Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Does Depressed Persons With Non-Cardiovascular Morbidity Have A Higher Risk Of Cvd? A Population-Based Cohort Study In Sweden, Aysha Almas, Jette Moller, Romaina Iqbal, Andreas Lundin, Yvonne Forsel

Section of Internal Medicine

Background: Depression often co-exists with non-cardiovascular morbid conditions. Whether this comorbidity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease has so far not been studied. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine if non-cardiovascular morbidity modifies the effect of depression on future risk of CVD.
Methods: Data was derived from the PART study (acronym in Swedish for: Psykisk hälsa, Arbete och RelaTioner: Mental Health, Work and Relationships), a longitudinal cohort study on mental health, work and relations, including 10,443 adults (aged 20-64 years). Depression was assessed using the Major Depression Inventory (MDI) and self-reported data on non-cardiovascular morbidity was assessed …

Wellness Domains For Residency Training Programs, Danielle Hart, Glenn Paetow, Ramin Tabatabai, Rochelle Zarzar, Arlene S. Chung

Journal of Wellness

In this editorial, we describe a residency-specific wellness framework that residency leadership can utilize in developing their local wellness programs.

We Need To Change The Language We Use To Describe Individuals With Substance Use Issues, Austin Mcneill Brown

Population Health Research Brief Series

People with substance use disorders (SUDs) are highly stigmatized worldwide. This research brief describes the results from several studies on unconscious bias and negative language used to describe individuals with SUDs.

The Sexual Values And Behaviors Discrepancy Model, Zachary D. Bloom, Ashley J. Blount, Dalena L. Dillman Taylor, Galina Lipkin

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

Founded in theory and empirical research, we developed the Sexual Values and Behaviors Discrepancy Model (SVBDM) as reflective model for counselors to follow in order to assist their clients in safely reducing discrepancies between their ideal and practiced sexual beliefs, values, and behaviors. The SVBDM is a wellness-informed and sex-positive approach to working with clients and is comprised of three steps: Identification and Operationalization of Potential Sexual Issues, Counselor’s Self-Assessment, and Reducing Discrepancies and Maintaining Safety. We note practical implications and potential limitations of this model as well as recommendations for future research.

Utilizing The Community-Based Research Approach To Examine Mental Health And Support Services Issues Related To Hiv-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder, Renato M. Liboro

Psychology Faculty Research

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated neurocognitive disorder is an emergent public health problem known to HIV researchers and scientists, but unfortunately, is a concern that still needs to be better recognized by people living with HIV and HIV service providers. Research studies have reported that between 30 to 50% of people living with HIV who have access to combination antiretroviral therapy are and will be affected by this disorder. This raises the need to find more appropriate research approaches for examining issues that will significantly impact people living with HIV experiencing or at risk of developing neurocognitive impairments. People living with …

Suicide Among Persons Who Entered Same-Sex And Opposite-Sex Marriage In Denmark And Sweden, 1989–2016: A Binational, Register-Based Cohort Study, Annette Erlangsen, Sven Drefahl, Ann Haas, Charlotte Bjorkenstam, Merete Nordentoft, Gunnar Andersson

Publications and Research

Background

People belonging to sexual minority groups have higher levels of suicidality than heterosexuals. However, findings regarding suicide death are sparse. Using unique national data from two countries, we investigated whether individuals entering a same-sex marriage (SSM), a proxy group of sexual minority individuals, had higher suicide rates than those entering opposite-sex marriage (OSM).

Methods

A cohort study of all males and females who entered an SSM (n=28 649) or OSM (n=3 918 617) in Denmark and Sweden during 1989–2016 was conducted. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for suicide were calculated using adjusted Poisson regression models.

Results

In total, 97 suicides …

Health-Promoting Behaviors And Subjective Well-Being Among High School Students, Nicholas David W. Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In positive psychology, a greater emphasis is placed on the presence of indicators of both physical and mental health. This study examined the relationship between 12 health-promoting behaviors and subjective well-being (SWB; e.g., happiness) in a sample of 450 high school aged youth from five high schools in two states. Participants reported on their dietary habits, physical activity, abstinence from tobacco products, abstinence from alcohol, and sleep hygiene (i.e., 8 unique components) as well as a multidimensional assessment of SWB (i.e., life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect). It was hypothesized that increased engagement in each of the health-promoting behaviors …

Preventing Adolescent Dating Violence: An Outcomes Protocol For Evaluating A Gender-Transformative Healthy Relationships Promotion Program, Deinera Exner-Cortens, Alysia Wright, Debb Hurlock, Roseline Carter, Pam Krause, Claire Crooks

