Screening for consequences of trauma – an update on the global collaboration on traumatic stress

This letter provides an update on the activities of “The Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress” (GC-TS) as first described by Schnyder et al. in 2017. It presents in further detail the projects of the first theme, in particular the development of and initial data on the Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS), a brief instrument designed to screen for the wide range of potential outcomes of trauma. English language data and ongoing studies in several languages provide a first indication that the GPS is a feasible, reliable and valid tool, a tool that may be very useful in the current pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Further multi-language and cross-cultural validation is needed. Since the start of the GC-TS, new themes have been introduced to focus on in the coming years: a) Forcibly displaced persons, b) Global prevalence of stress and trauma related disorders, c) Socio-emotional development across cultures, and d) Collaborating to make traumatic stress research data “FAIR”. The most recent theme added is that of Global crises, currently focusing on COVID-19-related projects

The global collaboration on traumatic stress

Trauma is a global issue. The great majority of the global burden of disease arising from mental health conditions occurs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), among populations in political, economic, and/or cultural transition and those struck by forced migration. These mental health problems frequently arise as a result of traumatic events that adversely affect adults, children, and families, including war, mass violence, natural disasters, and accidents. In response to this, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) launched the Global Initiative to have a stronger global impact on trauma-related issues. As part of this initiative, the Global Collaboration was established by representatives of eight professional organizations active in the field of traumatic stress. The group decided to focus on childhood abuse and neglect as its first collaboration. They collected guidelines worldwide, providing the basis for a synthesized core guide for prevention and treatment that can be customized for specific cultural contexts. The resulting ‘Internet information on Childhood Abuse and Neglect’ (iCAN) is a comprehensive guide for adults who have been affected by childhood abuse and neglect, as well as for the survivors’ significant others. It is currently provided in eight languages, and is freely available at the homepage of ISTSS and other websites. A second achievement of the Global Collaboration is the validation of the Computerized Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS), a self-report measure designed to measure occurrences of childhood maltreatment, and its translation into multiple languages, including Croatian, Dutch, French, Georgian, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Russian, and Spanish. A study is currently planned to collect normative responses to the questionnaire, and to conduct cross-cultural comparisons. The Global Collaboration’s success may be seen as an encouraging step towards a truly global structure in the field of traumatic stress

Screening for consequences of trauma – an update on the global collaboration on traumatic stress

CITATION: Olff, M. et al. 2020. Screening for consequences of trauma – an update on the global collaboration on traumatic stress. European Journal of Psychotraymatology, 11:1752504, doi:10.1080/20008198.2020.1752504.The original publication is available at https://think.taylorandfrancis.com/ejptThis letter provides an update on the activities of “The Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress” (GC-TS) as first described by Schnyder et al. in 2017. It presents in further detail the projects of the first theme, in particular the development of and initial data on the Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS), a brief instrument designed to screen for the wide range of potential outcomes of trauma. English language data and ongoing studies in several languages provide a first indication that the GPS is a feasible, reliable and valid tool, a tool that may be very useful in the current pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Further multi-language and cross-cultural validation is needed. Since the start of the GC-TS, new themes have been introduced to focus on in the coming years: a) Forcibly displaced persons, b) Global prevalence of stress and trauma related disorders, c) Socio-emotional development across cultures, and d) Collaborating to make traumatic stress research data “FAIR”. The most recent theme added is that of Global crises, currently focusing on COVID-19-related projects.Publisher's versio

Mental health responses to COVID-19 around the world

Background: The mental health impact of the COVID-19 crisis may differ from previously studied stressful events in terms of psychological reactions, specific risk factors, and symptom severity across geographic regions worldwide.Objective: To assess the impact of COVID-19 on a wide range of mental health symptoms, to identify relevant risk factors, to identify the effect of COVID-19 country impact on mental health, and to evaluate regional differences in psychological responses to COVID-19 compared to other stressful events.Method: 7034 respondents (74% female) participated in the worldwide Global Psychotrauma Screen – Cross-Cultural responses to COVID-19 study (GPS-CCC), reporting on mental health symptoms related to COVID-19 (n = 1838) or other stressful events (n = 5196) from April to November 2020.Results: Events related to COVID-19 were associated with more mental health symptoms compared to other stressful events, especially symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and dissociation. Lack of social support, psychiatric history, childhood trauma, additional stressful events in the past month, and low resilience predicted more mental health problems for COVID-19 and other stressful events. Higher COVID-19 country impact was associated with increased mental health impact of both COVID-19 and other stressful events. Analysis of differences across geographic regions revealed that in Latin America more mental health symptoms were reported for COVID-19 related events versus other stressful events, while the opposite pattern was seen in North America.Conclusions: The mental health impact of COVID-19-related stressors covers a wide range of symptoms and is more severe than that of other stressful events. This difference was especially apparent in Latin America. The findings underscore the need for global screening for a wide range of mental health problems as part of a public health approach, allowing for targeted prevention and intervention programs.publishedVersio

A vibração torácica na fisioterapia respiratória de recém-nascidos causa dor? Does chest vibration during respiratory physiotherapy in neonates cause pain?

