Is socioeconomic status associated with biological aging as measured by telomere length?

It has been hypothesized that one way in which lower socioeconomic status (SES) affects health is by increasing the rate of biological aging. A widely used marker of biological aging is telomere length. Telomeres are structures at the ends of chromosomes that erode with increasing cell proliferation and genetic damage. We aimed to identify, through systematic review and meta-analysis, whether lower SES (greater deprivation) is associated with shorter telomeres. Thirty-one articles, including 29 study populations, were identified. We conducted 3 meta-analyses to compare the telomere lengths of persons of high and low SES with regard to contemporaneous SES (12 study populations from 10 individual articles), education (15 study populations from 14 articles), and childhood SES (2 study populations from 2 articles). For education, there was a significant difference in telomere length between persons of high and low SES in a random-effects model (standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.060, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.002, 0.118; P = 0.042), although a range of sensitivity analyses weakened this association. There was no evidence for an association between telomere length and contemporaneous SES (SMD = 0.104, 95% CI: −0.027, 0.236; P = 0.119) or childhood SES (SMD = −0.037, 95% CI: −0.143, 0.069; P = 0.491). These results suggest weak evidence for an association between SES (as measured by education) and biological aging (as measured by telomere length), although there was a lack of consistent findings across the SES measures investigated here

Uterine adenocarcinoma with feline leukemia virus infection

Feline endometrial adenocarcinomas are uncommon malignant neoplasms that have been poorly characterized to date. In this study, we describe a uterine adenocarcinoma in a Persian cat with feline leukemia virus infection. At the time of presentation, the cat, a female Persian chinchilla, was 2 years old. The cat underwent surgical ovariohystectomy. A cross-section of the uterine wall revealed a thickened uterine horn. The cat tested positive for feline leukemia virus as detected by polymerase chain reaction. Histopathological examination revealed uterine adenocarcinoma that had metastasized to the omentum, resulting in thickening and the formation of inflammatory lesions. Based on the histopathological findings, this case was diagnosed as a uterine adenocarcinoma with abdominal metastasis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a uterine adenocarcinoma with feline leukemia virus infection

Prevalence and Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 4 Years - Early Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, Seven Sites, United States, 2010, 2012, and 2014

Problem/Condition: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is estimated to affect up to 3% of children in the United States. Public health surveillance for ASD among children aged 4 years provides information about trends in prevalence, characteristics of children with ASD, and progress made toward decreasing the age of identification of ASD so that evidence-based interventions can begin as early as possible. Period Covered: 2010, 2012, and 2014. Description of System: The Early Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (Early ADDM) Network is an active surveillance system that provides biennial estimates of the prevalence and characteristics of ASD among children aged 4 years whose parents or guardians lived within designated sites. During surveillance years 2010, 2012, or 2014, data were collected in seven sites: Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin. The Early ADDM Network is a subset of the broader ADDM Network (which included 13 total sites over the same period) that has been conducting ASD surveillance among children aged 8 years since 2000. Each Early ADDM site covers a smaller geographic area than the broader ADDM Network. Early ADDM ASD surveillance is conducted in two phases using the same methods and project staff members as the ADDM Network. The first phase consists of reviewing and abstracting data from children's records, including comprehensive evaluations performed by community professionals. Sources for these evaluations include general pediatric health clinics and specialized programs for children with developmental disabilities. In addition, special education records (for children aged >= 3 years) were reviewed for Arizona, Colorado, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Utah, and early intervention records (for children aged 0 to = 60% data on cognitive test scores (Arizona, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Utah), the frequency of co-occurring intellectual disabilities was significantly higher among children aged 4 years than among those aged 8 years for each site in each surveillance year except Arizona in 2010. The percentage of children with ASD who had a first evaluation by age 36 months ranged from 48.8% in Missouri in 2012 to 88.9% in Wisconsin in 2014. The percentage of children with a previous ASD diagnosis from a community provider varied by site, ranging from 43.0% for Arizona in 2012 to 86.5% for Missouri in 2012. The median age at earliest known ASD diagnosis varied from 28 months in North Carolina in 2014 to 39.0 months in Missouri and Wisconsin in 2012. In 2014, the ASD prevalence based on the DSM-IV-TR case definition was 20% higher than the prevalence based on the DSM-5 (17.0 versus 14.1 per 1,000, respectively). Trends in ASD prevalence and characteristics among children aged 4 years during the study period were assessed for the three sites with data for all 3 years and consistent data sources (Arizona, Missouri, and New Jersey) using the DSM-IV-TR case definition; prevalence was higher in 2014 than in 2010 among children aged 4 years in New Jersey and was stable in Arizona and Missouri. In Missouri, ASD prevalence was higher among children aged 8 years than among children aged 4 years. The percentage of children with ASD who had a comprehensive evaluation by age 36 months was stable in Arizona and Missouri and decreased in New Jersey. In the three sites, no change occurred in the age at earliest known ASD diagnosis during 2010-2014. Interpretation: The findings suggest that ASD prevalence among children aged 4 years was higher in 2014 than in 2010 in one site and remained stable in others. Among children with ASD, the frequency of cognitive impairment was higher among children aged 4 years than among those aged 8 years and suggests that surveillance at age 4 years might more often include children with more severe symptoms or those with co-occurring conditions such as intellectual disability. In the sites with data for all years and consistent data sources, no change in the age at earliest known ASD diagnosis was found, and children received their first developmental evaluation at the same or a later age in 2014 compared with 2010. Delays in the initiation of a first developmental evaluation might adversely affect children by delaying access to treatment and special services that can improve outcomes for children with ASD. Public Health Action: Efforts to increase awareness of ASD and improve the identification of ASD by community providers can facilitate early diagnosis of children with ASD. Heterogeneity of results across sites suggests that community-level differences in evaluation and diagnostic services as well as access to data sources might affect estimates of ASD prevalence and age of identification. Continuing improvements in providing developmental evaluations to children as soon as developmental concerns are identified might result in earlier ASD diagnoses and earlier receipt of services, which might improve developmental outcomes.This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Adolescents' Pregnancy Intentions, Wantedness, and Regret: Cross‐Lagged Relations With Mental Health and Harsh Parenting

