Examining psychological distress across intersections of immigrant generational status, race, poverty, and gender

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2018Introduction: While many studies have documented the health outcomes of immigrants, little is known about the direct and intersectional influences of generational status on mental health. Methods: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study using data from the California Health Interview Survey from 2015-2016 (N=41,754) to examine the prevalence of psychological distress (self-reported experience in the past 12 months) across generational status. We used log-binomial regression models adjusted for demographic and health-related factors to compare the likelihood of psychological distress among first-generation immigrants and non-immigrants relative to second-generation immigrants, overall and across intersections of race, poverty status, and gender. Results: Second-generation and non-immigrant respondents had a significantly higher prevalence (10.1% and 9.4%, respectively) of psychological distress compared to first-generation immigrants (5.9%). Generational status was not statistically significantly associated with psychological stress; estimates for first-generation and non-immigrants relative to second-generation immigrants were 0.81 (95% CI 0.63-0.04) and 1.12 (95% CI 0.84-1.50), respectively. Discussion: Though no statistically significant association was shown between generational status and psychological distress, the direction of estimates across iteratively adjusted models suggests a protective effect for first-generation immigrants. Further research is needed in bigger samples to explore associations between generational status and psychological distress, overall and across intersections of the population

Supplementary Data Set. Gene expression (qPCR) and protein abundance data. from Immune system stimulation by the native gut microbiota of honeybees

Gut microbial communities can greatly affect host health by modulating the host's immune system. For many important insects, however, the relationship between the gut microbiota and immune function remains poorly understood. Here, we test whether the gut microbial symbionts of the honeybee can induce expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), a crucial component of insect innate immunity. We find that bees up-regulate gene expression of the AMPs apidaecin and hymenoptaecin in gut tissue when the microbiota is present. Using targeted proteomics, we detected apidaecin in both the gut lumen and the haemolymph; higher apidaecin concentrations were found in bees harbouring the normal gut microbiota than in bees lacking gut microbiota. In <i>in vitro</i> assays, cultured strains of the microbiota showed variable susceptibility to honeybee AMPs, although many seem to possess elevated resistance compared to <i>Escherichia coli</i>. In some trials, colonization by normal gut symbionts resulted in improved survivorship following injection with <i>E. coli</i>. Our results show that the native, non-pathogenic gut flora induces immune responses in the bee host. Such responses might be a host mechanism to regulate the microbiota, and could potentially benefit host health by priming the immune system against future pathogenic infections