Support Saves Lives: Exploring the Relationship Between Age of Transition, Family Support, and Retrospective K-12 Educational Experiences in Transgender Suicidality.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to test the association between protective and risk factors, including age of transition, K-12 experiences, and family support, on suicidality among transgender and gender nonbinary/gender queer (TNB) adults. Methods: Our analysis relies on data from the 2015 United States Transgender Survey. We used separate logistic regression models to predict lifetime suicidal ideation and suicide attempt among 19,121 survey respondents. Results: Negative K-12 experiences significantly predict higher likelihood of both suicidal ideation and suicide attempt for transgender people, regardless of age of transition, and after controlling for a host of covariates. The age a transgender person begins to live full time in a gender different from the one assigned at birth has little association with suicidality. However, supportive families act as a buffer against suicidal ideation, and unsupportive families significantly predict higher likelihood of suicide attempt for transgender people when controlling for numerous covariates. Conclusion: Our findings underscore the importance of supportive environments for TNB adolescents. Interventions that strengthen interpersonal relationships and local environments will reduce suicidality among TNB youth. Importantly, recent anti-trans legislation may interfere with the ability of teachers and families to provide needed supports and will likely have deleterious effects on the mental health of TNB individuals.

Preventing Neurocognitive Decline in Adults Aging with HIV: Implications for Practice and Research.

Mild to moderate forms of neurocognitive impairment persist among people living with HIV (PLWH), despite being virally suppressed on antiretroviral therapy. PLWH are disproportionally impacted by physiological and psychosocial comorbidities compared to those without HIV. As adults live longer with HIV, the neurocognitive burden of physiological and psychosocial stressors can impair everyday functioning and may contribute to the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. This article outlines neurocognitive consequences of everyday stressors in PLWH. While some lifestyle factors can exacerbate inflammatory processes and promote negative neurocognitive health, novel interventions including the use of cannabinoids may be neuroprotective for aging PLWH who are at risk for elevated levels of inflammation from comorbidities. Studies of integrated neurocognitive rehabilitation strategies targeting lifestyle factors are promising for improving neurocognitive health, and may over time, reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease in PLWH.

Patients' Perceived Level of Clinician Knowledge of Transgender Health Care, Self-rated Health, and Psychological Distress Among Transgender Adults.

Importance: Transgender, gender nonbinary, and genderqueer people are at increased risk for negative health outcomes, and medical school education is currently lacking on inclusion of these topics. However, there is little evidence of an association of clinician knowledge with the health of transgender people. Objective: To evaluate the associations of patients' perceptions of clinician knowledge with self-rated health and severe psychological distress among transgender people. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this cross-sectional study, a secondary data analysis of the 2015 US Transgender Survey (a survey of transgender, gender nonbinary, and genderqueer adults conducted across 50 states) Washington, DC, US territories, and US military bases in 2015 was performed. Data were analyzed from February to November 2022. Exposures: Patients' perception of their clinician's knowledge about transgender health care. Main Outcomes and Measures: Self-rated health, dichotomized as poor or fair vs excellent, very good, or good, and severe psychological distress (scoring a validated threshold of ≥13 on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale). Results: The sample included a total of 27 715 respondents (9238 transgender women [33.3%; 55.1% weighted; 95% CI, 53.4%-56.7%], 22 658 non-Hispanic White individuals [81.8%; 65.6% weighted; 95% CI, 63.7%-67.5%], and 4085 individuals aged 45-64 years [14.7%; 33.8% weighted; 95% CI, 32.0%-35.5%]). Of 23 318 individuals who answered questions regarding their perceptions of their clinicians' level of knowledge, 5732 (24.6%) reported their clinician knows almost everything about transgender care, 4083 (17.5%) reported their clinician knows most things, 3446 (14.8%) reported their clinician knows some things, 2680 (11.5%) reported their clinician knows almost nothing, and 7337 (31.5%) reported they were unsure. Nearly 1 in 4 transgender adults (5612 of 23 557 individuals [23.8%]) reported having to teach their clinician about transgender people. In total, 3955 respondents (19.4%; 20.8% weighted; 95% CI, 19.2%-22.6%) reported fair or poor self-rated health and 7392 (36.9%; 28.4% weighted, 95% CI, 26.9%-30.1%) met the criteria for severe psychological distress. After adjusting for covariates, compared with individuals who reported their clinician knows almost everything about transgender care, exposure to clinicians with lower perceived levels of knowledge about transgender care was associated with significantly higher odds of fair or poor self-rated health (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] for knowing almost nothing, 2.63; 95% CI, 1.76-3.94; aOR for unsure, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.28-2.56) and severe psychological distress (aOR for knowing almost nothing, 2.33; 95% CI, 1.61-3.37; aOR for unsure, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.05-1.79). Respondents who had to teach a clinician about transgender people had higher odds of reporting fair or poor self-rated health (aOR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.31-2.13) and severe psychological distress (aOR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.21-1.83) compared with those who did not. Conclusion and Relevance: The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that there is an association between perceived clinician knowledge about transgender people and self-rated health and psychological distress among transgender people. These results highlight the importance of integration and enhancement of transgender health in medical education curriculum as a necessary intervention to improve the health of transgender people.

