Adaptive and Innate Immunity Are Key Drivers of Age at Onset of Multiple Sclerosis.

Background and Objectives: Multiple sclerosis (MS) age at onset (AAO) is a clinical predictor of long-term disease outcomes, independent of disease duration. Little is known about the genetic and biological mechanisms underlying age of first symptoms. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to investigate associations between individual genetic variation and the MS AAO phenotype. Methods: The study population was comprised participants with MS in 6 clinical trials: ADVANCE (N = 655; relapsing-remitting [RR] MS), ASCEND (N = 555; secondary-progressive [SP] MS), DECIDE (N = 1,017; RRMS), OPERA1 (N = 581; RRMS), OPERA2 (N = 577; RRMS), and ORATORIO (N = 529; primary-progressive [PP] MS). Altogether, 3,905 persons with MS of European ancestry were analyzed. GWAS were conducted for MS AAO in each trial using linear additive models controlling for sex and 10 principal components. Resultant summary statistics across the 6 trials were then meta-analyzed, for a total of 8.3 × 10-6 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across all trials after quality control and filtering for heterogeneity. Gene-based tests of associations, pathway enrichment analyses, and Mendelian randomization analyses for select exposures were also performed. Results: Four lead SNPs within 2 loci were identified (p < 5 × 10-8), including a) 3 SNPs in the major histocompatibility complex and their effects were independent of HLA-DRB1*15:01 and b) a LOC105375167 variant on chromosome 7. At the gene level, the top association was HLA-C (p = 1.2 × 10-7), which plays an important role in antiviral immunity. Functional annotation revealed the enrichment of pathways related to T-cell receptor signaling, autoimmunity, and the complement cascade. Mendelian randomization analyses suggested a link between both earlier age at puberty and shorter telomere length and earlier AAO, while there was no evidence for a role for either body mass index or vitamin D levels. Discussion: Two genetic loci associated with MS AAO were identified, and functional annotation demonstrated an enrichment of genes involved in adaptive and complement immunity. There was also evidence supporting a link with age at puberty and telomere length. The findings suggest that AAO in MS is multifactorial, and the factors driving onset of symptoms overlap with those influencing MS risk.

How would you describe a mentally healthy college student based on Chinese culture? A qualitative research from the perspective of college students.

BACKGROUND: Promoting college students' mental health remains a significant concern, necessitating a clear understanding of what constitutes good mental health. Variations in the conceptualizations of mental health across cultures, typically derived from academic and authoritative perspectives, have overlooked insights from laypeople. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of mentally healthy college students within Chinese cultural contexts, emphasizing perspectives provided by college students themselves. METHODS: Undergraduates with self-reported mental health scores ≥ 7 were randomly selected for in-depth interviews. The sample (N = 17, 59% female) had a mean age of 20.82 ± 1.33 years and represented diverse regions, backgrounds, and academic fields. Thematic analysis was used in the analysis of the qualitative data, involving initial coding to identify 168 manifestations of mental health among college students, followed by categorizing them into 18 characteristics through focused coding. These characteristics were then organized into five themes via core coding. The Delphi method was utilized to validate the themes with 3 experts, ensuring the trustworthiness of the final findings. RESULTS: Eighteen characteristics of mentally healthy college students emerged from the interviews, categorized into 5 themes: (1)Value Pursuit (i.e. Having a sense of responsibility and mission and being willing to dedicate oneself to the country at any time.); (2)Life Attitude (i.e. Staying positive and having the ability and quality to cope with hardships.); (3)Interpersonal Ideals (i.e., Showing filial respect to parents appropriately.); (4)Behavior Ability(i.e., Studying diligently and learning well.); and (5)Self-cultivation (i.e., Possessing good qualities advocated by Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism coexist harmoniously.). Most of these characteristics directly reflect traditional Chinese culture or culture that has changed with the times. At the same time, some are a reflection of modern Chinese new culture. CONCLUSIONS: On the whole, the characteristics of mentally healthy college students are diverse and with rich connotations, focusing on the individual's relationship with the country, family, and others, and are good expressions of Chinese cultural features, such as the balance of Yin and Yang, the coexistence of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, and highlight moral attributes. In essence, these traits hold profound importance in advancing the mental health of Chinese college students.

