37 research outputs found
Context-Specific Drinking and Social Anxiety: The Roles of Anticipatory Anxiety and Post-Event Processing
Individuals with clinically elevated social anxiety are especially vulnerable to alcohol-related problems, despite not drinking more than those with less anxiety. It is therefore important to identify contexts in which socially anxious persons drink more to inform intervention efforts. This study tested whether social anxiety was related to greater drinking before, during, or after a social event and whether such drinking was related to the psychosocial factors anticipatory anxiety or post-event processing (PEP; review of the social event). Among past-month drinkers, those with clinically elevated or higher social anxiety (HSA; n = 212) reported more anticipatory anxiety, more pre-event drinking to manage anxiety, and PEP than those with normative or lower social anxiety (LSA; n = 365). There was a significant indirect effect of social anxiety on pre-drinking via anticipatory anxiety. Social anxiety was related to more drinking during the event indirectly via the serial effects of anticipatory anxiety and pre-drinking. Unexpectedly, PEP did not mediate or moderate the relation between social anxiety and post-event drinking. In sum, anticipatory anxiety was related to more drinking before, during, and after a social event and HSA drinkers were especially vulnerable to drinking more to manage this anxiety, which increased drinking before and during the event. This effect was specific to anticipatory anxiety and not evident for another social anxiety-specific risk factor, PEP. Thus, anticipatory anxiety may be an important therapeutic target for drinkers generally and may be especially important among HSA drinkers
Social Anxiety and Alcohol-Related Impairment: The Mediational Impact of Solitary Drinking
Social anxiety disorder more than quadruples the risk of developing an alcohol use disorder, yet
it is inconsistently linked to drinking frequency. Inconsistent findings may be at least partially
due to lack of attention to drinking context ā it may be that socially anxious individuals are
especially vulnerable to drinking more often in specific contexts that increase their risk for
alcohol-related problems. For instance, socially anxious persons may drink more often while
alone, before social situations for āliquid courageā and/or after social situations to manage
negative thoughts about their performance. Among current (past-month) drinkers (N = 776),
social anxiety was significantly, positively related to solitary drinking frequency and was
negatively related to social drinking frequency. Social anxiety was indirectly (via solitary drinking
frequency) related to greater past-month drinking frequency and more drinking-related
problems. Social anxiety was also indirectly (via social drinking frequency) negatively related to
past-month drinking frequency and drinking-related problems. Findings suggest that socially
anxious persons may be vulnerable to more frequent drinking in particular contexts (in this case
alone) and that this context-specific drinking may play an important role in drinking problems
among these high-risk individuals
Oxytocin-mediated recruitment of slowly cycling cross bridges and isometric force in rat myometrium
Mechanical strain increases velocity and extent of shortening in cultured airway smooth muscle cells
A Prospective, international cohort study of invasive mold infections in children
Background. Invasive mold infections (IMIs) are a leading cause of mortality in immunocompromised children, yet there has never been an international epidemiologic investigation of pediatric IMIs. Methods. This international, prospective cohort study was performed to characterize the epidemiology, antifungal therapy, and outcomes of pediatric IMIs. Children (<18 years) with proven or probable IMIs were enrolled between August 2007 and May 2011 at 22 sites. Risk factors, underlying diagnoses, and treatments were recorded. Outcomes were assessed at 12 weeks after diagnosis using European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group response criteria. Results. One hundred thirty-one pediatric patients with IMIs were enrolled; the most common IMI was invasive aspergillosis ([IA] 75%). Children with IA and those with other types of IMIs had similar underlying risk factors, except that children with IMIs caused by non-Aspergillus species were more likely to have received mold-active antifungal agents preceding diagnosis. The most commonly used antifungal classes after diagnosis were triazoles (82%) and polyenes (63%). Combination therapy was used in 53% of patients. Use of combination therapy was associated with an increased risk of adverse events (risk ratio, 1.98; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-3.68; P = .031), although there was no detectable difference in outcome. Conclusions. Although risk factors for IMIs are similar across specific subtypes, preceding antifungal therapy may be an important modifier. Combination antifungal therapy requires further study to determine its true risks and benefits. Ā© The Author 2014