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90210/1/j.1741-3737.2011.00885.x.pd

Sex and age differences in juvenile social priorities in female philopatric, nondespotic blue monkeys

Juveniles should choose social partners on the basis of both current and future utility. Where one sex is philopatric, one expects members of that sex to develop greater and sex-typical social integration with group-mates over the juvenile period. Where a partner's position in a dominance hierarchy is not associated with services it can provide, one would not expect juveniles to choose partners based on rank, nor sex differences in rank-based preferences. We tested these ideas on 39 wild juvenile (3.2–7.4 years) blue monkeys ( Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni), cercopithecines with strict female philopatry and muted hierarchies. We made focal animal observations over 6 months, and computed observed:expected amounts of proximity time, approaches and grooming given to various social partners. Overall, our results agree with the hypothesis that juvenile blue monkeys target social partners strategically. Spatial proximity, approaches and active grooming showed similar patterns regarding juvenile social preferences. Females were far more sociable than males, groomed more partners, reciprocated grooming more frequently, and preferred—while males avoided—infants as partners. Older juveniles (5–7 years) spent more time than younger juveniles (3–4 years) near others, and older females were especially attracted to infants. Close kin, especially mothers and less consistently adult sisters, were attractive to both male and female juveniles, regardless of age. Both sexes also preferred same-sex juveniles as social partners while avoiding opposite-sex peers. Juveniles of both sexes and ages generally neither preferred nor avoided nonmaternal adult females, but all juveniles avoided adult males. Partner's rank had no consistent effect on juveniles' preference, as expected for a species in which dominance plays a weak role. Juveniles' social preferences likely reflect both future and current benefits, including having tolerant adult kin to protect them against predators and conspecifics, same-sex play partners, and, for females, infants on which to practice mothering skills. Am. J. Primatol. 72:193–205, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64898/1/20768_ftp.pd

Quantity Over Quality—Findings from a Systematic Review and Environmental Scan of Patient Decision Aids on Early Abortion Methods

Background: The availability and effectiveness of decision aids (DAs) on early abortion methods remain unknown, despite their potential for supporting women’s decision making. Objective: To describe the availability, impact and quality of DAs on surgical and medical early abortion methods for women seeking induced abortion. Search strategy: For the systematic review, we searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, EMBASE and PsycINFO. For the environmental scan, we searched Google and App Stores and consulted key informants. Inclusion criteria: For the systematic review, we included studies evaluating an early abortion method DA (any format and language) vs a comparison group on women’s decision making. DAs must have met the Stacey et al (2014). Cochrane review definition of DAs. For the environmental scan, we included English DAs developed for the US context. Data extraction and synthesis: We extracted study and DA characteristics, assessed study quality using the Effective Practice and Organization of Care risk of bias tool and assessed DA quality using International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS). Results: The systematic review identified one study, which found that the DA group had higher knowledge and felt more informed. The evaluated DA met few IPDAS criteria. In contrast, the environmental scan identified 49 DAs created by non specialists. On average, these met 28% of IPDAS criteria for Content, 22% for Development and 0% for Effectiveness. Conclusions: Research evaluating DAs on early abortion methods is lacking, and although many tools are accessible, they demonstrate suboptimal quality. Efforts to revise existing or develop new DAs, support patients to identify high-quality DAs and facilitate non-specialist developers’ adoption of best practices for DA development are neede

