Stress indicators in minorities with multiple sclerosis.

Black Americans with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience higher levels of disease-related disability compared to White Americans (Marrie et al., 2006). Comorbidities such as depression and anxiety, which are underdiagnosed and undertreated in this population, negatively impact quality of life and treatment outcomes for people living with multiple sclerosis (plwMS) (D'Alisa et al., 2006; Marrie et al., 2009; Stepleman et al., 2014). Acts of discrimination toward Black Americans is associated with stress, which is a contributing factor for depression (Carter, 2017; Nadimpalli, 2015; Williams and Mohammed, 2009). This study compared the severity of multiple sclerosis symptoms amongst Black Americans and White Americans, and whether worsened MS symptoms in Black Americans are associated with increased experiences of discrimination. Data was analyzed from 143 plwMS in the Stress Indicators in Minorities with Multiple Sclerosis (SiMMS) study. Using the Mann-Whitney U test, significant differences were found on the NIH Emotional Distress - Anxiety measure (U = 1466.500, p = 0.045) and NIH Sleep Disturbance measure (U = 1467.000, p = 0.044) between the Black participant and the White participant groups. Discrimination was significantly correlated with both NIH Emotional Distress - Anxiety (r = 0.677, p < .001) and NIH Sleep Disturbance (r = 0.446, p = .007) in Black MS individuals. Additionally, several physiological condition and psychological outcome measures were correlated with the NIH Emotional Distress - Anxiety and NIH Sleep Disturbance measures. This study contributes to literature highlighting the negative impacts of discrimination and race related stress on the physical and mental health of Black Americans.

Circumocular pigmentation and incidence of ocular squamous cell tumors in Bos taurus and Bos indicus X Bos taurus cattle.

Amount of circumocular pigmentation and incidence of ocular squamous cell tumors were evaluated in dams representing diverse cattle breed types. Each dam was examined twice annually during a specific stage in the life cycle (3.5 to 9.5 years old). Overall, 28.3% of dams in the herd developed at least 1 ocular squamous cell tumor. Breed groups differed (P less than 0.01) in amount of circumocular pigmentation and incidence of tumors. Results indicate that losses from ocular squamous cell tumors in beef herds can be sharply reduced by judicious choice of breed types.