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1. Depression, Vascular Burden, and Dementia Prevalence in Late Middle-Aged and Older Black Adults

   https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbae009  

   Levy, Shellie-Anne ; Misiura, Maria B. ; Grant, Jeremy G. ; Adrien, Tamare V. ; Taiwo, Zinat ; Armstrong, Rebecca ; Dotson, Vonetta M. ; Taler, ed., Vanessa ( February 2024 , The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences)

   Late-life depression and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) have been linked to increased dementia risk. However, there is a dearth of literature examining these relationships in Black adults. We investigated whether depression or WMH volume are associated with a higher likelihood of dementia diagnosis in a sample of late middle-aged to older Black adults, and whether dementia prevalence is highest in individuals with both depression and higher WMH volume.

   Secondary data analysis involved 443 Black participants aged 55+ with brain imaging within 1 year of baseline visit in the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set. Chi-square analyses and logistic regression models controlling for demographic variables examined whether active depression in the past 2 years, WMH volume, or their combination were associated with higher odds of all-cause dementia.

   Depression and higher WMH volume were associated with a higher prevalence of dementia. These associations remained after controlling for demographic factors, as well as vascular disease burden. Dementia risk was highest in the depression/high WMH volume group compared to the depression-only group, high WMH volume-only group, and the no depression/low WMH volume group. Post hoc analyses comparing the Black sample to a demographically matched non-Hispanic White sample showed associations of depression and the combination of depression and higher WMH burden with dementia were greater in Black compared to non-Hispanic White individuals.

   Results suggest late-life depression and WMH have independent and joint relationships with dementia and that Black individuals may be particularly at risk due to these factors.

    

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2. Dehydroepiandrosterone mediates associations between trauma‐related symptoms and anterior pituitary volume in children and adolescents

   https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.26516  

   Picci, Giorgia ; Casagrande, Chloe C. ; Ott, Lauren R. ; Petro, Nathan M. ; Christopher‐Hayes, Nicholas J. ; Johnson, Hallie J. ; Willett, Madelyn P. ; Okelberry, Hannah J. ; Wang, Yu‐Ping ; Stephen, Julia M. ; et al ( October 2023 , Human Brain Mapping)

   The anterior pituitary gland (PG) is a potential locus of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis responsivity to early life stress, with documented associations between dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels and anterior PG volumes. In adults, elevated anxiety/depressive symptoms are related to diminished DHEA levels, and studies have shown a positive relationship between DHEA and anterior pituitary volumes. However, specific links between responses to stress, DHEA levels, and anterior pituitary volume have not been established in developmental samples.

   High‐resolution T1‐weighted MRI scans were collected from 137 healthy youth (9–17 years;M_age = 12.99 (SD = 1.87); 49% female; 85% White, 4% Indigenous, 1% Asian, 4% Black, 4% multiracial, 2% not reported). The anterior and posterior PGs were manually traced by trained raters. We examined the mediating effects of salivary DHEA on trauma‐related symptoms (i.e., anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic) and PG volumes as well as an alternative model examining mediating effects of PG volume on DHEA and trauma‐related symptoms.

   DHEA mediated the association between anxiety symptoms and anterior PG volume. Specifically, higher anxiety symptoms related to lower DHEA levels, which in turn were related to smaller anterior PG.

   These results shed light on the neurobiological sequelae of elevated anxiety in youth and are consistent with adult findings showing suppressed levels of DHEA in those with greater comorbid anxiety and depression. Specifically, adolescents with greater subclinical anxiety may exhibit diminished levels of DHEA during the pubertal window, which may be associated with disruptions in anterior PG growth.

    

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3. Depression in 3/6‐year‐old children: clinical and psychosocial outcomes in later childhood and adolescence

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13553  

   Silver, Jamilah ; Olino, Thomas M. ; Carlson, Gabrielle A. ; Dougherty, Lea R. ; Bufferd, Sara J. ; Klein, Daniel N. ( December 2021 , Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry)

   In recent years, epidemiological and clinical studies have revealed that depressive disorders can present in early childhood. To clarify the validity and prognostic significance of early childhood‐onset depression, we investigated diagnostic and functional outcomes in later childhood and adolescence.

