Can I Buy My Health? A Genetically Informed Study of Socioeconomic Status and Health

Background A large literature demonstrates associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and health, including physiological health and well-being. Moreover, gender differences are often observed among measures of both SES and health. However, relationships between SES and health are sometimes questioned given the lack of true experiments, and the potential biological and SES mechanisms explaining gender differences in health are rarely examined simultaneously. Purpose To use a national sample of twins to investigate lifetime socioeconomic adversity and a measure of physiological dysregulation separately by sex. Methods Using the twin sample in the second wave of the Midlife in the United States survey (MIDUS II), biometric regression analysis was conducted to determine whether the established SES-physiological health association is observed among twins both before and after adjusting for potential familial-level confounds (additive genetic and shared environmental influences that may underly the SES-health link), and whether this association differs among men and women. Results Although individuals with less socioeconomic adversity over the lifespan exhibited less physiological dysregulation among this sample of twins, this association only persisted among male twins after adjusting for familial influences. Conclusions Findings from the present study suggest that, particularly for men, links between socioeconomic adversity and health are not spurious or better explained by additive genetic or early shared environmental influences. Furthermore, gender-specific role demands may create differential associations between SES and health

Trajectories of Big Five Personality Traits: A Coordinated Analysis of 16 Longitudinal Samples

This study assessed change in self‐reported Big Five personality traits. We conducted a coordinated integrative data analysis using data from 16 longitudinal samples, comprising a total sample of over 60 000 participants. We coordinated models across multiple datasets and fit identical multi‐level growth models to assess and compare the extent of trait change over time. Quadratic change was assessed in a subset of samples with four or more measurement occasions. Across studies, the linear trajectory models revealed declines in conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness. Non‐linear models suggested late‐life increases in neuroticism. Meta‐analytic summaries indicated that the fixed effects of personality change are somewhat heterogeneous and that the variability in trait change is partially explained by sample age, country of origin, and personality measurement method. We also found mixed evidence for predictors of change, specifically for sex and baseline age. This study demonstrates the importance of coordinated conceptual replications for accelerating the accumulation of robust and reliable findings in the lifespan developmental psychological sciences. © 2020 European Association of Personality PsychologyPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156004/1/per2259.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156004/2/per2259-sup-0001-Data_S1.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156004/3/per2259-sup-0002-Open_Practices_Disclosure_Form.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156004/4/per2259_am.pd

The Lung Image Database Consortium (LIDC): An Evaluation of Radiologist Variability in the Identification of Lung Nodules on CT Scans

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to analyze the variability of experienced thoracic radiologists in the identification of lung nodules on CT scans and thereby to investigate variability in the establishment of the “truth” against which nodule-based studies are measured. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty CT scans were reviewed twice by four thoracic radiologists through a two-phase image annotation process. During the initial “blinded read” phase, radiologists independently marked lesions they identified as “nodule ≥ 3mm (diameter),” “nodule < 3mm,” or “non-nodule ≥ 3mm.” During the subsequent “unblinded read” phase, the blinded read results of all radiologists were revealed to each of the four radiologists, who then independently reviewed their marks along with the anonymous marks of their colleagues; a radiologist’s own marks then could be deleted, added, or left unchanged. This approach was developed to identify, as completely as possible, all nodules in a scan without requiring forced consensus. RESULTS: After the initial blinded read phase, a total of 71 lesions received “nodule ≥ 3mm” marks from at least one radiologist; however, all four radiologists assigned such marks to only 24 (33.8%) of these lesions. Following the unblinded reads, a total of 59 lesions were marked as “nodule ≥ 3 mm” by at least one radiologist. 27 (45.8%) of these lesions received such marks from all four radiologists, 3 (5.1%) were identified as such by three radiologists, 12 (20.3%) were identified by two radiologists, and 17 (28.8%) were identified by only a single radiologist. CONCLUSION: The two-phase image annotation process yields improved agreement among radiologists in the interpretation of nodules ≥ 3mm. Nevertheless, substantial variabilty remains across radiologists in the task of lung nodule identification

