Purpose in life and physical health in older U.S. military veterans: Cross-sectional results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

General population studies suggest purpose in life (PIL) is associated with a number of positive outcomes, including better mental and physical health. At present, however, scarce research has examined how PIL relates to these outcomes in veterans. The goal of this study was to determine the current prevalence of different levels of PIL and their associations with reported physical health in a nationally representative sample of predominantly older U.S. veterans. Cross-sectional data were analyzed from the 2019-2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study (N = 4069; M(age) = 62.2). Veterans were classified into low, average, and high PIL. Self-report assessments were administered to assess physical health conditions and physical functioning. Results showed most veterans endorsed average PIL (71.7%), while 16.0% endorsed low PIL and 12.3% endorsed high PIL. Low PIL was associated with lower overall self-reported health and physical and cognitive functioning, as well as higher bodily pain, somatic symptoms, and physical role limitations (Cohen's d = 0.06-0.77). Low PIL was also associated with elevated rates of several physical health conditions, including sleep disorders, as well as obesity and disability with activities of daily living (i.e., ADLs) or instrumental activities of daily living (i.e., IADLs). These results suggest low PIL is associated with physical health difficulties, and underscore the importance of assessing and monitoring PIL, and evaluating whether interventions to promote PIL may help improve physical health and vice versa.

Perceived Purpose in Life, Mental Health, and Suicidality in Older U.S. Military Veterans: Results From the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the current prevalence of perceived purpose in life (PIL) and its association with screening positive for mental disorders and suicidality in a nationally representative sample of predominantly older U.S. veterans. METHODS: Data were analyzed from the 2019-2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study (N = 4,069; Mage = 62.2). Veterans were classified into three groups based on perceived PIL level (i.e., low, average, and high). Self-report assessments were administered to screen for mental disorders and suicidality. RESULTS: Most veterans endorsed average PIL (71.7%), while 16.0% endorsed low PIL and 12.4% endorsed high PIL. A "dose-response" association was observed between PIL and outcomes. High PIL was associated with 42%-94% reduced odds of screening positive for major depressive, generalized anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and substance use disorders, as well as suicide attempts, ideation, and future intent. CONCLUSION: Higher PIL is associated with lower odds of mental disorders and suicidality in U.S. veterans, underscoring the potential importance of interventions to bolster PIL in this population.

Answering the call of COVID-19: An integrated mental health response considering education, training, research, and service.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a call that psychologists must answer with a dynamic, integrated mental health response that incorporates public education and dissemination, training, research, and service. These areas are central components to our mission at the Clinical-Disaster Research Center, housed in the Department of Psychology at the University of Mississippi and part of the university's doctoral training program in clinical psychology. We discuss some of our efforts in each of these areas in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the hope that the information may be of use to psychologists assuming a range of professional responsibilities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Remote ischemic conditioning improves outcome independent of anesthetic effects following shockwave-induced traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury due to primary blast exposure is a major cause of ongoing neurological and psychological impairment in soldiers and civilians. Animal and human evidence suggests that low-level blast exposure is capable of inducing white matter injury and behavioural deficits. There are currently no effective therapies to treat the underlying suspected pathophysiology of low-level primary blast or concussion. Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) has been shown to have cardiac, renal and neuro-protective effects in response to brief cycles of ischemia. Here we examined the effects of RIC in two models of blast injury. We used a model of low-level primary blast in rats to evaluate the effects of RIC neurofilament expression. We subsequently used a model of traumatic brain injury in adult zebrafish using pulsed high intensity focused ultrasound (pHIFU) to evaluate the effects of RIC on behavioural outcome and apoptosis in a post-traumatic setting. In blast exposed rats, RIC pretreatment modulated NF200 expression suggesting an innate biological buffering effect. In zebrafish, behavioural deficits and apoptosis due to pHIFU-induced brain injury were reduced following administration of serum derived from RIC rats. The results in the zebrafish model demonstrate the humoral effects of RIC independent of anesthetic effects that were observed in the rat model of injury. Our results indicate that RIC is effective in improving outcome following modeled brain trauma in pre- and post-injury paradigms. The results suggest a potential role for innate biological systems in the protection against pathophysiological processes associated with impairment following shockwave induced trauma.

A Novel Model of Traumatic Brain Injury in Adult Zebrafish Demonstrates Response to Injury and Treatment Comparable with Mammalian Models.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and morbidity in industrialized countries with considerable associated health care costs. The cost and time associated with pre-clinical development of TBI therapeutics is lengthy and expensive with a poor track record of successful translation to the clinic. The zebrafish is an emerging model organism in research with unique technical and genomic strengths in the study of disease and development. Its high degree of genetic homology and cell signaling pathways relative to mammalian species and amenability to high and medium throughput assays has potential to accelerate the rate of therapeutic drug identification. Accordingly, we developed a novel closed-head model of TBI in adult zebrafish using a targeted, pulsed, high-intensity focused ultrasound (pHIFU) to induce mechanical injury of the brain. Western blot results indicated altered microtubule and neurofilament expression as well as increased expression of cleaved caspase-3 and beta APP (ß-APP; p < 0.05). We used automated behavioral tracking software to evaluate locomotor deficits 24 and 48 h post-injury. Significant behavioral impairment included decreased swim distance and velocity (p < 0.05), as well as heightened anxiety and altered group social dynamics. Responses to injury were pHIFU dose-dependent and modifiable with MK-801, MDL-28170, or temperature modulation. Together, results indicate that the zebrafish exhibits responses to injury and intervention similar to mammalian TBI pathophysiology and suggest the potential for use to rapidly evaluate therapeutic compounds with high efficiency.

A Model of Excitotoxic Brain Injury in Larval Zebrafish: Potential Application for High-Throughput Drug Evaluation to Treat Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and morbidity with no effective therapeutic treatments for secondary injury. Preclinical drug evaluation in rodent models of TBI is a lengthy process. In this regard, the zebrafish has numerous advantages to address the technical and time-dependent obstacles associated with drug evaluation. We developed a reproducible brain injury using glutamate excitoxicity in zebrafish larvae, a known initiator of delayed cell death in TBI. Glutamate challenge resulted in dose-dependent lethality over an 84-h observation period. We report significant decrease in locomotion (p < 0.0001) and mean velocity (p < 0.001) with 10 µM glutamate application as measured through automated 96-well plate behavioral analysis. Application of the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 (400 nM) or the calpain inhibitor, MDL-28170 (20 µM), resulted in significant recovery of locomotor function. A secA5-YFP transgenic line was used to visualize the localization of cell death due to glutamate exposure in vivo using confocal fluorescence microscopy. Our results indicate that zebrafish larvae exhibit responses to excitotoxic injury and pharmacotherapeutic intervention with pathophysiological relevance to mammalian excitotoxic brain injury. This system has potential to be applied as a high-throughput drug screening model to quickly identify candidate lead compounds for further evaluation.