   A community sample (N = 516) was assessed for psychopathology at ages 3 and 6 using the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment. When participants were 9, 12, and 15 years old, children and parents completed the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia and measures of symptoms and functioning.

   In models adjusting for covariates, depressed 3/6‐year‐old children were more likely to experience subsequent episodes of depressive disorders and exhibited significantly higher rates of later anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and suicidality compared to children without depressive disorders at age 3/6. Early childhood depression was also associated with higher levels of mother, but not child, reported depressive symptoms at age 15 compared to children without depressive disorders at age 3/6. Finally, depression at age 3/6 predicted lower levels of global and interpersonal functioning and higher rates of treatment at age 15 compared to children without depressive disorders at age 3/6.

   Results support the clinical significance of depression in 3/6‐year‐old children, although further studies with larger samples are needed.

    

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4. Adipocytokine correlates of childhood and adolescent mental health: A systematic review

   https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.22379  

   Scott, Samantha R. ; Millwood, Summer N. ; Manczak, Erika M. ( March 2023 , Developmental Psychobiology)

   The objective of this systematic review was to determine the current state of the literature regarding how adipocytokines associate with mental health symptoms/disorders in youth. Findings summarized in this review suggested that inneurodevelopmental disorders, higher levels of leptin, ghrelin, resistin, and visfatin as well as lower levels of adiponectin, retinol‐binding protein 4, and progranulin predicted increased risk for or were conflated with autism spectrum disorder. Adipocytokine correlates of attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder and related symptoms included higher apelin, higher leptin‐to‐adiponectin ratio, and lower adiponectin. Evidence from studies examininganxiety symptomsevinced mixed results regarding leptin, and one study suggested higher levels of ghrelin.Depressivesymptoms correlated with higher leptin and ghrelin. Research examiningposttraumatic stresssymptoms found higher levels of ghrelin. In research examiningbroadbandsymptoms, conflicting results emerged for associations between internalizing symptoms (i.e., symptoms of emotional stress) and leptin in youth. Low levels of adiponectin and high levels of leptin predicted externalizing symptoms. Total symptom difficulties were associated with a higher leptin‐to‐adiponectin ratio. Our findings suggest that adipocytokines may be an important set of biomarkers to consider as underlying mechanisms contributing to developmental psychopathology.

    

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5. Associations between household income and disordered eating differ across sex and racial identity in a population‐based sample of adults

   https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23948  

   Mikhail, Megan E. ; Ackerman, Lindsay S. ; Anaya, Carolina ; Culbert, Kristen M. ; Burt, S. Alexandra ; Klump, Kelly L. ( March 2023 , International Journal of Eating Disorders)

   Most research on socioeconomic status (SES) and eating disorders (EDs) has focused on young White women. Consequently, little is known regarding how SES may relate to EDs/disordered eating in older adults, men, or people with different racial identities. We examined whether associations between SES and EDs/disordered eating differed across age, sex, and racial identity in a large, population‐based sample spanning early‐to‐later adulthood.

   Analyses included 2797 women and 2781 men ages 18–65 (M_age = 37.41, SD = 7.38) from the population‐based Michigan State University Twin Registry. We first examined associations between SES and dimensional ED symptoms, binge eating (BE), and self‐reported ED diagnoses across age and sex in the full sample. We then examined the impact of racial identity on associations by conducting within‐ and between‐group analyses among Black and White participants.

   In the full sample, lower SES was associated with significantly greater odds of BE and lifetime EDs in men, but not women, across adulthood. The association between lower SES and greater BE risk was stronger for Black men than for White men, though significant in both groups. Conversely, Black women showed apositiveassociation between SES and dimensional ED symptoms that significantly differed from effects for Black men and White women.

   Associations between socioeconomic disadvantage and EDs/disordered eating may be particularly robust for men in adulthood, especially men with a marginalized racial identity. Oppositely, Black women may encounter social pressures and minority stress in higher SES environments that could contribute to somewhat heightened ED risk.

   Little is known regarding how associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and eating disorders (EDs) may differ across age/sex or racial identity. We found lower SES was associated with greater odds of a lifetime ED or binge eating in men only, with a particularly strong association between lower SES and binge eating for Black men. Results highlight the importance of examining how SES‐ED associations may differ across other aspects of identity.

    

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