Trait Anger, Anger Expression, and Suicide Attempts Among Adolescents and Young Adults: A Prospective Study

Previous studies of the relationship between anger, anger expression, and suicidal behavior have been largely cross-sectional and have yielded mixed findings. In a prospective, naturalistic study, we examined how trait anger and anger expression influenced the likelihood of suicide attempts among 180 adolescents followed for up to 13.3 years after discharge from an inpatient psychiatry unit. Results showed that higher trait anger and anger expressed outwardly over the follow-up was related to increased likelihood of suicide attempts among males. For girls, trait anger and both the inward and outward expression of anger moderated the risk for suicide attempts associated with major depression. These results are interpreted in light of theory regarding behavioral activation and behavioral inhibition systems

Sex-differentiated changes in C-reactive protein from ages 9 to 21: The contributions of BMI and physical/sexual maturation

Sex differences in levels of C-reactive Protein (CRP) are well established in adulthood, but little is known about when and why they emerge. Here, we tested longitudinal models of CRP levels from ages 9–21, when marked physical and behavioral changes could contribute to growing sex disparities in CRP

Longitudinal dimensionality of adolescent psychopathology: Testing the differentiation hypothesis

The differentiation hypothesis posits that the underlying liability distribution for psychopathology is of low dimensionality in young children, inflating diagnostic comorbidity rates, but increases in dimensionality with age. This hypothesis not been adequately tested with longitudinal psychiatric symptom data

Validation of a sonographic checklist for the detection of histologic placenta accreta spectrum

Background: To standardize research terminology and reduce unanticipated placenta accreta spectrum (PAS), the European Working Group for Abnormally Invasive Placenta (EW-AIP) developed a consensus checklist for reporting PAS suspected on antenatal ultrasound. The diagnostic accuracy of the EW-AIP checklist has not been assessed. Objective: To test the performance of the EW-AIP sonographic checklist in predicting histologic PAS. Study Design: This is a multi-site, blinded, retrospective review of transabdominal ultrasound studies performed between 26-32 weeks gestation for subjects with histologic PAS between 2016-2020. We matched a 1:1 control cohort of subjects without histologic PAS. To reduce reader bias, we matched the control cohort for known risk factors including previa, number of prior cesarean deliveries, prior dilation and curettage (D&C), in vitro fertilization (IVF), and clinical factors affecting image quality including multiple gestation, body mass index (BMI) and gestational age at the ultrasound. Nine sonologists from 5 referral centers, blinded to the histologic outcomes, interpreted the randomized ultrasound studies using the EW-AIP checklist. The primary outcome was the sensitivity and specificity of the checklist to predict PAS. Two separate sensitivity analyses were performed: 1) we excluded subjects with mild disease (i.e. only assessed subjects with histologic increta and percreta); 2) we excluded interpretations from the 2 most junior sonologists. Results: 78 subjects were included (39 PAS, 39 matched control). Clinical risk factors and image quality markers were statistically similar between cohorts. The checklist sensitivity (95% Confidence Interval, CI) was 76.6% (63.4%-90.6%) and specificity (95% CI) was 92.0% (63.4%-99.9%), with a positive and negative likelihood ratio of 9.6 and 0.3, respectively. When we excluded subjects with mild PAS disease, the sensitivity (95% CI) increased to 84.7% (73.6%-96.4%) and specificity was unchanged at 92.0% (83.2%-99.9%). Sensitivity and specificity were unchanged when the interpretations from the 2 most junior sonologists were excluded. Conclusion: The 2016 EW-AIP checklist for interpreting PAS has a reasonable performance in detecting and excluding histologic placenta accreta spectrum

Genes, Environments, and Developmental Research: Methods for a Multi-Site Study of Early Substance Abuse

The importance of including developmental and environmental measures in genetic studies of human pathology is widely acknowledged, but few empirical studies have been published. Barriers include the need for longitudinal studies that cover relevant developmental stages and for samples large enough to deal with the challenge of testing gene–environment–development interaction. A solution to some of these problems is to bring together existing data sets that have the necessary characteristics. As part of the National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded Gene-Environment-Development Initiative, our goal is to identify exactly which genes, which environments, and which developmental transitions together predict the development of drug use and misuse. Four data sets were used of which common characteristics include (1) general population samples, including males and females; (2) repeated measures across adolescence and young adulthood; (3) assessment of nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis use and addiction; (4) measures of family and environmental risk; and (5) consent for genotyping DNA from blood or saliva. After quality controls, 2,962 individuals provided over 15,000 total observations. In the first gene–environment analyses, of alcohol misuse and stressful life events, some significant gene–environment and gene–development effects were identified. We conclude that in some circumstances, already collected data sets can be combined for gene–environment and gene–development analyses. This greatly reduces the cost and time needed for this type of research. However, care must be taken to ensure careful matching across studies and variables

Genome-Wide Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Alcohol Consumption Across Youth and Early Adulthood

The public health burden of alcohol is unevenly distributed across the life course, with levels of use, abuse, and dependence increasing across adolescence and peaking in early adulthood. Here, we leverage this temporal patterning to search for common genetic variants predicting developmental trajectories of alcohol consumption. Comparable psychiatric evaluations measuring alcohol consumption were collected in three longitudinal community samples ( N = 2,126, obs = 12,166). Consumption-repeated measurements spanning adolescence and early adulthood were analyzed using linear mixed models, estimating individual consumption trajectories, which were then tested for association with Illumina 660W-Quad genotype data (866,099 SNPs after imputation and QC). Association results were combined across samples using standard meta-analysis methods. Four meta-analysis associations satisfied our pre-determined genome-wide significance criterion (FDR < 0.1) and six others met our ‘suggestive’ criterion (FDR <0.2). Genome-wide significant associations were highly biological plausible, including associations within GABA transporter 1, SLC6A1 (solute carrier family 6, member 1), and exonic hits in LOC100129340 (mitofusin-1-like). Pathway analyses elaborated single marker results, indicating significant enriched associations to intuitive biological mechanisms, including neurotransmission, xenobiotic pharmacodynamics, and nuclear hormone receptors (NHR). These findings underscore the value of combining longitudinal behavioral data and genome-wide genotype information in order to study developmental patterns and improve statistical power in genomic studies