Informal Caregiving: A Reappraisal of Effects on Caregivers

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102687/1/sipr12002.pd

The Interplay Among Risk Factors for Suicidal Ideation and Suicide: The Role of Depression, Poor Health, and Loved Ones' Messages of Support and Criticism

When individuals who receive social support are in poor physical or mental health and are criticized or made to feel unwanted, they may perceive themselves as a burden. Poor physical health and depression were hypothesized to exacerbate the harmful effects on suicidal ideation of receiving critical negative messages and of receiving social support. These hypotheses were tested using secondary analyses of data from a sample of 533 unemployed married individuals who were assessed shortly after job loss, and 6 months later. The results of our analyses supported the hypotheses and demonstrated that for participants with poor health or high level of depressive symptoms an increase in critical messages and social support (from Time 1 to Time 2) predicted increased suicidal ideation. This relationship was not observed for non‐ depressed participants in good health. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for suicide prevention.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116994/1/ajcp471989.pd

An altruistic reanalysis of the social support hypothesis: The health benefits of giving

Can helping others be good for our health and well-being? This chapter summarizes recent research that offers new evidence in favor of this possibility.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/35196/1/48_ftp.pd

Characterization of muscle in OI Model mice

Abstract only availableOsteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a congenital connective tissue disorder characterized by decreased bone mineral density and increased bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. In addition to skeletal fragility, patients with OI reportedly have muscle weakness although currently no systematic evaluation of muscle function or morphology in humans or animal models of the disease has been performed. Normal type I collagen is coded for two genes located on different chromosomes: COL1A1 and COL1A2. The oim/oim mouse is homozygous for a null mutation in the COL1A2 gene and is a phenocopy of human type III OI (severe disease phenotype). Heterozygous mice (oim/+) harbor the null mutation in only one allele of the COL1A2 gene and model human patients with type I OI (mild disease phenotype). We wanted to determine whether the reported muscle weakness in OI patients is due to a muscle pathology. We analyzed the muscle mass, fiber morphology, and cross-sectional area of muscles fibers of the hind limb muscles (quadriceps, gastrocnemius, plantaris, tibialis anterior and soleus), as well as the fiber type composition of the soleus muscle of wildtype (wt), heterozygous (oim/+), and homozygous (oim/oim) mice. Our results demonstrate that the muscle mass/body mass, fiber morphology, cross-sectional area of hindlimb muscles, as well as fiber type composition of the soleus muscle of oim, oim/+ relative to wt (+/+) mouse muscles were not significantly different between the genotypes. We correlated our morphologic findings with a functional contractile assay and determined that muscle tension-force generation and nerve conduction are not impaired in oim/oim or oim/+ mice. These findings suggest that oim and oim/+ mice do not have inherent muscle pathology. This knowledge is important in our ultimate understanding of skeletal muscle in OI model mice and ultimately, humans with this disease.Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Opportunity Progra

Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision: A Cross-Sectional Study Comparing Circumcision Self-Report and Physical Examination Findings in Lesotho

BACKGROUND: Overwhelming evidence, including three clinical trials, shows that male circumcision (MC) reduces the risk of HIV infection among men. However, data from recent Lesotho Demographic and Health Surveys do not demonstrate MC to be protective against HIV. These contradictory findings could partially be due to inaccurate self-reported MC status used to estimate MC prevalence. This study describes MC characteristics among men applying for Lesotho Defence Force recruitment and seeks to assess MC self-reported accuracy through comparison with physical-examination-based data. METHODS AND FINDINGS: During Lesotho Defence Force applicant screening in 2009, 241 (77%) of 312 men, aged 18-25 y, consented to a self-administered demographic and MC characteristic survey and physician-performed genital examination. The extent of foreskin removal was graded on a scale of 1 (no evidence of MC) to 4 (complete MC). MC was self-reported by 27% (n = 64/239) of participants. Of the 64 men self-reporting being circumcised, physical exam showed that 23% had no evidence of circumcision, 27% had partial circumcision, and 50% had complete circumcision. Of the MCs reportedly performed by a medical provider, 3% were Grade 1 and 73% were Grade 4. Of the MCs reportedly performed by traditional circumcisers, 41% were Grade 1, while 28% were Grade 4. Among participants self-reporting being circumcised, the odds of MC status misclassification were seven times higher among those reportedly circumcised by initiation school personnel (odds ratio = 7.22; 95% CI = 2.29-22.75). CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 27% of participants self-reported being circumcised. However, only 50% of these men had complete MC as determined by a physical exam. Given this low MC self-report accuracy, countries scaling up voluntary medical MC (VMMC) should obtain physical-exam-based MC data to guide service delivery and cost estimates. HIV prevention messages promoting VMMC should provide comprehensive education regarding the definition of VMMC