Social Support From the Athletic Trainer and Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety at Return to Play

CONTEXT: Few empirical studies have examined social support from athletic trainers (ATs) and its buffering effect during injury recovery. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of social support received from ATs during injury recovery on reported symptoms of depression and anxiety at return to play among a cohort of collegiate athletes. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: Two Big 10 Conference universities. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: A total of 594 injuries sustained by 387 collegiate athletes (397 injuries by 256 males, 197 injuries by 131 females) on 9 sports teams. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Data were collected during the 2007–2011 seasons. Social support was measured using the 6-item Social Support Questionnaire. Symptoms of depression were assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Anxiety was measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. We used generalized estimation equation regression models to examine the effect of the social support from ATs on the odds of symptoms of depression and anxiety at return to play. RESULTS: In 84.3% (n = 501) of injury events, injured athletes received social support from ATs during their recovery. Of these, 264 (53.1%) athletes reported being very satisfied with this social support. Whether or not athletes received social support from ATs during recovery did not affect the symptoms of depression or anxiety experienced at return to play. However, compared with athletes who were dissatisfied with the social support received from ATs, athletes who were very satisfied or satisfied with this social support were 87% (95% confidence interval = 0.06, 0.30) and 70% (95% confidence interval = 0.13, 0.70) less likely to report symptoms of depression at return to play, respectively. Similar results were observed for anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the buffering effect of social support from ATs and have important implications for successful recovery in both the physical and psychological aspects for injured athletes

Experimenting with QR Codes and Envelope Size in Push-to-Web Surveys

Survey researchers are continually evaluating approaches to increase response rates, especially those that can be implemented with little or no costs. In this study, we experimentally evaluated whether or not including Quick Response (QR) codes in mailed recruitment materials for self-administered web surveys increased web survey participation. We also assessed whether mailing these materials in a non-standard envelope size (6 × 9 inch) yielded a higher response rate than invitations mailed in a standard, #10 envelope (4.125 × 9.5 inch). These experiments were embedded in a sequential mixed-mode (dual-frame phone and web) statewide survey. Including a QR code (in addition to a URL) significantly increased the response rate compared to invitations that only included a URL in our study. As expected, a consequence of including the QR code was an elevated number of completions on smartphones or tablets among households randomly assigned to the QR code condition. The use of a larger (6 × 9 inch) envelope did not affect the overall response rate but did significantly boost the response rate for the landline sample (envelopes addressed to STATE resident ) while having little effect for the wireless sample (envelopes addressed by name). This study suggests that incorporating both QR codes and larger (6 × 9 inch) envelopes in mail recruitment materials for web surveys is a cost-effective approach to increase web participation

Factors Related to Low Birth Weight in Teenage Mothers

National data indicates that 8.0% of all infants are born with weigh below 2,500 grams. Teenage mothers are at an increased risk of delivering LBW or preterm infants (Chen et al., 2007). LBW is linked to higher mortality rates (Mathews & MacDorman, 2013), greater health care needs (Kowlessar, Jiang, & Steiner, 2013), and higher rates of chronic conditions (Boulet & Schieve, 2011). We analyzed factors related to LBW incorporating the individual (e.g., smoking, drinking, maternal age) and environmental level factors (e.g., lead poisoning, sexually transmitted diseases, crime data) using county birth certificates data for teenage mothers from 2007 to 2013 (n = 966, Mage =18.1), analyzed in a multilevel model based on Census Block Group (CBG) areas. The effect of the environment was not significant in the overall model. In the final model, the odds of having a LBW infant were significantly higher for teenage mothers who received fewer months of prenatal care; 2.26 [CI(.95)1.32, 3.86], indicating teens with less prenatal care were 126% more likely to have a LBW infant. No other individual or environmental factors were significant in the overall model. County level intervention to reduce the LBW should focus on access to prenatal care for pregnant teens

Examining the odds: A multilevel analysis of outpatient gambling treatment programs. What really matters?

