EXPRESS: The psychological role of music and attentional control for religious experiences in worship

This study investigated the psychological dynamics during worship experiences under the influence of different music conditions. 60 believers were recruited to participate in experiments where they were asked to engage in worship and to connect with God while continuously ranking how strongly they sensed the presence of the divine. After each condition, they were asked to rate how well they were able to focus on God during the worship procedure. Based on a previously published feedback loop model that portrays global psychological mechanisms in worship, we deduced two hypotheses: (i) the ability to focus on God is positively associated with how strong the subjective religious experience becomes; (ii) and the different musical conditions yield varying degrees in the intensity of the felt presence of God. Our statistical analyses on the current sample demonstrate that both alternative hypotheses can be accepted. For the latter thesis, two further assumptions were at play: (a) we speculated that religious worship songs were associated with stronger divine experiences than with secular ones; and (b) it was assumed that if they could worship to their own selection of songs, the experience would be more powerful than with the ones that were provided by the research team. Whereas upon our investigation the former assumption can be deemed correct, the latter shows a positive but insignificant association.

Examination of the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory—Short Form Among Portuguese Young Adults: Psychometrics and Measurement Invariance

The Weinberger Adjustment Inventory—Short Form (WAI-SF) is a multidimensional measure of behavioral adjustment frequently used with forensic, clinical, and community populations. However, no previous studies have examined the WAI-SF from a more modern psychometric perspective including second-order models, measurement invariance and a better estimation of reliability. The current sample is composed of female and male young adults ( N = 610, M = 21.33 years, SD = 3.09, range = 18–37) from a university context in Portugal. Results indicated that both the four-factor intercorrelated and the four-factor second order models of the WAI-SF Distress and Restraint scales showed good fits. The WAI-SF Distress and Restraint scales were negatively and significantly correlated, and the intercorrelations between the subscales of each scale ranged from moderate to high. The WAI-SF scales and subscales mostly showed adequate to good reliability in terms of McDonald’s Omega and the more traditional Cronbach’s Alpha. Strong cross-gender measurement invariance was demonstrated, with females scoring significantly higher than males on the Anxiety subscale of the Distress scale, and on the Suppression of Aggression, Impulse Control, Consideration of Others, Responsibility subscales, and Restraint scale. The WAI-SF scales and subscales showed distinctive correlates with other measures (e.g., low self-control, psychopathy) and variables (e.g., delinquency seriousness, substance use). Considering our findings, the use of the WAI-SF is recommended among the Portuguese young adult population and its use in criminological research is encouraged.

Long-term observations on the mortality of mentally ill patients admitted to a short-stay psychiatric hospital: 23 years retrospective Egyptian study

Background Information about mortality patterns in different psychiatric populations is scanty, yet it is vital for designing successful preventive mental health strategies. In this study, we aimed to assess mortality rates and patterns for the patients admitted to Ain Shams University Institute of Psychiatry (ASUIP) with different psychiatric diagnoses from1990 to 2013. All medical records and related registration files were reviewed and investigated for death cases and their possible causes in a retrospective record linkage study. Data were recorded, tabulated, and coded to be used in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 17. Results The study identified 57 death cases in 23-years duration with a mortality rate of 3/1000. Mortality rates were more in younger patients and females. Medical comorbidity was reported in 34.8% of them. The most common known causes for death in the current sample were cardiac causes 15.2%, followed by cerebrovascular causes that were 10.9%. However, sudden or unknown causes were the most frequent diagnosis in the sample. Conclusions The institute mortality rates were lower than those of the general population during this period. The most common known death causes were cardiovascular problems, which mandates close monitoring of high-risk psychiatric patients with co-morbid cardiac problems. Unknown morality causes represented an unresolved challenge for the current registration system and the quality of care given to patients with serious mental illness.

The Impact of Health Literacy and Religiosity on Attitudes Towards Physician-Assisted Death

The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between functional health literacy and religiosity regarding attitudes towards physician-assisted death (PAD). Of participants, the majority were female (62.6%) and non-Hispanic White (79.6%), and ages ranged from 19 to 83 (M = 37.81, SD = 12.55). As measured by the Newest Vital Sign, 82.6% (n = 219) of individuals within the current sample had adequate functional health literacy, while 10.6% (n = 28) scored within the “possibly limited” range, and 6.8% (n = 18) scored within the “highly limited” range. There was a positive association between religiosity and age (r = .21, p < .001), and older participants were more likely to endorse religious beliefs and/or activities. There was a significant association between greater acceptance of attitudes towards PAD and functional health literacy (r = .17, p < .01), indicating that those with higher health literacy have more positive attitudes towards PAD. There was no significant association between attitudes towards PAD and age (r = -.02, p > .05) or education (r = -.05, p > .05). Similarly, attitudes did not differ by gender (t (256) = -.66, p > .05) or by race/ethnicity, (F(5, 253) = .73, p > .05). Of note, functional health literacy may be particularly important to monitor in this context, as several studies (i.e., Kobayashi et al., 2015) have shown that health literacy may decrease with mild cognitive impairment and may therefore provide important information regarding older adults with this condition.