Journal Articles

Adolescent dating violence (ADV) is a pressing public health problem in North America. Strategies to prevent perpetration are needed, and a substantial body of research demonstrates the importance of applying a gender lens to target root causes of adolescent dating violence as part of effective prevention. To date, however, there has been limited research on how to specifically engage boys in adolescent dating violence prevention. In this short communication, we describe the protocol for a longitudinal, quasi-experimental outcome evaluation of a program called WiseGuyz. WiseGuyz is a community-facilitated, gender-transformative healthy relationships program for mid-adolescent male-identified youth that aims to reduce …

Enhancing Emergency Care Environments: Supporting Suicidal Distress And Self-Harm Presentations Through Environmental Safeguards And The Built Environment, Stephanie Liddicoat

Patient Experience Journal

Self-harming and suicidal distress are prevalent, worldwide healthcare issues. Existing literature explains that both self-harm and suicidal presentations at Emergency Departments are increasingly occurring, correlating to high costs in healthcare service delivery. This scoping review aimed to (1) identify the current body of literature which examined the relationship between design practice and service user experiences within Emergency Departments for self-harm and suicidal distress presentations, and (2) identify the ways in which the built environment could increase the efficacy of therapeutic efforts through improving service user outcomes and experiences. This scoping review established that there was a paucity of research at …

Assessing The Lack Of Transgender Participation In Sports, Joseph Stavely, Lindsey Keenan

Ramifications

Transgender athletes face many challenges when attempting to participate in sport competitions. Facing these challenges causes many transgender athletes to abandon their sport. Whether it be a lack of adequate locker rooms, or fearing to show themselves in public, transgender athletes face many roadblocks on their path to sport achievement. Many of these roadblocks cause a transgender athlete to lose interest in the sport they love and create the potential to affect participation in sports and physical activity all together. It is clear sports and physical activity participation is lower in transgender athletes than participation by cisgender athletes due to …

Results From The Su Health & Wellness Goal Survey, Shannon M. Monnat, Mary Kate Schutt, Ashley Van Slyke, Alexandra Punch

Population Health Research Brief Series

In Spring 2019, SU’s Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion surveyed over 600 SU faculty, staff, and undergraduate and graduate students to identify their goals related to health and wellness. This research brief summarizes the top ranked goals, including increasing physical activity, improving diet and nutrition, and better managing stress. There were interesting differences in goals across SU roles, sexes, and racial/ethnic groups.

Year Of Inquiry Into Student Mental Health, Amber Stitziel Pareja, Katie Berger

Publications & Research

Year of Inquiry Objectives

• To engage in an in-depth examination of a current challenge that significantly influences IMSA’s work and mission
• To identify both the scope of and potential solutions to the challenge
• Topic: Student mental health and well-being

Trans Collaborations Clinical Check-In (Tc3): Initial Validation Of A Clinical Measure For Transgender And Gender Diverse Adults Receiving Psychological Services, Natalie R. Holt, Terrence Z. Huit, Grant Shulman, Jane L. Meza, Jolene Smyth, Nathan Woodruff, Richard Mocarski, Jae Puckett, Debra A. Hope

Trans Collaborations Academic Papers

One key aspect of evidence-based psychological services is monitoring progress to inform treatment decision making, often using a brief self-report measure. However, no such measure exists to support measurement based care given the distinct needs of transgender and gender diverse people (TGD), a group facing large documented health disparities and marginalization in healthcare. The purpose of the present study was to develop and provide initial psychometric validation of a short, behavioral health progress monitoring self-report measure, the Trans Collaborations Clinical Check-in (TC3). TGD communities, providers identified as TGD-affirmative, and relevant academic experts contributed to item and scale development. The final …

Ending The Silence: Utilizing Personal Experiences To Enhance A Library Mental Health Initiative, Sabrina Thomas, Kacy J. Lovelace

Librarian Research

This article summarizes a panel presentation given at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Washington D.C. ( June 22, 2019). The panel consisted of Sabrina Thomas, research and instruction librarian at Marshall University; Leah Tolliver, director of wellness programs and the Women’s and Gender Center at Marshall University; C. Michelle Alford, senior library IT consultant at Marshall University; and Kacy Lovelace, research and student success librarian at Marshall University. Tenikka Phillips, EAP coordinator at Cabell Huntington Hospital, worked extensively on the project but was unable to take part in the panel presentation. The following is a conversation between Sabrina …

Combining Efforts: Libraries As Mental Health Safe Spaces, Sabrina Thomas, Kacy J. Lovelace

