive Perspective On Intracranial Pressure Monitoring And Individualized Management In Neurocritical Care: Results Of A Survey With Global Experts, Sérgio Brasil, Daniel Agustín Godoy, Walter Videtta, Andrés Mariano Rubiano, Davi Solla, Fabio Silvio Taccone, Chiara Robba, Frank Rasulo, Marcel Aries, Peter Smielewski, Geert Meyfroidt, Denise Battaglini, Mohammad I Hirzallah, Robson Amorim, Gisele Sampaio, Fabiano Moulin, Cristian Deana, Edoardo Picetti, Angelos Kolias, Peter Hutchinson, Gregory W Hawryluk, Marek Czosnyka, Ronney B Panerai, Lori A Shutter, Soojin Park, Carla Rynkowski, Jorge Paranhos, Thiago H S Silva, Luiz M S Malbouisson, Wellingson S Paiva

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Numerous trials have addressed intracranial pressure (ICP) management in neurocritical care. However, identifying its harmful thresholds and controlling ICP remain challenging in terms of improving outcomes. Evidence suggests that an individualized approach is necessary for establishing tolerance limits for ICP, incorporating factors such as ICP waveform (ICPW) or pulse morphology along with additional data provided by other invasive (e.g., brain oximetry) and noninvasive monitoring (NIM) methods (e.g., transcranial Doppler, optic nerve sheath diameter ultrasound, and pupillometry). This study aims to assess current ICP monitoring practices among experienced clinicians and explore whether guidelines should incorporate ancillary parameters from NIM and …

Comparison Of Predicted And Actual Dermatitis Generated From Computed Tomography Images And Dose Distribution Maps, Yasuhide Miyabe, Saori Oshiro, Hiroto Seki, Yusuke Muroi, Eriko Kawashima, Megumi Hosoda, Kento Ohashi, Hiromu Yamanaka, Mingliang Shao, Hiromi Sugawara, Jyunetsu Mizoe, Ritsuko Komaki

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Anticipating the onset, location and severity of radiation dermatitis before radiotherapy can aid in dermatological care. This study developed a method for creation of a prediction diagram for dermatitis and conducted a comparative verification between the prediction diagram and actual patient condition. The prediction diagram involved converting skin doses into 2 Gy fractionated equivalent doses using α/β of 10.0, defining regions of interest (ROIs) from 20-50 Gy at 10 Gy intervals. Overlaps between these ROIs at each dose level and the skin (external) was sequentially color-coded as blue, yellow, red, and purple. The study included four patients: two underwent head …

Substance Use And Outcomes Of Left-Sided Valve Replacement In Patients With Infective Endocarditis, Katie J Hogan, Christopher B Sylvester, Travis J Miles, Matthew Wall, Todd K Rosengart, Marc R Moon, Joseph S Coselli, Subhasis Chatterjee, Ravi K Ghanta

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Rising rates of substance use (SU) have resulted in an increasing need for left-sided valve surgery for SU-associated infective endocarditis (SU-IE). We compared outcomes, readmissions, and costs between IE patients with and without SU-IE in a national cohort.

METHODS: Using the Nationwide Readmissions Database (2016-2018), we identified 10,098 patients with infective endocarditis (IE) who underwent isolated aortic or mitral valve replacement. Outcomes within the same calendar year as the index operation were compared between patients with and without SU-IE. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with in-hospital mortality and 30-day and 90-day readmissions. Kaplan-Meier analysis and …

Predicting Operative Mortality In Patients Who Undergo Elective Open Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair, Kyle W Blackburn, Susan Y Green, Allen Kuncheria, Meng Li, Adel M Hassan, Brittany Rhoades, Scott A Weldon, Subhasis Chatterjee, Marc R Moon, Scott A Lemaire, Joseph S Coselli

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background

We have developed a model aimed at identifying preoperative predictors of operative mortality in patients who undergo elective, open thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair. We converted this model into an intuitive nomogram to aid preoperative counseling.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed data from 2884 elective, open TAAA repairs performed between 1986 and 2023 in a single practice. Using clinical and selected operative variables, we built 4 predictive models: multivariable logistic regression (MLR), random forest, support vector machine, and gradient boosting machine. Each model’s predictive effectiveness was evaluated with the C-statistic. Test C-statistics were computed using an 80:20 cross-validation scheme with …

Cadasil: A Notch3-Associated Cerebral Small Vessel Disease, Lamei Yuan, Xiangyu Chen, Joseph Jankovic, Hao Deng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is the most common hereditary cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), pathologically characterized by a non-atherosclerotic and non-amyloid diffuse angiopathy primarily involving small to medium-sized penetrating arteries and leptomeningeal arteries. In 1996, mutation in the notch receptor 3 gene (NOTCH3) was identified as the cause of CADASIL. However, since that time other genetic CSVDs have been described, including the HtrA serine peptidase 1 gene-associated CSVD and the cathepsin A gene-associated CSVD, that clinically mimic the original phenotype. Though NOTCH3-associated CSVD is now a well-recognized hereditary disorder and the number of …

Prevalence Of Psychiatric Comorbidities And Treatment Initiation In African American Pediatric Patients With Vitiligo: A Retrospective, Single-Center, Case-Control Study, Emily Strouphauer, Sana Suhail, Carly Mulinda, Promise Ufomadu, Nicole Nyamongo, Grace Lee, Soo Jung Kim

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Vitiligo may impact psychosocial development, especially among African American pediatric patients, given heightened visibility and increasing rates of anxiety and depression in this subpopulation.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate psychiatric comorbidities and treatment initiation in African American pediatric patients.

METHODS: A total of 327 African American pediatric patients with vitiligo were each matched to 3 patients without vitiligo by age, race, and sex in this case-control study. Prevalence of psychiatric conditions and subsequent initiation of pharmacotherapy and/or psychotherapy were analyzed.

RESULTS: Compared to controls, pediatric African American patients with vitiligo were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with depression (

LIMITATIONS: This …

Exploring Psychotic Symptoms Among Substance-Naïve Individuals And Recent Abstainers Without A Psychosis Diagnosis: A Cross-Country Study Across Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, And South Africa, Isaac Babu Kisiang'ani, Mohammed Aden, Henry R. Mwangi, Dickens Akena, Melkam Alemayehu, Julius Barasa, Bizu Gelaye, Stella Gichuru, Lukoye Atwoli, Symon M. Kariuki

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Psychotic symptoms are of increasing interest in mental health due to their predictive value for future psychotic disorders. While these symptoms are prevalent in the general population, their occurrence varies globally. This study aimed to explore the prevalence and factors associated with psychotic symptoms among individuals identified as substance-naïve and recent abstainers without a history of psychosis. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on 11,686 participants who reported no lifetime substance use, no substance use in the previous three months, and did not have a diagnosis of psychosis. The study utilized the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire to estimate the one-year prevalence of …

How Culture Impacts Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors In College-Aged Chinese Americans, Hui Ching Chan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Adolescents are the most vulnerable to mental health issues in the United States, however, they are the least likely to receive relevant professional services. Particularly, young Chinese American adults who are influenced by traditional Chinese culture retain a higher reluctance to mental health-related help-seeking behaviors.

Chinese American culture is co-constructed with families through parents’ worldviews, parenting styles, socio-economic statuses, and English proficiency. Several studies also suggest that mothers and fathers in Chinese American families play distinct roles in shaping youngsters’ perceptions of mental health awareness. As a result, the culture perceived from families has a significant impact on young Chinese …