Health Status and Health Care Use Among Adolescents Identified With and Without Autism in Early Childhood — Four U.S. Sites, 2018–2020

Persons identified in early childhood as having autism spectrum disorder (autism) often have co-occurring health problems that extend into adolescence (1–3). Although only limited data exist on their health and use of health care services as they transition to adolescence, emerging data suggest that a minority of these persons receive recommended guidance* from their primary care providers (PCPs) starting at age 12 years to ensure a planned transition from pediatric to adult health care (4,5). To address this gap in data, researchers analyzed preliminary data from a follow-up survey of parents and guardians of adolescents aged 12–16 years who previously participated in the Study to Explore Early Development (https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/seed.html). The adolescents were originally studied at ages 2–5 years and identified at that age as having autism (autism group) or as general population controls (control group). Adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) that accounted for differences in demographic characteristics were used to compare outcomes between groups. Adolescents in the autism group were more likely than were those in the control group to have physical difficulties (21.2% versus 1.6%;aPR = 11.6;95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.2–31.9), and to have additional mental health or other condition

Features that best define the heterogeneity and homogeneity of autism in preschool-age children: A multisite case–control analysis replicated across two independent samples

The heterogeneous nature of children with symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) makes it difficult to identify risk factors and effective treatment options. We sought to identify behavioral and developmental features that best define the heterogeneity and homogeneity in 2–5-year-old children classified with ASD and subthreshold ASD characteristics. Children were enrolled in a multisite case–control study of ASD. Detailed behavioral and developmental data were gathered by maternal telephone interview, parent-administered questionnaires, child cognitive evaluation, and ASD diagnostic measures. Participants with a positive ASD screen score or prior ASD diagnosis were referred for comprehensive evaluation. Children in the ASD group met study criteria based on this evaluation; children who did not meet study criteria were categorized as having subthreshold ASD characteristics. There were 1480 children classified as ASD (81.6% boys) and 594 children classified as having subthreshold ASD characteristics (70.2% boys) in the sample. Factors associated with dysregulation (e.g., aggression, anxiety/depression, sleep problems) followed by developmental abilities (e.g., expressive and receptive language skills) most contributed to heterogeneity in both groups of children. Atypical sensory response contributed to homogeneity in children classified as ASD but not those with subthreshold characteristics. These findings suggest that dysregulation and developmental abilities are clinical features that can impact functioning in children with ASD and other DD, and that documenting these features in pediatric records may help meet the needs of the individual child. Sensory dysfunction could be considered a core feature of ASD and thus used to inform more targeted screening, evaluation, treatment, and research efforts. Lay summary: The diverse nature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) makes it difficult to find risk factors and treatment options. We identified the most dissimilar and most similar symptom(s) in children classified as ASD and as having subthreshold ASD characteristics. Factors associated with dysregulation and developmental abilities contributed to diversity in both groups of children. Sensory dysfunction was the most common symptom in children with ASD but not those with subthreshold characteristics. Findings can inform clinical practice and research

Prevalence and Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 4 Years — Early Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, Seven Sites, United States, 2010, 2012, and 2014