Emerging Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers of Disease Activity and Progression in Multiple Sclerosis.

Importance: Biomarkers distinguishing nonrelapsing progressive disease biology from relapsing biology in multiple sclerosis (MS) are lacking. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an accessible fluid that most closely reflects central nervous system biology. Objective: To identify CSF biological measures associated with progressive MS pathobiology. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study assessed data from 2 prospective MS cohorts: a test cohort provided serial CSF, clinical, and imaging assessments in a multicenter study of patients with relapsing MS (RMS) or primary progressive MS (PPMS) who were initiating anti-CD20 treatment (recruitment: 2016-2018; analysis: 2020-2023). A single-site confirmation cohort was used to assess CSF at baseline and long-term (>10 year) clinical follow-up (analysis: 2022-2023). Exposures: Test-cohort participants initiated standard-of-care ocrelizumab treatment. Confirmation-cohort participants were untreated or received standard-of-care disease-modifying MS therapies. Main Outcomes and Measures: Twenty-five CSF markers, including neurofilament light chain, neurofilament heavy chain, and glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP); 24-week confirmed disability progression (CDP24); and brain magnetic resonance imaging measures reflecting focal injury, tissue loss, and progressive biology (slowly expanding lesions [SELs]). Results: The test cohort (n = 131) included 100 patients with RMS (mean [SD] age, 36.6 [10.4] years; 68 [68%] female and 32 [32%] male; Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] score, 0-5.5), and 31 patients with PPMS (mean [SD] age, 44.9 [7.4] years; 15 [48%] female and 16 [52%] male; EDSS score, 3.0-6.5). The confirmation cohort (n = 68) included 41 patients with RMS and 27 with PPMS enrolled at diagnosis (age, 40 years [range, 20-61 years]; 47 [69%] female and 21 [31%] male). In the test cohort, GFAP was correlated with SEL count (r = 0.33), greater proportion of T2 lesion volume from SELs (r = 0.24), and lower T1-weighted intensity within SELs (r = -0.33) but not with acute inflammatory measures. Neurofilament heavy chain was correlated with SEL count (r = 0.25) and lower T1-weighted intensity within SELs (r = -0.28). Immune markers correlated with measures of acute inflammation and, unlike GFAP, were impacted by anti-CD20. In the confirmation cohort, higher baseline CSF GFAP levels were associated with long-term CDP24 (hazard ratio, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.3-3.4; P = .002). Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, activated glial markers (in particular GFAP) and neurofilament heavy chain were associated specifically with nonrelapsing progressive disease outcomes (independent of acute inflammatory activity). Elevated CSF GFAP was associated with long-term MS disease progression.

Intravascular Ultrasound-Guided versus Angiography-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Stent Thrombosis Elevation Myocardial Infarction: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) provides intra-procedural guidance in optimizing percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and has been shown to improve clinical outcomes in stent implantation. However, current data on the benefit of IVUS during PCI in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients is mixed. We performed meta-analysis pooling available data assessing IVUS-guided versus angiography-guided PCI in STEMI patients. METHODS: We conducted a systematic search on PubMed and Embase for studies comparing IVUS versus angiography-guided PCI in STEMI. Mantel-Haenszel random effects model was used to calculate risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for outcomes of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), death, myocardial infarction (MI), target vessel revascularization (TVR), stent thrombosis (ST) and in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: A total of 8 studies including 336,649 individuals presenting with STEMI were included for the meta-analysis. Follow-up ranged from 11 to 60 months. We found significant association between IVUS-guided PCI with lower risk for MACE (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.76-0.90) compared with angiography-guided PCI. We also found significant association between IVUS-guided PCI with lower risk for death, MI, TVR, and in-hospital mortality but not ST. CONCLUSION: In our meta-analysis, IVUS-guided compared with angiography-guided PCI was associated with improved long-term and short-term clinical outcomes in STEMI patients.

