Appeal No. 0244: Joyce Lewanski v. Chief, Division of Oil and Gas,

Chief\u27s Order 87-2

Sutin, A.R., Robinson, E., Daly, M., & Terracciano, A.

Background: Childhood bullying has long-term negative mental and physical health correlates, including weight gain and symptoms of depression. The purpose of this research is to examine whether bullying in the first year of school is associated with greater weight gain by early adolescence and whether adolescent depressive symptoms mediate this association.  Methods: Data were drawn from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Children (N = 3929) were measured every 2 years; BMI and waist circumference were available from ages 4 to 15. Parents reported on bullying at age 6. Children reported on their depressive symptoms at ages 12–13.  Results: Participants who weighed in the obese category at age 4 had an over 50% increased risk of being bullied in school at age 6. Being bullied at age 6 was associated with excess weight gain between ages 6 and 15, defined as either BMI or waist circumference. Depressive symptoms at age 12 partially explained the association between bullying and increases in adiposity. None of the associations varied by gender.  Conclusions: Similar to other forms of peer victimization, bullying early in school is associated with greater weight gain through early adolescence; depressive symptom is one mechanism that contributes to this association

Perceived Body Discrimination and Intentional Self-Harm and Suicidal Behavior in Adolescence

Background: This study examines whether discrimination based on the body is associated with intentional self-harm and suicidal behavior in adolescence. Methods: Participants were from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N = 2948; 48% female). Discrimination and items on self-harm and suicidal behavior were measured in the Wave 6 assessment, when study participants were 14–15 years old. BMI, depressive symptoms, peer victimization, and weight self-perception were also assessed. Results: Discrimination was associated with increased risk of thoughts of self-harm (OR = 2.41, 95% CI = 1.88–3.10), hurting the self on purpose (OR = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.67–3.08), considering suicide (OR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.59–2.96), having a suicide plan (OR = 2.50, 95% CI = 1.81–2.47), attempting suicide (OR = 1.96, 95% CI = 1.30–2.96), controlling for sociodemographic factors, BMI, and depressive symptoms. These associations generally held adjusting for peer victimization or weight self-perception. Conclusions: Weight discrimination has been associated consistently with poor outcomes in adulthood. The present research indicates these associations extend to adolescence and an extremely consequential outcome: the social experience of weight increases risk of intentional self-harm and suicidal behavior

Surface-based morphometry reveals the neuroanatomical basis of the five-factor model of personality.

The five-factor model (FFM) is a widely used taxonomy of human personality; yet its neuro anatomical basis remains unclear. This is partly because past associations between gray-matter volume and FFM were driven by different surface-based morphometry (SBM) indices (i.e. cortical thickness, surface area, cortical folding or any combination of them). To overcome this limitation, we used Free-Surfer to study how variability in SBM measures was related to the FFM in n = 507 participants from the Human Connectome Project.Neuroticism was associated with thicker cortex and smaller area and folding in prefrontal-temporal regions. Extraversion was linked to thicker pre-cuneus and smaller superior temporal cortex area. Openness was linked to thinner cortex and greater area and folding in prefrontal-parietal regions. Agreeableness was correlated to thinner prefrontal cortex and smaller fusiform gyrus area. Conscientiousness was associated with thicker cortex and smaller area and folding in prefrontal regions. These findings demonstrate that anatomical variability in prefrontal cortices is linked to individual differences in the socio-cognitive dispositions described by the FFM. Cortical thickness and surface area/folding were inversely related each others as a function of different FFM traits (neuroticism, extraversion and consciousness vs openness), which may reflect brain maturational effects that predispose or protect against psychiatric disorders.R.R. was funded by the University ‘Magna Graecia’ of Catanzaro, while L.P. was funded by the Italian National Research Council and the University of Cambridge. AT was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH; 1R03AG051960-01) and by the Florida Department of Health ‘Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program’ (6AZ09). Data were provided by the Human Connectome Project, WU-Minn Consortium (Principal Investigators: David Van Essen and Kamil Ugurbil; 1U54MH091657) funded by the 16 NIH Institutes and Centers that support the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research; and by the McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience at Washington University. Data collection and sharing for this project was provided by the MGHUSC Human Connectome Project (HCP; Principal Investigators: Bruce Rosen, M.D., Ph.D., Arthur W. Toga, Ph.D., Van J. Weeden, MD). The HCP project is supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (Principal Investigators: Bruce Rosen, M.D., Ph.D., Martinos Center at Massachusetts General Hospital; Arthur W. Toga, Ph.D., University of Southern California, Van J. Weeden, MD, Martinos Center at Massachusetts General Hospital). HCP is also the result of efforts of co-investigators from the University of Southern California, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Washington University, and the University of Minnesota

Parental perception of child weight and inflammation: Perceived overweight is associated with higher child c-reactive protein

Self-perceived overweight and weight discrimination are associated with inflammation in adulthood. We test whether there is an intergenerational association of parent perception of child overweight on higher levels of child c-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation implicated in stress. Data were from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005–2014 (N = 4988). Parents reported their perception of their child’s weight; CRP was assayed from children’s blood samples. Children whose parents perceived them as overweight had higher CRP levels than children who were perceived about the right weight; perceived underweight was also associated with higher CRP (F(2,4977) = 9.23, p < .001). These associations were independent of the child’s objective weight status and waist circumference and held when the sample was limited to children with objective overweight and obesity. These results suggest an intergenerational transfer of the psychological perception of body weight from parents to the inflammatory health of their child