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a dor em recém-nascidos pré-termo (RNPT) submetidos à fisioterapia respiratória em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal realizado com recém-nascidos prematuros, com indicação de fisioterapia respiratória, em respiração espontânea. Foi aplicada uma técnica de vibração torácica com a mão do terapeuta realizando pequenas oscilações sobre o tórax do paciente e feita a avaliação da frequência cardíaca (FC), frequência respiratória (FR), saturação de pulso de oxigênio (SpO2) e do Sistema de Codificação da Atividade Facial Neonatal (NFCS) para a avaliação da dor antes, durante, imediatamente após (pós-i) e 30 minutos após (pós-30) a vibração no tórax do paciente. Utilizou-se a análise de variância para medidas repetidas para comparação entre as fases, considerando-se significante p<0,05. RESULTADOS: Foram avaliados 13 RNPT, com média de idade gestacional 32,5±2,0 semanas e peso de nascimento 1830±442g. Não foi observada pontuação de dor durante toda a avaliação: pré: 0,5±1,7; durante: 1,5±1,4; pós-i: 1,0±1,3; pós-30: 0±0,3, porém houve diferença estatisticamente significativa entre a fase pós-i e pós-30 na escala NFCS (p<0,05). A FC variou de 120 a 150bpm, a SpO2 permaneceu acima de 95%, e a FR entre 40 e 62rpm, sem diferenças entre os períodos. CONCLUSÕES: Neste grupo de pacientes prematuros internados em UTI neonatal e submetidos à realização de fisioterapia respiratória pela técnica de vibração torácica, não foram observadas alterações fisiológicas e comportamentais de dor<br>OBJECTIVE: To observe pain score during chest physiotherapy (CP) in preterm newborns (PTNB) assisted in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out with PTNB with spontaneous breathing that needed respiratory physiotherapy. A vibration technique was employed, with the hand of the therapist applying oscillations on the patients' thorax. The following variables were assessed: heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR) and oxygen saturation (O2Sat), as well as the Neonatal Facial Coding System (NFCS) to analyze pain before (pre), during, just after and 30 minutes after the thoracic vibration technique. Repeated measures analysis of variance was applied to analyze the protocol phases, being significant p<0.05. RESULTS: Thirteen PTNB were assessed. The mean gestational age was 32.5±2.0 weeks, and the birth weight was 1830±442g. No pain was observed during the evaluation: "pre": 0.5±1.7; "during": 1.5±1.4; "just after": 1.0±1.3; "30 min after": 0±0.3, but there was difference in the NFCS scores between the periods "just after" and "30 minutes after" (p<0.05). The HR varied between 120 and 150bpm, O2Sat levels remained over 95%, and RR oscillated from 40 to 62mpm, without differences between periods. CONCLUSIONS: Preterm patients spontaneously breathing and submitted to respiratory physiotherapy by thoracic vibration, no evidence of physiological or behavioral pain indicators were observe

Allele-specific reprogramming of cancer metabolism by the long non-coding RNA CCAT2

Altered energy metabolism is a cancer hallmark as malignant cells tailor their metabolic pathways to meet their energy requirements. Glucose and glutamine are the major nutrients that fuel cellular metabolism, and the pathways utilizing these nutrients are often altered in cancer. Here, we show that the long ncRNA CCAT2, located at the 8q24 amplicon on cancer risk-associated rs6983267 SNP, regulates cancer metabolism in vitro and in vivo in an allele-specific manner by binding the Cleavage Factor I (CFIm) complex with distinct affinities for the two subunits (CFIm25 and CFIm68). The CCAT2 interaction with the CFIm complex fine-tunes the alternative splicing of Glutaminase (GLS) by selecting the poly(A) site in intron 14 of the precursor mRNA. These findings uncover a complex, allele-specific regulatory mechanism of cancer metabolism orchestrated by the two alleles of a long ncRNA.G.A.C. is The Alan M. Gewirtz Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Scholar. Work in G.A.C.’s laboratory is supported in part by the NIH/NCI grants 1UH2TR00943-01 and 1 R01 CA182905-01, the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center SPORE in Melanoma grant from NCI (P50 CA093459), Aim at Melanoma Foundation and the Miriam and Jim Mulva research funds, the Brain SPORE (2P50CA127001), the Center for Radiation Oncology Research Project, the Center for Cancer Epigenetics Pilot project, a 2014 Knowledge GAP MDACC grant, a CLL Moonshot pilot project, the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment, a SINF grant in colon cancer, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, the RGK Foundation, and the Estate of C.G. Johnson, Jr. I.B.-N. was financed by a grant entitled Non-Invasive Intelligent Systems for Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis Based on circulating miRNAs Integrated in the Clinical Workflow – INTELCOR. S.M.G.D., A.L.B.A., and D.A. are supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation FAPESP under grants 2014/15968-3, 2014/20673-2, and 2014/17820-3, respectively. W.L. was partly supported by grants from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Sheikh Ahmed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research. J.A.B. was supported by the Cancer Center Support Grant (P30 CA016672), and the HP imaging program of the Small Animal Facility (SAIF) was supported by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institutes of Texas grant RP-101243P5. H.L. was supported by NIH/NCI grant R01CA175486, a grant (RP140462) from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, and the R. Lee Clark Fellow Award from The Jeanne F. Shelby Scholarship Fund. I.B.-N. was financed by a Fulbright fellowship and by a grant entitled Non-Invasive Intelligent Systems for Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis Based on circulating miRNAs Integrated in the Clinical Workflow – INTELCOR.Peer Reviewe