Factors Associated with Immunization Opinion Leadership among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Los Angeles, California

We sought to identify the characteristics of men who have sex with men (MSM) who are opinion leaders on immunization issues and to identify potential opportunities to leverage their influence for vaccine promotion within MSM communities. Using venue-based sampling, we recruited and enrolled MSM living in Los Angeles (N = 520) from December 2016 to February 2017 and evaluated characteristic differences in sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, and technology use among those classified as opinion leaders versus those who were not. We also asked respondents about their past receipt of meningococcal serogroups A, C, W, and Y (MenACWY) and meningococcal B (MenB) vaccines, as well as their opinions on the importance of 13 additional vaccines. Multivariable results revealed that non-Hispanic black (aOR = 2.64; 95% CI: 1.17–5.95) and other race/ethnicity (aOR = 2.98; 95% CI: 1.41–6.29) respondents, as well as those with a history of an STI other than HIV (aOR = 1.95; 95% CI: 1.10–3.48), were more likely to be opinion leaders. MenACWY (aOR = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.13–3.25) and MenB (aOR = 3.09; 95% CI: 1.77–5.41) vaccine uptake, and perceived importance for these and seven additional vaccines, were also associated with being an opinion leader. The results suggest that the co-promotion of vaccination and other health promotion initiatives via opinion leaders could be a useful strategy for increasing vaccination among MSM

Prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients with cystic fibrosis and parent caregivers: results of The International Depression Epidemiological Study across nine countries

Background Individuals with chronic diseases and parent caregivers are at increased risk for symptoms of depression and anxiety. Prevalence of psychological symptoms was evaluated in adolescents and adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) and parent caregivers across nine countries. Methods Patients with CF, ages 12 years and older, and caregivers of children with CF, birth to18 years of age, completed measures of depression and anxiety across 154 CF centres in Europe and the USA. Psychological symptoms were compared across countries using χ2. Logistic regression examined extent of comorbid symptoms, predictors of depression and anxiety, and concordance between parent and adolescent symptomatology. Results Psychological symptoms were reported by 6088 patients with CF and 4102 parents. Elevated symptoms of depression were found in 10% of adolescents, 19% of adults, 37% of mothers and 31% of fathers. Elevations in anxiety were found in 22% of adolescents, 32% of adults, 48% of mothers and 36% of fathers. Overall, elevations were 2–3 times those of community samples. Participants reporting elevated anxiety were more likely to report depression (ORs: adolescents=14.97, adults=13.64, mothers=15.52, fathers=9.20). Significant differences in reports of depression and anxiety were found by patient age and parent respondent. Concordance between 1122 parent–teen dyads indicated that adolescents whose parents reported depression were more likely to be elevated on depression (OR=2.32). Similarly, adolescents whose parents reported anxiety were more likely to score in the elevated range on the anxiety measure (OR=2.22). Conclusions Symptoms of depression and anxiety were elevated in both patients with CF and parents across several European countries and the USA. Annual screening of psychological symptoms is recommended for both patients and parents

A study of longitudinal trends in time-frequency transformations of EEG data during a learning experiment

EEG experiments yield high-dimensional event-related potential (ERP) data in response to repeatedly presented stimuli throughout the experiment. Changes in the high-dimensional ERP signal throughout the duration of an experiment (longitudinally) is the main quantity of interest in learning paradigms, where they represent the learning dynamics. Typical analysis, which can be performed in the time or the frequency domain, average the ERP waveform across all trials, leading to the loss of the potentially valuable longitudinal information in the data. Longitudinal time-frequency transformation of ERP (LTFT-ERP) is proposed to retain information from both the time and frequency domains, offering distinct but complementary information on the underlying cognitive processes evoked, while still retaining the longitudinal dynamics in the ERP waveforms. LTFT-ERP begins by time-frequency transformations of the ERP data, collected across subjects, electrodes, conditions and trials throughout the duration of the experiment, followed by a data driven multidimensional principal components analysis (PCA) approach for dimension reduction. Following projection of the data onto leading directions of variation in the time and frequency domains, longitudinal learning dynamics are modeled within a mixed effects modeling framework. Applications to a learning paradigm in autism depict distinct learning patterns throughout the experiment among children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their typically developing peers. LTFT-ERP time-frequency joint transformations are shown to bring an additional level of specificity to interpretations of the longitudinal learning patterns related to underlying cognitive processes, which is lacking in single domain analysis (in the time or the frequency domain only). Simulation studies show the efficacy of the proposed methodology

Associations between violence, criminality, and cognitive control deficits among young men living in low resource communities in South Africa.

Despite empirical support for Self-control theory in criminology, there is controversy about how self-control should be operationalized. Working within the framework of self-control theory, we investigated if violence and criminal behaviors are associated with nine distinct dimensions of cognitive control in a community sample of young men (n = 654) living in peri-urban townships in South Africa. Cognitive control was assessed using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. Multivariate statistical analysis was used, to identify associations between violence and criminality, and deaggregated measures of nine distinct components of cognitive control. Fifteen percent of the sample reported recent violence, 27% had been in physical fights with family/friends in the preceding 6 months, 10% reported being arrested, 4% reported forced sexual contact, and 26% reported intimate partner violence (IPV). Controlling for substance use and sociodemographic variables, contact with the criminal justice system and violence were associated with deficits in all domains of cognitive control. Forced sexual contact was associated with behavioral dysregulation. IPV was associated with behavior dysregulation and executive control dysfunction. Future studies might utilize deaggregated measures of self-control to provide further insight into links between particular components of cognitive control and various forms of offending and violence

Associations between violence, criminality, and cognitive control deficits among young men living in low resource communities in South Africa.