Problem/Condition: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is estimated to affect up to 3% of children in the United States. Public health surveillance for ASD among children aged 4 years provides information about trends in prevalence, characteristics of children with ASD, and progress made toward decreasing the age of identification of ASD so that evidence-based interventions can begin as early as possible. Period Covered: 2010, 2012, and 2014. Description of System: The Early Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (Early ADDM) Network is an active surveillance system that provides biennial estimates of the prevalence and characteristics of ASD among children aged 4 years whose parents or guardians lived within designated sites. During surveillance years 2010, 2012, or 2014, data were collected in seven sites: Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin. The Early ADDM Network is a subset of the broader ADDM Network (which included 13 total sites over the same period) that has been conducting ASD surveillance among children aged 8 years since 2000. Each Early ADDM site covers a smaller geographic area than the broader ADDM Network. Early ADDM ASD surveillance is conducted in two phases using the same methods and project staff members as the ADDM Network. The first phase consists of reviewing and abstracting data from children’s records, including comprehensive evaluations performed by community professionals. Sources for these evaluations include general pediatric health clinics and specialized programs for children with developmental disabilities. In addition, special education records (for children aged ≥3 years) were reviewed for Arizona, Colorado, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Utah, and early intervention records (for children aged 0 to <3 years) were reviewed for New Jersey, North Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin; in Wisconsin, early intervention records were reviewed for 2014 only. The second phase involves a review of the abstracted evaluationsby trained clinicians using a standardized case definition and method. A child is considered to meet the surveillance case definition for ASD if one or more comprehensive evaluations of that child completed by a qualified professional describes behaviors consistent with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) diagnostic criteria for any of the following conditions: autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder–not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS, including atypical autism), or Asperger disorder (2010, 2012, and 2014). For 2014 only, prevalence estimates based on surveillance case definitions according to DSM-IV-TR and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) were compared. This report provides estimates of overall ASD prevalence and prevalence by sex and race/ethnicity; characteristics of children aged 4 years with ASD, including age at first developmental evaluation, age at ASD diagnosis, and cognitive function; and trends in ASD prevalence and characteristics among Early ADDM sites with data for all 3 surveillance years (2010, 2012, and 2014), including comparisons with children aged 8 years living in the same geographic area. Analyses of time trends in ASDprevalence are restricted to the three sites that contributed data for all 3 surveillance years with consistent data sources (Arizona, Missouri, and New Jersey). Results: The overall ASD prevalence was 13.4 per 1,000 children aged 4 years in 2010, 15.3 in 2012, and 17.0 in 2014 for Early ADDM sites with data for the specific years. ASD prevalence was determined using a surveillance case definition based on DSM-IV-TR. Within each surveillance year, ASD prevalence among children aged 4 years varied across surveillance sites and was lowest each year for Missouri (8.5, 8.1, and 9.6 per 1,000, for 2010, 2012, and 2014, respectively) and highest each year for New Jersey (19.7, 22.1, and 28.4 per 1,000, for the same years, respectively). Aggregated prevalence estimates were higher for sites that reviewed education and health care records than for sites that reviewed only health care records. Among all participating sites and years, ASD prevalence among children aged 4 years was consistently higher among boys than girls; prevalence ratios ranged from 2.6 (Arizona and Wisconsin in 2010) to 5.2 boys per one girl (Colorado in 2014). In 2010, ASD prevalence was higher among non-Hispanic white children than among Hispanic children in Arizona and non-Hispanic black children in Missouri; no other differences were observed by race/ethnicity. Among four sites with ≥60% data on cognitive test scores (Arizona, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Utah), the frequency of co-occurring intellectual disabilities was significantly higher among children aged 4 years than among those aged 8 years for each site in each surveillance year except Arizona in 2010. The percentage of children with ASD who had a first evaluation by age 36 months ranged from 48.8% in Missouri in 2012 to 88.9% in Wisconsin in 2014. The percentage of children with a previous ASD diagnosis from a community provider varied by site, ranging from 43.0% for Arizona in 2012 to 86.5% for Missouri in 2012. The median age at earliest known ASD diagnosis varied from 28 months in North Carolina in 2014 to 39.0 months in Missouri and Wisconsin in 2012. In 2014, the ASD prevalence based on the DSM-IV-TR case definition was 20% higher than the prevalence based on the DSM-5 (17.0 versus 14.1 per 1,000, respectively). Trends in ASD prevalence and characteristics among children aged 4 years during the study period were assessed for the three siteswith data for all 3 years and consistent data sources (Arizona, Missouri, and New Jersey) using the DSM-IV-TR case definition; prevalence was higher in 2014 than in 2010 among children aged 4 years in New Jersey and was stable in Arizona and Missouri. In Missouri, ASD prevalence was higher among children aged 8 years than among children aged 4 years. The percentage of children with ASD who had a comprehensive evaluation by age 36 months was stable in Arizona and Missouri and decreased in New Jersey. In the three sites, no change occurred in the age at earliest known ASD diagnosis during 2010–2014. Interpretation: The findings suggest that ASD prevalence among children aged 4 years was higher in 2014 than in 2010 in one site and remained stable in others. Among children with ASD, the frequency of cognitive impairment was higher among children aged 4 years than among those aged 8 years and suggests that surveillance at age 4 years might more often include children with more severe symptoms or those with co-occurring conditions such as intellectual disability. In the sites with data for all years and consistent data sources, no change in the age at earliest known ASD diagnosis was found, and children received their first developmental evaluation at the same or a later age in 2014 compared with 2010. Delays in the initiation of a first developmental evaluation might adversely affect children by delaying access to treatment and special services that can improve outcomes for children with ASD. Public Health Action: Efforts to increase awareness of ASD and improve the identification of ASD by community providers can facilitate early diagnosis of children with ASD. Heterogeneity of results across sites suggests that community-level differences in evaluation and diagnostic services as well as access to data sources might affect estimates of ASD prevalence and age of identification. Continuing improvements in providing developmental evaluations to children as soon as developmental concerns are identified might result in earlier ASD diagnoses and earlier receipt of services, which might improve developmental outcomes