Fred Danner

A National Longitudinal Study of the Association Between Hours of TV Viewing and the Trajectory of BMI Growth Among US Children

OBJECTIVES To assess the association between hours of TV viewing and the trajectory of BMI growth from Kindergarten to Grade 5 among a national longitudinal cohort of 7,334 US children. METHODS Multilevel growth curve modeling was used to estimate childrens BMI growth trajectories as a function of hours of TV viewing over time while controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, SES, birth weight, and baseline age. RESULTS Hours of TV viewing were significantly positively associated with the acceleration of BMI growth from Kindergarten to Grade 5. CONCLUSIONS Hours spent watching TV may be contributing to the recent dramatic increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children.

Effects of Physical Conditioning on Information-Processing Efficiency

This study investigated changes in information-processing efficiency that occur when physical fitness improves. Information-processing variables were Sternbergs memory-scan rate, Posners name-access time, the Cattell Culture Fair Intelligence Test, and numbers of words remembered from word lists. At pretest and posttest 10 to 12 wk. later, 66 adults between the ages of 18 and 48 yr. took all cognitive tests and rode a bicycle ergometer to estimate physical fitness. A 2 × 2 (improved/stable fitness groups by preest/posttest trials) analysis of variance with repeated measures indicated that the group who improved 15% or more in physical fitness improved significantly more on the name-access time than the group whose fitness remained stable. There was a trend toward improvement in memory-scan rate and number of words remembered on the first word trial by people who became more fit. The results may have implications for assessment and training of personnel in occupations where speeded perception and responses are required.

Stigma-Related Stressors, Coping Self-Efficacy, and Physical Health in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals

Understanding and intervening to address health disparities is part of the expanding role of psychologists (Johnson, 2013). We drew on Hatzenbuehlers (2009) psychological mediation framework and Lick, Durso, and Johnsons (2013) conceptual pathways to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) physical health disparities to test a serial mediation model in which 2 types of cognitive appraisals (proximal minority stressors and coping self-efficacy) partially account for the association between perceived discrimination and prejudice (distal minority stressor) and self-reported physical health symptoms in a nationally recruited sample of 564 LGB individuals (270 women, 294 men) who participated in a web-based survey. Results indicated that perceived experiences of discrimination and prejudice were associated with expectations of rejection and internalized homonegativity. These 2 proximal stressors were associated with lower coping self-efficacy, and the combined cognitive appraisal pathways were associated with higher levels of self-reported physical symptom severity. The pathway through emotion-focused coping self-efficacy was particularly salient in accounting for the overall mediation. Interventions to address distal and proximal minority stressors and improve emotion-focused coping self-efficacy may be particularly helpful in reducing the negative effects of stigma on physical health.

Increased density of senile plaques (SP), but not neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), in non-demented individuals with the apolipoprotein E4 allele: comparison to confirmed Alzheimer's disease patients

The apolipoprotein E genotype and cortical senile plaque (SP) and cortical and hippocampal neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) densities were determined in non-demented individuals and neuropathologically confirmed AD patients. The non-demented population was further subdivided according to presence or absence of pathologically established critical coronary artery disease (cCAD), hypertension (HyperT), or neither (non-heart disease; non-HD). The apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) allele incidence and dose frequencies were increased in the AD, cCAD and HyperT groups compared to the non-HD controls. The mean number of SP and NFT was significantly increased with the presence of the APOE4 allele within the entire population. After grouping the non-demented subjects according to cardiac status, SP but not NFT density was increased among those individuals with the APOE4 genotype. In HyperT, the increased density of SP also correlated to the APOE4 allele dose frequency. The density of SP and NFT was increased in all regions of AD brain compared to all other non-demented groups, but no significant difference was found between AD patients with or without an APOE4 allele. These two AD groups were age-matched, but could not be matched for disease duration. The data suggest a relationship between heart disease, APOE4 genotype and the presence of SP regardless of cognitive status.

LGB Identity and Eudaimonic Well Being in Midlife

Eudaimonic well being refers to personal growth and having purpose and meaning in life. High levels of eudaimonic well being facilitate a positive life experience. The National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) data was used to test a model predicting eudaimonic well being as a function of sexual identity. Reporting a lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) identity was associated with lower eudaimonic well-being scores. Results also indicated that perceived daily discrimination, being female, and having less education were associated with lower eudaimonic well being; racial/ethnic minority status was associated with increased eudaimonic well being. These results are discussed in light of recent scholarship on understanding and promoting the well-being of sexual minority individuals.

