A Pilot Study of Abnormal Growth in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other Childhood Psychiatric Disorders

The aims of the current study were to examine whether early growth abnormalities are (a) comparable in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other childhood psychiatric disorders, and (b) specific to the brain or generalized to the whole body. Head circumference, height, and weight were measured during the first 19 months of life in 129 children with ASD and 59 children with non-ASD psychiatric disorders. Both groups showed comparable abnormal patterns of growth compared to population norms, especially regarding height and head circumference in relation to height. Thus abnormal growth appears to be related to psychiatric disorders in general and is mainly expressed as an accelerated growth of height not matched by an increase in weight or head circumference

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Network Analysis in U.S. Military Veterans: Examining the Impact of Combat Exposure

Recent work inspired by graph theory has begun to conceptualize mental disorders as networks of interacting symptoms. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom networks have been investigated in clinical samples meeting full diagnostic criteria, including military veterans, natural disaster survivors, civilian survivors of war, and child sexual abuse survivors. Despite reliable associations across reported networks, more work is needed to compare central symptoms across trauma types. Additionally, individuals without a diagnosis who still experience symptoms, also referred to as subthreshold cases, have not been explored with network analysis in veterans. A sample of 1,050 Iraq/Afghanistan-era U.S. military veterans (851 males, mean age = 36.3, SD = 9.53) meeting current full-criteria PTSD (n = 912) and subthreshold PTSD (n = 138) were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders (SCID). Combat Exposure Scale (CES) scores were used to group the sample meeting full-criteria into high (n = 639) and low (n = 273) combat exposure subgroups. Networks were estimated using regularized partial correlation models in the R-package qgraph, and robustness tests were performed with bootnet. Frequently co-occurring symptom pairs (strong network connections) emerged between two avoidance symptoms, hypervigilance and startle response, loss of interest and detachment, as well as, detachment and restricted affect. These associations replicate findings reported across PTSD trauma types. A symptom network analysis of PTSD in a veteran population found significantly greater overall connectivity in the full-criteria PTSD group as compared to the subthreshold PTSD group. Additionally, novel findings indicate that the association between intrusive thoughts and irritability is a feature of the symptom network of veterans with high levels of combat exposure. Mean node predictability is high for PTSD symptom networks, averaging 51.5% shared variance. With the tools described here and by others, researchers can help refine diagnostic criteria for PTSD, develop more accurate measures for assessing PTSD, and eventually inform therapies that target symptoms with strong network connections to interrupt interconnected symptom complexes and promote functional recovery

Factors associated with the number of consultations per dietetic treatment: an observational study

Abstract Background Greater understanding of the variance in the number of consultations per dietetic treatment will increase the transparency of dietetic healthcare. Substantial inter-practitioner variation may suggest a potential to increase efficiency and improve quality. It is not known whether inter-practitioner variation also exists in the field of dietetics. Therefore, the aims of this study are to examine inter-practitioner variation in the number of consultations per treatment and the case-mix factors that explain this variation. Methods For this observational study, data were used from the National Information Service for Allied Health Care (LiPZ). LiPZ is a Dutch registration network of allied health care professionals, including dietitians working in primary healthcare. Data were used from 6,496 patients who underwent dietetic treatment between 2006 and 2009, treated by 27 dietitians working in solo practices located throughout the Netherlands. Data collection was based on the long-term computerized registration of healthcare-related information on patients, reimbursement, treatment and health problems, using a regular software program for reimbursement. Poisson multilevel regression analyses were used to model the number of consultations and to account for the clustered structure of the data. Results After adjusting for case-mix, seven percent of the total variation in consultation sessions was due to dietitians. The mean number of consultations per treatment was 4.9 and ranged from 2.3–10.1 between dietitians. Demographic characteristics, patients’ initiative and patients’ health problems explained 28% of the inter-practitioner variation. Certain groups of patients used significantly more dietetic healthcare compared to others, i.e. older patients, females, the native Dutch, patients with a history of dietetic healthcare, patients who started the treatment on their own initiative, patients with multiple diagnoses, overweight, or binge eating disorder. Conclusions Considerable variation in number of consultations per dietetic treatment is due to dietitians. Some of this inter-practitioner variation was reduced after adjusting for case-mix. Further research is necessary to study the relation between inter-practitioner variation and the effectiveness and quality of dietetic treatment.</p

Epigenome-wide meta-analysis of PTSD across 10 military and civilian cohorts identifies methylation changes in AHRR

Epigenetic differences may help to distinguish between PTSD cases and trauma-exposed controls. Here, we describe the results of the largest DNA methylation meta-analysis of PTSD to date. Ten cohorts, military and civilian, contribute blood-derived DNA methylation data from 1,896 PTSD cases and trauma-exposed controls. Four CpG sites within the aryl-hydrocarbon receptor repressor (AHRR) associate with PTSD after adjustment for multiple comparisons, with lower DNA methylation in PTSD cases relative to controls. Although AHRR methylation is known to associate with smoking, the AHRR association with PTSD is most pronounced in non-smokers, suggesting the result was independent of smoking status. Evaluation of metabolomics data reveals that AHRR methylation associated with kynurenine levels, which are lower among subjects with PTSD. This study supports epigenetic differences in those with PTSD and suggests a role for decreased kynurenine as a contributor to immune dysregulation in PTSD