Intervention approaches established in the past few decades can help control gambling behaviors. However, understanding what influences treatment outcomes is challenging when treatment is provided by outpatient programs with different treatment approaches to patients with a wide variety of needs. This study uses data from a free, outpatient, state-sponsored gambling treatment program collected from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017. A total of 766 patients across the state were enrolled in the treatment programs. At the time of analysis, 639 patients had been discharged from treatment, and 130 patients of the initial 766 participated in a 6-month follow-up study from the time of their discharge. Final models use multilevel analysis nested within patients using treatment provided as repeated measures in varying occasions. These models examine the association of treatments received and patients’ characteristics to treatment outcomes such as retention with a measure of gambling disorders 6 months after discharge from treatment. The findings suggest that some treatment services such as Recovery Support Services (RSS) and tele-health have a moderate positive effect in retention. The RSS has a mixed effect in the outcome after 6-month follow up assessment. Implications for treatment delivery and assessment of services are discussed

A Measurement Invariance Examination of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale in a Southern Sample: Differential Item Functioning Between African American and Caucasian Youth

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale in a large sample of youth from the Southern United States. The authors aimed to determine (a) if the established six-factor Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale structure could be replicated in this Southern sample and (b) if scores were associated with measurement invariance across African American and Caucasian youth representative of youth from this region of the United States. The established six-factor model evidenced the best fit in comparison to one-, two-, and five-factor models in the total sample (N = 12,695), as well as in the African American (n = 4,906) and Caucasian (n = 6,667) subsamples. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis also supported measurement invariance across African American and Caucasian youth at the levels of equal factor structure and equal factor loadings. Noninvariant item intercepts were identified, however, indicating differential functioning for a subset of items. Clinical and measurement implications of these findings are discussed and new norms are presented

Yap regulates glucose utilization and sustains nucleotide synthesis to enable organ growth

The Hippo pathway and its nuclear effector Yap regulate organ size and cancer formation. While many modulators of Hippo activity have been identified, little is known about the Yap target genes that mediate these growth effects. Here, we show that yap−/− mutant zebrafish exhibit defects in hepatic progenitor potential and liver growth due to impaired glucose transport and nucleotide biosynthesis. Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses reveal that Yap regulates expression of glucose transporter glut1, causing decreased glucose uptake and use for nucleotide biosynthesis in yap−/− mutants, and impaired glucose tolerance in adults. Nucleotide supplementation improves Yap deficiency phenotypes, indicating functional importance of glucose-fueled nucleotide biosynthesis. Yap-regulated glut1 expression and glucose uptake are conserved in mammals, suggesting that stimulation of anabolic glucose metabolism is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism by which the Hippo pathway controls organ growth. Together, our results reveal a central role for Hippo signaling in glucose metabolic homeostasis.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) (Grant P30DK034854)National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) (Grant 1R01DK090311)National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) (Grant R24OD017870)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant P30DK034854)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 1R01DK090311)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant 1R01DK105198)National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) (Grant 1R01DK105198)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R24OD017870)National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) (Grant T32GM007753)NHMRC (Grant 1146558)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (Grant 5P01CA120964)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (Grant 5P30CA006516

Light Exposure at Night Disrupts Host/Cancer Circadian Regulatory Dynamics: Impact on the Warburg Effect, Lipid Signaling and Tumor Growth Prevention

The central circadian clock within the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) plays an important role in temporally organizing and coordinating many of the processes governing cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth in synchrony with the daily light/dark cycle which may contribute to endogenous cancer prevention. Bioenergetic substrates and molecular intermediates required for building tumor biomass each day are derived from both aerobic glycolysis (Warburg effect) and lipid metabolism. Using tissue-isolated human breast cancer xenografts grown in nude rats, we determined that circulating systemic factors in the host and the Warburg effect, linoleic acid uptake/metabolism and growth signaling activities in the tumor are dynamically regulated, coordinated and integrated within circadian time structure over a 24-hour light/dark cycle by SCN-driven nocturnal pineal production of the anticancer hormone melatonin. Dim light at night (LAN)-induced melatonin suppression disrupts this circadian-regulated host/cancer balance among several important cancer preventative signaling mechanisms, leading to hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia in the host and runaway aerobic glycolysis, lipid signaling and proliferative activity in the tumor