High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponins I and T and Cardiovascular Outcomes: Findings from the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT).

BACKGROUND: Cardiac troponins are associated with adverse cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes. The value of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) independently and in concert with troponin T (hs-cTnT) in the management of hypertension has not been well studied. METHODS: We assessed the utility of hs-cTnI independently and with hs-cTnT in identifying the highest risk individuals in the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT). Among 8796 eligible SPRINT participants, hs-cTnI was measured at baseline and 1 year. The association of baseline level and 1-year change in hs-cTnI with CVD events and all-cause death was evaluated using adjusted Cox regression models. We further assessed the complementary value of hs-cTnI and hs-cTnT by identifying concordant and discordant categories and assessing their association with outcomes. RESULTS: hs-cTnI was positively associated with composite CVD risk [myocardial infarction, other acute coronary syndrome, stroke, or cardiovascular death: hazard ratio 1.23, 95% confidence interval 1.08-1.39 per 1-unit increase in log(troponin I)] independent of traditional risk factors, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, and hs-cTnT. Intensive blood pressure lowering was associated with greater absolute risk reduction (4.5% vs 1.7%) and lower number needed to treat (23 vs 59) for CVD events among those with higher baseline hs-cTnI (≥6 ng/L in men, ≥4 ng/L in women). hs-cTnI increase at 1 year was also associated with increased CVD risk. hs-cTnI and hs-cTnT were complementary, and elevations in both identified individuals with the highest risk for CVD and death. CONCLUSIONS: Baseline levels and change in hs-cTnI over 1 year identified higher-risk individuals who may derive greater cardiovascular benefit with intensive blood pressure treatment. hs-TnI and hs-TnT have complementary value in CVD risk assessment. ClinicalTrials.gov Registration Number: NCT01206062.

Genome-wide study of longitudinal brain imaging measures of multiple sclerosis progression across six clinical trials.

While the genetics of MS risk susceptibility are well-described, and recent progress has been made on the genetics of disease severity, the genetics of disease progression remain elusive. We therefore investigated the genetic determinants of MS progression on longitudinal brain MRI: change in brain volume (BV) and change in T2 lesion volume (T2LV), reflecting progressive tissue loss and increasing disease burden, respectively. We performed genome-wide association studies of change in BV (N = 3401) and change in T2LV (N = 3513) across six randomized clinical trials from Biogen and Roche/Genentech: ADVANCE, ASCEND, DECIDE, OPERA I & II, and ORATORIO. Analyses were adjusted for randomized treatment arm, age, sex, and ancestry. Results were pooled in a meta-analysis, and were evaluated for enrichment of MS risk variants. Variant colocalization and cell-specific expression analyses were performed using published cohorts. The strongest peaks were in PTPRD (rs77321193-C/A, p = 3.9 × 10-7) for BV change, and NEDD4L (rs11398377-GC/G, p = 9.3 × 10-8) for T2LV change. Evidence of colocalization was observed for NEDD4L, and both genes showed increased expression in neuronal and/or glial populations. No association between MS risk variants and MRI outcomes was observed. In this unique, precompetitive industry partnership, we report putative regions of interest in the neurodevelopmental gene PTPRD, and the ubiquitin ligase gene NEDD4L. These findings are distinct from known MS risk genetics, indicating an added role for genetic progression analyses and informing drug discovery.

Dietary Effects on Monocyte Phenotypes in Subjects With Hypertriglyceridemia and Metabolic Syndrome.

In patients with hypertriglyceridemia, a short-term low-saturated fat vs high-saturated fat diet induced lower plasma lipids and improved monocyte phenotypes. These findings highlight the role of diet fat content and composition for monocyte phenotypes and possibly cardiovascular disease risk in these patients. (Effects of Dietary Interventions on Monocytes in Metabolic Syndrome; NCT03591588).

Association of interleukin-6 and interleukin-18 with cardiovascular disease in older adults: Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study.