Racial Context and Health Behaviors Among Black Immigrants.

Testing the Racial Context Hypothesis (Read and Emerson 2005), we examine the relationship between racial context of origin and three health behaviors (smoking, drinking, and physical activity) among Black immigrants in the USA. We conduct multinomial logistic regression analyses using data from the 2000-2018 National Health Interview Survey (N = 248,401) to determine if racial context of origin is a mechanism of health differential between Black immigrants and US-born Black Americans. Supporting the Racial Context Hypothesis, we find that Black immigrants from racially mixed (Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, South America) and majority-Black contexts (Africa) are significantly less likely to be current or former smokers and drinkers than US-born Black Americans. Black immigrants from majority-white (Europe) contexts, on the other hand, look more similar to US-born Black Americans - again supporting the premise that racial context of origin is consequential for health. After controlling for a host of covariates, Black immigrants do not significantly differ from US-born Black Americans in exercise status. Together, these findings suggest that the impacts of racism and white supremacy have lasting effects on people of color, where Black immigrants from majority-white contexts exhibit worse health behaviors than their counterparts from majority-Black and racially mixed regions.

Neighborhood cohesion and psychological distress across race and sexual orientation.

Introduction: We investigate the association neighborhood cohesion, as source of social support, has with psychological distress among white, Black, and Latinx lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals, compared to heterosexual individuals in the United States. Method: We estimate zero-order multinomial logistic regression models to assess the likelihood of moderate and severe psychological distress among respondents. Result: In the models accounting for neighborhood cohesion and all other covariates, white, Black, and Latinx lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals are more likely to meet the criteria for moderate and severe psychological distress than non-LGB people. Conclusion: Neighborhood cohesion has differing impact on psychological distress outcomes by racial/ethnic-sexual orientation groups, but in general provides a greater magnitude of protection against moderate psychological distress for non-LGB groups and a greater magnitude of protection against severe psychological distress for LGB groups.

Psychological Distress among Black Immigrants by Region of Birth.

We assess the likelihood of moderate and severe psychological distress among Black immigrants. We test the region of context framework, which states that Black immigrants from majority-Black and racially mixed regions of origin have better health outcomes than Black immigrants from majority-white contexts. We utilize data from IPUMS Health Surveys, 2000-2018. We employed partial proportional odds models to assess the likelihood of moderate and severe psychological distress among Black immigrants and U.S.-born Black Americans. All immigrant groups, except for Black Europeans, are significantly less likely to be in moderate and severe distress vis-à-vis U.S.-born Black Americans (p < 0.01). Black Africans are about 54-58% less likely to be in severe distressed compared to U.S.-born Black Americans. Black immigrants from racially mixed and majority-Black contexts (Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, South America, and Africa) are significantly less likely to be afflicted with moderate and severe distress than U.S.-born Black Americans.