Age Differences in the Association Between Cardiovascular Disease, Depression, and Suicide Risk

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is prevalent among older adults aged 60+ (75%). The literature shows a strong bidirectional association between risk for CVD and risk for depression, although there is limited research regarding whether the strength of this association differs by age. CVD may also be related to suicide risk; however, the literature is both limited and mixed, with studies inconsistently finding an association. Additionally, no known studies have investigated age differences in this relationship. The present study examined the association between CVD (assessed via diagnostic checklist), depression (PHQ-8), and suicide risk (SBQ-R), as well as whether these associations differed by age. The current sample consisted of 301 younger adults (aged 18-40) and 432 older adults (aged 60+) recruited online through Mechanical Turk (younger adults: 78.1% white, 46.5% female; older adults 91.4% white, 56.3% female). Older adults had more CVD diagnoses (M=0.9) than younger adults (M=0.3). The association between CVD (i.e., 1+ CVD diagnoses vs. 0 diagnoses) and mental health was moderated by age (depression interaction p<.001; suicide risk interaction p=.033). Among younger adults, presence of CVD diagnosis was associated with 85% higher depression symptoms (M=6.1 vs 11.3) and 48% higher suicide risk scores (M=5.8 vs 8.6) when compared to no diagnoses. CVD had less of a negative impact among older adults and was associated with 64% higher depression symptoms (M=3.1 vs 5.1) and only 14% higher suicide risk scores (M=4.3 vs 4.9). Providers treating CVD may consider assessing and addressing depression and suicide risk, especially among younger patients with CVD.

Usefulness of Microbiome for Forensic Geolocation: A Review

Forensic microbiomics is a promising tool for crime investigation. Geolocation, which connects an individual to a certain place or location by microbiota, has been fairly well studied in the literature, and several applications have been found. The aim of this review is to highlight the main findings in this field, including the current sample storage, DNA extraction, sequencing and data analysis techniques that are being used, and its potential applications in human trafficking and ancient DNA studies. Second, the challenges and limitations of forensic microbiomics and geolocation are emphasised, providing recommendations for the establishment of this tool in the forensic science community.

Mutation saturation for fitness effects at human CpG sites

Whole exome sequences have now been collected for millions of humans, with the related goals of identifying pathogenic mutations in patients and establishing reference repositories of data from unaffected individuals. As a result, we are approaching an important limit, in which datasets are large enough that, in the absence of natural selection, every highly mutable site will have experienced at least one mutation in the genealogical history of the sample. Here, we focus on CpG sites that are methylated in the germline and experience mutations to T at an elevated rate of ~10-7 per site per generation; considering synonymous mutations in a sample of 390,000 individuals, ~99% of such CpG sites harbor a C/T polymorphism. Methylated CpG sites provide a natural mutation saturation experiment for fitness effects: as we show, at current sample sizes, not seeing a non-synonymous polymorphism is indicative of strong selection against that mutation. We rely on this idea in order to directly identify a subset of CpG transitions that are likely to be highly deleterious, including ~27% of possible loss-of-function mutations, and up to 20% of possible missense mutations, depending on the type of functional site in which they occur. Unlike methylated CpGs, most mutation types, with rates on the order of 10-8 or 10-9, remain very far from saturation. We discuss what these findings imply for interpreting the potential clinical relevance of mutations from their presence or absence in reference databases and for inferences about the fitness effects of new mutations.