Librarian Research

In the face of seemingly insurmountable, persisting problems, what is one thing that you could do to lift that burden in your own space, in your own building, or on your own walls? This defining question led to the creation of Marshall University (MU) Libraries Mental Health Initiative. The initiative began with an art exhibition titled: “Don’t Call Me Crazy: Resiliency through Art.” The goal of this exhibition was to encourage students, faculty, and staff to create artwork informed by mental health or to help process their own mental health. With more than 30 artists and 50 pieces filling the …

Aberrant Epigenomic Modulation Of Glucocorticoid Receptor Gene (Nr3c1) In Early Life Stress And Major Depressive Disorder Correlation: Systematic Review And Quantitative Evidence Synthesis, Laurens Holmes Jr., Emily Shutman, Chinacherem Chinaka, Kerti Deepika, Lavisha Palaez, Kirk W. Dabney

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Early life stress (ELS) induced by psychological trauma, child maltreatment, maternal separation, and domestic violence predisposes to psycho-behavioral pathologies during adulthood, namely major depressive disorder (MDD), anxiety, and bipolar affective disorder. While environmental data are available in illustrating this association, data remain to be established on the epigenomic underpinning of the nexus between ELS and MDD predisposition. Specifically, despite the observed aberrant epigenomic modulation of the NR3C1, a glucocorticoid receptor gene, in early social adversity and social threats in animal and human models, reliable scientific data for intervention mapping in reducing social adversity and improving human health is required. We …

Implication Of Spiritual Network Support System In Epigenomic Modulation And Health Trajectory, Laurens Holmes Jr., Chinacherem Chinaka, Hikma Elmi, Kerti Deepika, Lavisha Palaez, Michael Enwere, Olumuyiwa T. Akinola, Kirk W. Dabnet

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

With challenges in understanding the multifactorial etiologies of disease and individual treatment effect heterogeneities over the past four decades, much has been acquired on how physical, chemical and social environments a ffect human health, predisposing certain subpopulations to adverse health outcomes, especially the socio-environmentally disadvantaged (SED). Current translational data on gene and adverse environment interaction have revealed how adverse gene-environment interaction, termed aberrant epigenomic modulation, translates into impaired gene expression via messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) dysregulation, reflecting abnormal protein synthesis and hence dysfunctional cellular differentiation and maturation. The environmental influence on gene expression observed in most literature includes physical, chemical, …

Trends And Associated Factors Of Use Of Opioid, Heroin, And Cannabis Among Patients For Emergency Department Visits In Nevada: 2009–2017, Pearl C. Kim, Ji Won Yoo, Chris R. Cochran, Seong Min Park, Sungyoun Chun, Yong-Jae Lee, Jay J. Shen

School of Medicine Faculty Research

To examine trends and contributing factors of opioid, heroin, and cannabis-associated emergency department (ED) visits in Nevada. The 2009 to 2017 Nevada State ED database (n = 7,950,554 ED visits) were used. Use of opioid, heroin, and cannabis, respectively, was identified by the International Classification of Diseases, 9th & 10th Revisions. Three multivariable models, one for each of the 3 dependent variables, were conducted. Independent variables included year, insurance status, race/ethnicity, use of other substance, and mental health conditions. The number of individuals with opioid, heroin, cannabis-associated ED visits increased 3%, 10%, and 23% annually from 2009 to 2015, particularly …

A Review Of The Association Between Vitamin D And Postpartum Depression, Christa Fernando

Biomedical Sciences Undergraduate Research

Vitamin D (specifically vitamin D3) is a lipid soluble essential nutrient. It is found in few foods naturally but can be synthesized upon skin exposure to sunlight. Its intermediate structure in the blood is serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, also called calcidiol, and is formed in the liver. Vitamin D receptors have been found in numerous areas of the brain that are involved in mood-related hormone production. It has also been found to be protective against the brain degradation of Alzheimer’s. Numerous studies have found a significant relationship between vitamin D and major depressive disorder. This review summarizes research on the connection …

Acute Diagnosis Of Wilson’S Disease In A Teenage Patient, Sarah Irvin, Ryan Mccarthy

Marshall Journal of Medicine

Wilson’s Disease, a rare autosomal recessive genetic disease, is caused by a mutation in the ATP7B enzyme gene. Without this enzyme, copper builds up in the brain, liver, and cornea causing a multitude of symptoms. It is important to consider Wilson’s disease because the prognosis is dependent on timely diagnosis. This is an interesting case of a 19-year-old male who presented with suicidal thoughts and rapid weight loss. After many months and an extensive work-up, Wilson’s Disease was diagnosed. Due to his rapid decline, he was transferred to a larger university healthcare center where he is currently enrolled in clinical …