AIMS: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-18 (IL-18), important cytokines implicated in atherosclerosis and inflammaging, were assessed for associations with global cardiovascular disease (CVD), atrial fibrillation (AF), and death in older adults. METHODS AND RESULTS: Participants from Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study Visit 5 (mean age 75.4 ± 5.1 years) with IL-6 and IL-18 measurements were included (n = 5672). Cox regression models were used to assess associations of IL-6 and IL-18 with coronary heart disease (CHD), ischaemic stroke, heart failure (HF) hospitalization, global CVD (composite of CHD, stroke, and HF), AF, and all-cause death. Over a median follow-up of 7.2 years, there were 1235 global CVD events, 530 AF events, and 1173 deaths. Higher IL-6 [hazard ratio (HR) 1.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.44-1.72 per log unit increase] and IL-18 (HR 1.13, 95% CI 1.01-1.26) were significantly associated with global CVD after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors. Association between IL-6 and global CVD remained significant after further adjustment for high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT) but was no longer significant for IL-18 after further adjustments. Interleukin-6 was also associated with increased risk for CHD, HF, and AF after adjustment for covariates. Both IL-6 and IL-18 were associated with increased risk for all-cause death independent of cardiovascular risk factors and other biomarkers. CONCLUSION: Among older adults, both IL-6 and IL-18 were associated with global CVD and death. The association between IL-6 with CVD appears to be more robust and was independent of hs-CRP, NT-proBNP, and hs-TnT.

In older adults in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study (average age 75 years), higher levels of interleukin-6 and interleukin-18, two proteins implicated in atherosclerosis and increased inflammation that occurs with ageing, significantly increased risk for global cardiovascular disease (including coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure) during the next ∼7 years; interleukin-6 also increased risk for global cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation even after adjustment for other biomarkers of inflammation and subclinical myocardial injury, and both interleukin-6 and interleukin-18 were associated with increased risk for all-cause death independent of cardiovascular risk factors and other biomarkers. In older adults, higher levels of interleukin-6 and interleukin-18 were both associated with increased risk for global cardiovascular disease (including coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure) and death.The association between interleukin-6 and global cardiovascular disease appeared to be stronger than that for interleukin-18 and remained significant after adjustment for other biomarkers of inflammation and subclinical myocardial injury.

Blood neurofilament light levels predict non-relapsing progression following anti-CD20 therapy in relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis: findings from the ocrelizumab randomised, double-blind phase 3 clinical trials.

BACKGROUND: Neurofilament light chain (NfL), a neuronal cytoskeletal protein that is released upon neuroaxonal injury, is associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) relapsing activity and has demonstrated some prognostic ability for future relapse-related disease progression, yet its value in assessing non-relapsing disease progression remains unclear. METHODS: We examined baseline and longitudinal blood NfL levels in 1421 persons with relapsing MS (RMS) and 596 persons with primary progressive MS (PPMS) from the pivotal ocrelizumab MS trials. NfL treatment-response and risk for disease worsening (including disability progression into the open-label extension period and slowly expanding lesions [SELs] on brain MRI) at baseline and following treatment with ocrelizumab were evaluated using time-to-event analysis and linear regression models. FINDINGS: In persons from the RMS control arms without acute disease activity and in the entire PPMS control arm, higher baseline NfL was prognostic for greater whole brain and thalamic atrophy, greater volume expansion of SELs, and clinical progression. Ocrelizumab reduced NfL levels vs. controls in persons with RMS and those with PPMS, and abrogated the prognostic value of baseline NfL on disability progression. Following effective suppression of relapse activity by ocrelizumab, NfL levels at weeks 24 and 48 were significantly associated with long-term risk for disability progression, including up to 9 years of observation in RMS and PPMS. INTERPRETATION: Highly elevated NfL from acute MS disease activity may mask a more subtle NfL abnormality that reflects underlying non-relapsing progressive biology. Ocrelizumab significantly reduced NfL levels, consistent with its effects on acute disease activity and disability progression. Persistently elevated NfL levels, observed in a subgroup of persons under ocrelizumab treatment, demonstrate potential clinical utility as a predictive biomarker of increased risk for clinical progression. Suppression of relapsing biology with high-efficacy immunotherapy provides a window into the relationship between NfL levels and future non-relapsing progression. FUNDING: F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

Reclassification of Pre-Heart Failure Stages Using Cardiac Biomarkers: The ARIC Study.