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

A Genetically Informed Study of Neighborhoods and Health: Results From the MIDUS Twin Sample

Objectives To examine whether neighborhood income and neighborhood safety concerns influence multisystem physiological risk after adjusting for genetic and environmental selection effects that may have biased previous tests of this association. Methods We used structural equation modeling with a genetically informed sample of 686 male and female twin pairs in the Midlife in the United States Study II (2004). Results Controlling for additive genetic and shared environmental processes that may have biased neighborhood–health links in previous examinations, higher neighborhood safety concerns were associated with less physiological risk among women but not men. Discussion Our findings suggest a possible causal role of neighborhood features for a measure of physiological risk that is associated with the development of disease. Efforts to increase neighborhood safety, perhaps through increased street lighting or neighborhood watch programs, may improve community-level health

Gene–environment interplay in internalizing problem behavior.

Nikstat A, Beam CR, Riemann R. Gene–environment interplay in internalizing problem behavior. Developmental Psychology. 2023.Behavior genetic methods are useful for examining mechanisms underlying the interaction between genetic and family environmental factors of internalizing problem behavior (INT). Previous twin studies, however, have shown little consistency in interaction patterns, depending on type and operationalization of measured environments. The aim of the current study was to explore different gene-by-environment interaction patterns among different family-level environmental risk factors and resources known to correlate with INT. Using an empirical-based approach, we combined various indicators of the family environment to derive four dimensions: positive parenting, negative parenting, lack of parental resources, and socioeconomic status. We then used a genetically informed design of twins raised in the same family to test whether interaction patterns followed a diathesis stress or vantage sensitivity model formulation. The sample consisted of 2,089 twin pairs and their families from two twin birth cohorts (ages 11 and 17) participating in Wave 1 of the German TwinLife study of social inequalities. In line with a vantage sensitivity pattern of interaction and with the bioecological model of development (Bronfenbrenner & Ceci, 1994), evidence for a general mechanism of gene–environment interaction with increasing nonshared environmental variance for more adverse and less propitious family conditions was found. In preadolescence, parenting behavior had a greater moderating influence on INT compared to general family conditions like socioeconomic status. Interventions for INT that directly involve parents, thus, may be more important in preadolescent populations whereas individual interventions for adolescents may be more successful if they are adapted to different levels of socioeconomic status. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved

Twin studies of complex traits and diseases

This chapter will first present an overview of the genetic and environmental mechanisms that cause differences in human complex traits and diseases. We focus on findings that demonstrate that all traits are heritable, whether and how heritability of traits and diseases differ between men and women, and the same genetic factors account for why two traits or two diseases correlate. We then present findings on how environmental factors, both measured and unmeasured, augment, moderate, and correlate with genotype to maximize (and minimize) genetic expression of traits and diseases. Here, we give the three most common examples in the behavior genetics literature: cognitive ability, personality, and psychopathology. Finally, we cover the ways in which behavior genetics will be important in future research for clarifying the role of genotype and environment in understanding the etiology of traits and diseases

Is marriage a buzzkill? A twin study of marital status and alcohol consumption

Married adults have consistently been found to drink less than their single or divorced counterparts. This correlation may not be causal, however, as people nonrandomly "select" into marriage and into alcohol use. The current study uses a sample of 2,425 same-sex twin pairs (1,703 MZ; 722 DZ) to control for genetic and shared environmental selection, thereby eliminating a great many third variable, alternative explanations to the hypothesis that marriage causes less drinking. Married twins were compared with their single, divorced, and cohabiting cotwins on drinking frequency and quantity. Married cotwins consumed fewer alcoholic beverages than their single or divorced cotwins, and drank less frequently than their single cotwins. Alcohol use patterns did not differ among married and cohabiting twins. These findings provide strong evidence that intimate relationships cause a decline in alcohol consumption. (PsycINFO Database Recor