Association of personality facets and cognition in the Lifelines population-based cohort study

Background: Personality traits have been associated with cognitive functioning and risk of cognitive decline. Fewer studies have investigated how personality facets are associated with cognition in large cohorts with a prospective design. Methods: The association between eight personality facets and cognition (speed measures reflecting psychomotor speed and visual attention; hit rate measures reflecting visual learning and working memory) was analyzed in middle-aged adults from the Lifelines cohort (N = 79911; age 43 ± 11 years). Results: High hostility, high vulnerability, low excitement seeking, and low competence were associated with worse cognitive performance on all tasks. Impulsivity-related facets had weak and differential associations, with self-discipline negatively associated with accuracy and deliberation negatively associated with speed. These associations remained largely unchanged when accounting for lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity). The associations with cognition were stronger in older people for impulsiveness, deliberation, and hostility, while stronger in younger people for excitement seeking, self-discipline, and vulnerability. Conclusion: In a large population-based sample with a broad age range, the associations of personality facets with cognitive functioning had small effect sizes, were independent of lifestyle factors, and varied with age and among facets within the same personality domain. These findings highlight the importance of developmental stages and facet-level research in personality-cognition associations.</p

Perceived weight discrimination and risk of incident dementia

Body mass index (BMI) and obesity have a complex relation with risk of dementia that evolves over the lifespan. Research in other domains indicates that the social experience of body weight, not just BMI, is associated with worse health outcomes. The present research uses data from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 12,053) to test whether weight discrimination is associated with increased risk of dementia over an up to 10-year follow-up independent of BMI and other relevant clinical and behavioral risk factors. Participants who reported weight discrimination had a 40% increased risk of incident dementia (Hazard Ratio = 1.40; 95% Confidence Interval = 1.12–1.74), controlling for age, sex, race, ethnicity, and education. The association between weight discrimination and incident dementia held controlling for BMI, diabetes, hypertension, depressive symptoms, smoking, physical activity, and genetic risk status. The present research indicates that the stigma associated with weight is associated with dementia risk independent from obesity. This research highlights that the detrimental effect of obesity on cognitive health in older adulthood may occur through the adverse social experience of body weight in addition to the biological consequences of excess weight

Personality nuances and risk of dementia:Evidence from two longitudinal studies

Personality traits are broad constructs composed of nuances, operationalized by personality items, that can provide a more granular understanding of personality associations with health outcomes. This study examined the associations between personality nuances and incident dementia and evaluated whether nuances associations replicate across two samples. Health and Retirement Study (HRS, N = 11,400) participants were assessed in 2006/2008, and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA, N = 7453) participants were assessed in 2010/2011 on personality and covariates. Dementia incidence was tracked for 14 years in the HRS and 8 years in ELSA. In both HRS and ELSA, higher neuroticism domain and nuances (particularly nervous and worry) were related to a higher risk of incident dementia, whereas higher conscientiousness domain and nuances (particularly responsibility and organization) were associated with a lower risk of dementia. To a lesser extent, higher extraversion (active), openness (broad-minded, curious, and imaginative), and agreeableness (helpful, warm, caring, and sympathetic) nuances were associated with a lower risk of dementia, with replicable effects across the two samples. A poly-nuance score, aggregating the effects of personality items, was associated with an increased risk of incident dementia in the HRS and ELSA, with effect sizes slightly stronger than those of the personality domains. Clinical, behavioral, psychological, and genetic covariates partially accounted for these associations. The present study provides novel and replicable evidence for specific personality characteristics associated with the risk of incident dementia

Perceived weight discrimination, changes in health, and daily stressors

Objective&nbsp; To examine whether perceived weight discrimination is associated with change in health markers over time and whether it is associated with daily stressors, physical symptoms, and affect.&nbsp; Methods&nbsp; Participants were selected from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study if they had data on perceived weight discrimination and health markers at MIDUS II (2004&ndash;2006), health markers at MIDUS III (2013&ndash;2014), and a body mass index &ge;25 kg/m2(N = 1,841). A subset of these participants (N = 1,153) reported on their experiences daily for 8 days as part of the second National Study of Daily Experiences.&nbsp; Results&nbsp; Perceived weight discrimination was associated with declines in mental and physical health over time (median&beta; =0.06). Participants who reported weight discrimination experienced more daily stressors (&beta; =0.13), physical symptoms (&beta; =0.13), and negative affect (&beta; =0.13) and less positive affect (&beta; =&minus;0.12) over the 8 days of the second National Study of Daily Experiences. Weight discrimination was most strongly associated with interpersonal stressors (median&beta; =0.14), feelings of anger (&beta; =0.16) and frustration (&beta; =0.14), lower attention (&beta; =&minus;0.14) and activity (&beta; =&minus;0.16), and more nonspecific physical symptoms (e.g., fatigue;&beta; =0.10).&nbsp; Conclusions&nbsp; This research replicates the association between perceived weight discrimination and worse health over time and extends this literature to show that people who experience weight discrimination have more daily stressors, physical symptoms, and negative emotions

Mediterranean Fin Whales (Balaenoptera physalus) Threatened by Dolphin MorbilliVirus

During 2011-2013, dolphin morbillivirus was molecularly identified in 4 stranded fin whales from the Mediterranean Sea. Nucleoprotein, phosphoprotein, and hemagglutinin gene sequences of the identified strain were highly homologous with those of a morbillivirus that caused a 2006-2007 epidemic in the Mediterranean. Dolphin morbillivirus represents a serious threat for fin whales