BACKGROUND: The recent heart failure (HF) guideline recommends the inclusion of cardiac biomarkers in defining Stage B HF. OBJECTIVES: The authors evaluated the impact of incorporating cardiac biomarkers to reclassify HF in 5,324 participants (mean age: 75.8 years) without prevalent HF enrolled in the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities) study and assessed prognosis of Stage B using cardiac biomarkers. METHODS: Using N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (<125 pg/mL or ≥125 pg/mL), high-sensitivity troponin T (<14 ng/L or ≥14 ng/L), and abnormal cardiac structure/function by echocardiography, individuals were classified as Stage Anew and Stage Bnew HF, respectively. Stage Bnew was further evaluated as elevated biomarker only, abnormal echocardiogram only, and abnormalities in both (echo + biomarker). The authors assessed risk for incident HF and all-cause death using Cox regression. RESULTS: Overall, 4,326 (81.3%) individuals were classified as Stage Bnew with 1,123 (21.1%) meeting criteria for elevated biomarkers only. Compared with Stage Anew, Stage Bnew was associated with increased risk for incident HF (HR: 3.70 [95% CI: 2.58-5.30]) and death (HR: 1.94 [95% CI: 1.53-2.46]). Stage Bbiomarkers only and Stage Becho only were associated with increased HF risk, whereas Stage Bbiomarkers only was also associated with increased death. Stage Becho+biomarker had the highest risk for HF (HR: 6.34 [95% CI: 4.37-9.19]) and death (HR: 2.53 [95% CI: 1.98-3.23]). CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating biomarkers based on the new HF guideline reclassified approximately 1 in 5 older adults without prevalent HF to Stage B. The routine measurement of biomarkers can help to identify individuals at higher HF risk who may benefit most from HF prevention efforts.

Multi-arm U-Net with dense input and skip connectivity for T2 lesion segmentation in clinical trials of multiple sclerosis.

T2 lesion quantification plays a crucial role in monitoring disease progression and evaluating treatment response in multiple sclerosis (MS). We developed a 3D, multi-arm U-Net for T2 lesion segmentation, which was trained on a large, multicenter clinical trial dataset of relapsing MS. We investigated its generalization to other relapsing and primary progressive MS clinical trial datasets, and to an external dataset from the MICCAI 2016 MS lesion segmentation challenge. Additionally, we assessed the model's ability to reproduce the separation of T2 lesion volumes between treatment and control arms; and the association of baseline T2 lesion volumes with clinical disability scores compared with manual lesion annotations. The trained model achieved a mean dice coefficient of ≥ 0.66 and a lesion detection sensitivity of ≥ 0.72 across the internal test datasets. On the external test dataset, the model achieved a mean dice coefficient of 0.62, which is comparable to 0.59 from the best model in the challenge, and a lesion detection sensitivity of 0.68. Lesion detection performance was reduced for smaller lesions (≤ 30 µL, 3-10 voxels). The model successfully maintained the separation of the longitudinal changes in T2 lesion volumes between the treatment and control arms. Such tools could facilitate semi-automated MS lesion quantification; and reduce rater burden in clinical trials.

Association of Long-term Change in N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide With Incident Heart Failure and Death.