Despite empirical support for "Self-control theory" in criminology, there is controversy about how self-control should be operationalized. Working within the framework of "self-control theory," we investigated if violence and criminal behaviors are associated with nine distinct dimensions of cognitive control in a community sample of young men (n = 654) living in peri-urban townships in South Africa. Cognitive control was assessed using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. Multivariate statistical analysis was used, to identify associations between violence and criminality, and deaggregated measures of nine distinct components of cognitive control. Fifteen percent of the sample reported recent violence, 27% had been in physical fights with family/friends in the preceding 6 months, 10% reported being arrested, 4% reported forced sexual contact, and 26% reported intimate partner violence (IPV). Controlling for substance use and sociodemographic variables, contact with the criminal justice system and violence were associated with deficits in all domains of cognitive control. Forced sexual contact was associated with behavioral dysregulation. IPV was associated with behavior dysregulation and executive control dysfunction. Future studies might utilize deaggregated measures of self-control to provide further insight into links between particular components of cognitive control and various forms of offending and violence

Associations between violence, criminality, and cognitive control deficits among young men living in low resource communities in South Africa.

Despite empirical support for "Self-control theory" in criminology, there is controversy about how self-control should be operationalized. Working within the framework of "self-control theory," we investigated if violence and criminal behaviors are associated with nine distinct dimensions of cognitive control in a community sample of young men (n = 654) living in peri-urban townships in South Africa. Cognitive control was assessed using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. Multivariate statistical analysis was used, to identify associations between violence and criminality, and deaggregated measures of nine distinct components of cognitive control. Fifteen percent of the sample reported recent violence, 27% had been in physical fights with family/friends in the preceding 6 months, 10% reported being arrested, 4% reported forced sexual contact, and 26% reported intimate partner violence (IPV). Controlling for substance use and sociodemographic variables, contact with the criminal justice system and violence were associated with deficits in all domains of cognitive control. Forced sexual contact was associated with behavioral dysregulation. IPV was associated with behavior dysregulation and executive control dysfunction. Future studies might utilize deaggregated measures of self-control to provide further insight into links between particular components of cognitive control and various forms of offending and violence

Factors Associated with Immunization Opinion Leadership among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Los Angeles, California.

We sought to identify the characteristics of men who have sex with men (MSM) who are opinion leaders on immunization issues and to identify potential opportunities to leverage their influence for vaccine promotion within MSM communities. Using venue-based sampling, we recruited and enrolled MSM living in Los Angeles (N = 520) from December 2016 to February 2017 and evaluated characteristic differences in sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, and technology use among those classified as opinion leaders versus those who were not. We also asked respondents about their past receipt of meningococcal serogroups A, C, W, and Y (MenACWY) and meningococcal B (MenB) vaccines, as well as their opinions on the importance of 13 additional vaccines. Multivariable results revealed that non-Hispanic black (aOR = 2.64; 95% CI: 1.17⁻5.95) and other race/ethnicity (aOR = 2.98; 95% CI: 1.41⁻6.29) respondents, as well as those with a history of an STI other than HIV (aOR = 1.95; 95% CI: 1.10⁻3.48), were more likely to be opinion leaders. MenACWY (aOR = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.13⁻3.25) and MenB (aOR = 3.09; 95% CI: 1.77⁻5.41) vaccine uptake, and perceived importance for these and seven additional vaccines, were also associated with being an opinion leader. The results suggest that the co-promotion of vaccination and other health promotion initiatives via opinion leaders could be a useful strategy for increasing vaccination among MSM

HPV Vaccination among Sexual and Gender Minority Youth Living with or at High-Risk for HIV.

BackgroundHuman papillomavirus (HPV) is epidemic among young people, especially those at highest risk of acquiring HPV-related cancers.MethodsYouth aged 14-24 years old (N = 1628) were recruited from 13 clinics, community agencies, and social media sites in Los Angeles, California, and New Orleans, Louisiana, that specialized in serving sexual and gender minority youths (SGMY), especially males at risk for HIV. A cross-sectional comparison of sociodemographic and risk histories of HPV vaccinated/unvaccinated youths was conducted using both univariate and multivariate regressions.ResultsAbout half (51.9%) of youth were vaccinated, with similar percentages across states and across genders. Sexual and gender minority youths (SGMY, i.e., gay, bisexual, transgender, and non-heterosexual; 68.8%) and their heterosexual peers (15%) were equally likely to be vaccinated (54%), even though their risk for HPV-related cancers is very different. Vaccinations were higher among younger youth, those not using condoms, youth with greater education, that possessed a primary health care provider, and youth diagnosed with HIV. Vaccinations were lower among youth that were out-of-home due to mental health inpatient hospitalization, drug treatment, homelessness, or incarceration.ConclusionsSpecial programs are required to target youth experiencing multiple life stressors, especially out-of-home experiences, those with less education, and without the safety net of health insurance or a provider