Reporting of methods to prepare, pilot and perform data extraction in systematic reviews: analysis of a sample of 152 Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews

Background Previous research on data extraction methods in systematic reviews has focused on single aspects of the process. We aimed to provide a deeper insight into these methods by analysing a current sample of reviews. Methods We included systematic reviews of health interventions in humans published in English. We analysed 75 Cochrane reviews from May and June 2020 and a random sample of non-Cochrane reviews published in the same period and retrieved from Medline. We linked reviews with protocols and study registrations. We collected information on preparing, piloting, and performing data extraction and on use of software to assist review conduct (automation tools). Data were extracted by one author, with 20% extracted in duplicate. Data were analysed descriptively. Results Of the 152 included reviews, 77 reported use of a standardized extraction form (51%); 42 provided information on the type of form used (28%); 24 on piloting (16%); 58 on what data was collected (38%); 133 on the extraction method (88%); 107 on resolving disagreements (70%); 103 on methods to obtain additional data or information (68%); 52 on procedures to avoid data errors (34%); and 47 on methods to deal with multiple study reports (31%). Items were more frequently reported in Cochrane than non-Cochrane reviews. The data extraction form used was published in 10 reviews (7%). Use of software was rarely reported except for statistical analysis software and use of RevMan and GRADEpro GDT in Cochrane reviews. Covidence was the most frequent automation tool used: 18 reviews used it for study selection (12%) and 9 for data extraction (6%). Conclusions Reporting of data extraction methods in systematic reviews is limited, especially in non-Cochrane reviews. This includes core items of data extraction such as methods used to manage disagreements. Few reviews currently use software to assist data extraction and review conduct. Our results can serve as a baseline to assess the uptake of such tools in future analyses.

Concussion Among Children in the United States General Population: Incidence and Risk Factors

The objective of this study was to examine the incidence of concussion and risk factors for sustaining concussion among children from the United States general population. This prospective cohort study used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study®. Children were recruited from schools across the US, sampled to reflect the sociodemographic variation of the US population. The current sample includes 11,013 children aged 9 to 10 years old (47.6% girls; 65.5% White) who were prospectively followed for an average of 1 year (mean = 367.9 days, SD = 40.8, range 249–601). The primary outcome was caregiver-reported concussion during a 1 year follow-up period. Logistic regression was used to determine which potential clinical, health history, and behavioral characteristics (assessed at baseline) were prospectively associated with concussion. In the 1 year follow-up period between ages 10 and 11, 1 in 100 children (n = 123, 1.1%) sustained a concussion. In univariate models, three baseline predictors (ADHD, prior concussion, and accident proneness) were significantly associated with sustaining a concussion. In a multivariate model, controlling for all other predictors, only prior concussion remained significantly associated with the occurrence of a concussion during the observation period (Odds Ratio = 5.49, 95% CI: 3.40–8.87). The most robust and only independent prospective predictor of sustaining a concussion was history of a prior concussion. History of concussion is associated with 5.5 times greater odds of sustaining concussion between ages 10 and 11 among children from the general US population.

Description of characteristics and outcomes of a cohort of patients with severe and enduring eating disorders (SE-ED)

Objective To describe the characteristics of the patients, as well as the treatment outcomes for the people treated in an Endocrinology and Nutrition unit with a diagnosis of SE-ED (> 7 years evolution despite evidence-based conventional treatment). Methods A descriptive observational study was conducted. Patients with a diagnosis of SE-ED (anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa) treated in the Endocrinology and Nutrition service of the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital between 2014 and 2019 were included. Results 67 patients were contacted and accepted to participate in the study. 95.5% were women. 67.2% were diagnosed with AN (anorexia nervosa) and 32.8% with BN (bulimia nervosa). Their median ages (years) at the onset of symptoms, beginning of follow-up and at present were 17, 32 and 42.5 respectively. Their median time of follow-up was 9 years. 73.1% had mental comorbitidy and AN patients had more osteoporosis (48.9% vs 22.7%, p = 0.04) and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (31.1% vs. 4.5%, p = 0.014). Discussion The SE-ED patients in our sample began treatment years after the onset of symptoms, which may have led to their chronification. This emphasizes the importance of an early diagnosis in eating disorders. They presented with a high rate of physical complications and mental comorbidity. In the current sample, it was determined that patients with AN presented with higher rates of osteoporosis and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism than patients with BN. Level of evidence Level III: Evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case–control analytic studies. Plain English summary At present, the criteria for severe and enduring eating disorders (SE-ED) are not sufficiently clearly defined. It has been calculated that approximately 20% of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and 10% of patients with bulimia nervosa (BN) suffer a chronification. We evaluated the characteristics of the patients, as well as the treatment outcomes for the people treated in an Endocrinology and Nutrition unit with a diagnosis of SE-ED (which was made based on an evolution greater than 7 years despite conventional treatment). The SE-ED patients in our sample began treatment years after the onset of symptoms, which may have led to their chronification. They presented with a high rate of physical complications and mental comorbidity. In the current sample, it was determined that patients with AN presented with higher rates of osteoporosis (health condition that weakens bones, making them fragile and more likely to break) and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (illness in which testes or ovaries produce little or no sex hormones due to a problem in the pituitary gland) than patients with BN.