Importance: Most studies, especially in primary prevention patients, have evaluated N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) at one time point. Evaluation of change in NT-proBNP may improve risk stratification for incident cardiovascular events. Objective: To assess the association between change in NT-proBNP and risk for incident heart failure (HF) and death. Design, Setting, and Participants: Participants were recruited from 4 US communities enrolled in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Community (ARIC) study. Individuals who attended ARIC visits 2 and 4 (approximately 6 years apart) with measurements of NT-proBNP and without prevalent HF were included. Assays of NT-proBNP were conducted between 2011 and 2013, and analysis took place between July 2021 and October 2022. Exposures: The primary exposure variable was NT-proBNP change between visits 2 and 4, modeled as change categories (<125 pg/mL or ≥125 pg/mL) and as percent change. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome measures were incident HF hospitalization and all-cause death. The association between changes in cardiovascular risk factors with change in NT-proBNP was further assessed. Results: A total of 9776 individuals (mean [SD] age, 57.1 [5.7] years at visit 2; 5523 [56.5%] women) were included in the study. Compared with participants with NT-proBNP level less than 125 pg/mL at both visits, participants with NT-proBNP level of 125 pg/mL or higher at both visits had an increase in incident HF (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 2.40 [95% CI, 2.00-2.88]) and mortality risk (HR, 1.68 [95% CI, 1.47-1.91). Participants with NT-proBNP levels of 125 pg/mL or higher at visit 2 and less than 125 pg/mL at visit 4 had similar risk for HF and death (HR, 1.01 [95% CI, 0.71-1.43]; HR, 0.79 [95% CI, 0.61-1.01]) compared with the group with NT-proBNP levels of less than 125 pg/mL at both visits. The percent change in NT-proBNP was positively associated with HF and death (HR, 1.06 [95% CI, 1.02-1.10]; HR, 1.05 [95% CI, 1.03-1.08] per 1-SD increase, respectively). Change in systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride level, body mass index, and estimated glomerular filtration rate were significantly associated with change in NT-proBNP. Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, 6-year change in NT-proBNP reflected dynamic change in risk for HF events and death among community-dwelling adults without prevalent clinical HF. These results support the utility of serial NT-proBNP measurements to improve risk stratification of patients with pre-HF.

Differential effects of anti-CD20 therapy on CD4 and CD8 T cells and implication of CD20-expressing CD8 T cells in MS disease activity.

A small proportion of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients develop new disease activity soon after starting anti-CD20 therapy. This activity does not recur with further dosing, possibly reflecting deeper depletion of CD20-expressing cells with repeat infusions. We assessed cellular immune profiles and their association with transient disease activity following anti-CD20 initiation as a window into relapsing disease biology. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from independent discovery and validation cohorts of MS patients initiating ocrelizumab were assessed for phenotypic and functional profiles using multiparametric flow cytometry. Pretreatment CD20-expressing T cells, especially CD20dimCD8+ T cells with a highly inflammatory and central nervous system (CNS)-homing phenotype, were significantly inversely correlated with pretreatment MRI gadolinium-lesion counts, and also predictive of early disease activity observed after anti-CD20 initiation. Direct removal of pretreatment proinflammatory CD20dimCD8+ T cells had a greater contribution to treatment-associated changes in the CD8+ T cell pool than was the case for CD4+ T cells. Early disease activity following anti-CD20 initiation was not associated with reconstituting CD20dimCD8+ T cells, which were less proinflammatory compared with pretreatment. Similarly, this disease activity did not correlate with early reconstituting B cells, which were predominantly transitional CD19+CD24highCD38high with a more anti-inflammatory profile. We provide insights into the mode-of-action of anti-CD20 and highlight a potential role for CD20dimCD8+ T cells in MS relapse biology; their strong inverse correlation with both pretreatment and early posttreatment disease activity suggests that CD20-expressing CD8+ T cells leaving the circulation (possibly to the CNS) play a particularly early role in the immune cascades involved in relapse development.

Grieving Parents' Meaning-Making Narration in Relation to Value Orientations: A Cross-Cultural Study.

This study investigated the association between prolonged grief (PG) severity and meaning-making narration in a cross-cultural context, and specifically aimed to illustrate the role of value orientation in shaping the grieving process. 30 Chinese and 22 Swiss parents who lost their child were asked to narrate and appraise specific memories to reflect their self-evaluation of traditional and modern values. The self-reported Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale (ref ICD-11) assessed PG severity. Compared with the Swiss sample, the Chinese sample provided more elaborated memories, which was not associated with symptom severity. Both Chinese and Swiss bereaved parents with more severe PG provided more narratives of loss-related memories, particularly in response to modern values. They also provided more appraisals of negative meanings for self-defining memories, particularly in relation to their traditional values. These findings indicate that, despite cultural differences in narration tendency, PG severity in bereaved parents was associated with the maladaptive integration of autobiographical memories across different cultures, in relation to value orientations. A clinical implication is the potential value of facilitating narrations of grieving clients that center on value orientations to mitigate the hardship of the personal loss.