Smoking and Depressive Symptoms in a College Population

A number of studies have documented the relationship between smoking and depression in adolescent and adult populations. The purpose of this study was to examine the level of depressive symptoms among college-age smokers and to determine whether or not increases in cigarette use were associated with increases in the number of depressive symptoms. A nonexperimental cross-sectional design was used. Of the random sample (N = 895), 28% were current smokers, and more than 26% of the total sample reported high levels of depressive symptoms. Current smokers were more likely to report an increased level of depressive symptoms than non-smokers were. Correlates of depressive symptoms included grade point average, marijuana use, and increased work hours. When controlling for these variables, the number of days smoked was predictive of depressive symptoms. School nurses have an important role in preventing smoking and treating smokers, as well as in preparing adolescents for the transition to college where many begin smoking.

Neurochemical and histopathologic alterations characteristic of Pick's disease in a non-demented individual.

In the course of investigating a large number of non-demented subjects, a 68 year old female dying of coronary artery disease was found to have Pick bodies in her grossly normal brain. Although only mild subcortical gliosis and no neuron loss were observed, Pick bodies were found throughout the brain and occasional balloon cells were noted. Pick bodies and numerous neurons were also ALZ-50 and Tau-1 immunoreactive. Retrospective studies indicated a lack of overt intellectual decline or depression in this individual. Frontal, temporal and occipital poles, amygdala, hypothalamus and nucleus basalis of Meynert (nbM) were analyzed for ChAT, AChE and MAO-A and -B enzymatic activities and for the binding of 5HT and imipramine. Cholinergic decreases were found only in subcortical structures. Serotonin binding decreases were widespread, excluding the nbM. Altered MAO-B activity was regionally variable, and no differences in MAO-A activity or imipramine binding were observed. Few differences in neurochemical alterations were observed in the current non-demented subject with abundant Pick bodies compared to previous studies of demented Picks patients. This case strongly suggests that chemical dysfunction and neuropathological features of Picks disease occur in advance of overt clinical manifestations of the disorder

Religiosity as a Protective Factor against Heavy Episodic Drinking (HED) in Heterosexual, Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Young Adults

Although religiosity has been shown to be associated with positive outcomes in studies of general population samples, few studies have considered the potential differential effect of religiosity on those who are consolidating gay, lesbian, or bisexual (GLB) identities. Logistic regression analyses using a sample of 13,038 emerging adults from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health) revealed main effects for religiosity and a significant religiosity × sexual identity interaction in women. Specifically, religiosity was protective against alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking (HED) in heterosexual women, but not lesbian women. In bisexual women, higher religiosity increased the odds of alcohol use and HED. Among men, religiosity was protective, with no differential effects based on sexual identity. Prevention efforts should consider that individual religiosity may be a risk, rather than protective factor for some young adults.

Does "it get better" for depressed sexual minority youth in young adulthood?

PURPOSE To examine depressive symptoms and suicidality in adolescence and adulthood in a sample of depressed adolescents in five sexual identity groups (heterosexual, mostly heterosexual, bisexual, mostly gay, and gay). METHODS Depressed adolescents (N = 1,591) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were examined again in young adulthood. RESULTS Paired t-tests revealed that depressive symptoms declined significantly in all five sexual identity groups. McNemar chi-square tests revealed that the percentage of participants reporting suicidal ideation decreased significantly in all groups except for the mostly gay group. The percentage of participants reporting suicide attempts declined in all groups except the bisexual group. CONCLUSIONS Within-group differences are important to consider in delivering effective mental health services. Although depressive symptoms diminished in young adulthood in all groups, suicidality did not. Mostly gay and bisexual young adults did not report the same significant declines as their peers.

The Interactive Role of Socioeconomic Status, Race/Ethnicity, and Birth Weight on Trajectories of Body Mass Index Growth in Children and Adolescents.

This study assessed how socioeconomic status (SES), race/ethnicity, and birth weight interacted to predict differential patterns of body mass index (BMI) growth among U.S. children born in the early 1990s. Three BMI growth trajectories emerged—one above the 50th percentile across the age range of 5 to 14, one in which children rapidly became obese before adolescence, and one where children started out and remained seriously obese. Hispanic and African American children were more likely to show accelerated patterns of weight gain as were those of lower SES and/or higher birth weights. However, SES interacted with both race/ethnicity and birth weight. For girls of all race/ethnicity groups tested, lower SES and higher birth weights predicted membership in the seriously obese BMI growth trajectory. For African American and Asian boys, however, the higher the SES the more likely they were to be on a trajectory for rapidly developing obesity by early adolescence.