Prevalence and Predictors of Premature Coronary Heart Disease Among Asians in the United States: A National Health Interview Survey Study.

Identifying Asian subgroups with higher risk of premature coronary heart disease (CHD) can help implement targeted strategies to prevent future CHD events. We conducted this National Health Interview Survey study from 2006 to 2015 among participants with history of CHD to compare the risk of premature CHD (<65 for women and <55 years old for men) across Whites, Chinese, Asian Indians, Filipinos, and "other Asians" (Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese individuals) using univariate and multi-variable logistic regression models. A total of 17,266 participants with history of CHD (mean age, 66.0 ± 0.2; 39% women) were included. Risk of premature CHD was higher among Asian Indians (OR = 1.77, 1.05-2.97) and "other Asians" (OR = 1.68, 1.17-2.42) than Whites adults. Compared with Chinese, the risk of premature CHD was significantly higher for Asian Indians in the unadjusted models (OR = 2.72, 1.19-6.3). "Other Asians" exhibited significantly higher risk in crude (OR = 2.88, 1.32-6.27) and adjusted models (aOR = 2.29, 1.01-5.18). Among younger adults (<50 years) with CHD, Asian Indian adults (aOR = 2.43, 1.26-4.70) and other Asian adults (aOR = 1.86, 1.14-3.02) showed higher odds of premature CHD compared with White adults. The risk of premature CHD varies across Asian populations. More studies with an adequate sampling of Asian subgroups are needed to identify the risk and determinants of premature CHD.

The Effect of Boredom on College Students' Meaning in Life: A Longitudinal Mediation Model.

Boredom is a common emotional experience in daily life adversely affecting individual physical health, mental health, and social functioning. Therefore, it is an important issue to improve the quality of life by ameliorating individuals' state of boredom. We used a longitudinal research approach. First, we tested 728 participants with the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS). Then, after 3 months, the participants filled out the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI), Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), and Meaning of Life Questionnaire (MILQ); 715 valid questionnaires were obtained. Results showed that cognitive flexibility played a mediating role between boredom and the presence of meaning in life, but social support did not. The total effect of boredom on the presence of meaning in life was significant. Cognitive flexibility and social support played a mediating role between boredom and the search for meaning in life, respectively, but the overall effect of boredom on the search for meaning in life was not significant. This study found that boredom has different effects on the presence of meaning in life and the search for meaning in life. It can improve individuals' sense of meaning in life by reducing boredom and improving cognitive flexibility and social support.

Demographic and Regional Trends of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy-Related Mortality in the United States, 1999 to 2019.

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)-related mortality has been decreasing within the United States; however, persistent disparities in demographic subsets may exist. In this study, we assessed nationwide trends in mortality related to HCM among people ≥15 years of age in the United States from 1999 to 2019. METHODS: Trends in mortality related to HCM were assessed through a cross-sectional analysis of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiological Research database. Age-adjusted mortality rates per 1 000 000 people and associated annual percent changes with 95% CIs were determined. Joinpoint regression was used to assess the trends in the overall, demographic (sex, race and ethnicity, age), and regional groups. RESULTS: Between 1999 and 2019, 39 200 HCM-related deaths occurred. In the overall population, age-adjusted mortality rate decreased from 11.2 in 1999 to 5.4 in 2019. Higher mortality rates were observed for males, Black patients, and patients ≥75 years of age. Large metropolitan counties experienced pronounced declines in age-adjusted mortality rate over the study period. In addition, California had the highest overall age-adjusted mortality rate. CONCLUSIONS: Over the past 2 decades, HCM-related mortality has decreased overall in the United States. However, demographic and geographic disparities in HCM-related mortality have persisted over time and require further investigation.