A Preliminary Analysis of Stress Burden and Cognitive Function and Clinically-Adjudicated Cognitive Outcomes in Black American Adults.

BACKGROUND: The combination of exposure to multiple stressors and psychological distress may contribute to the disproportionate burden of dementia risk among Black Americans. This study estimates the effect of an index of stress and psychological distress (i.e., "stress burden") on cognitive function and clinically-adjudicated cognitive outcomes among older Black American adults, and examines sleep as a mediator. METHODS: The sample included 204 Black adults (79% female; mean age=64 years) from Pittsburgh, PA. Stress burden comprised three self-reported stress and distress measures assessed in 2016: discrimination, psychological distress, and post-traumatic stress. Potential mediators included actigraphy-assessed sleep duration and efficiency from 2018. Cognitive battery and clinical adjudication in 2019 assessed cognitive function and clinically-adjudicated outcomes. Causal mediation analysis estimated the direct effect between stress burden and cognitive outcomes, and indirect effects through sleep, after adjusting for socio-demographics and hypertension. RESULTS: Higher stress burden had a significant direct effect on lower executive functioning and visuospatial performance. However, there were no significant indirect effects (i.e., mediation) by sleep disturbances on any domain of cognitive function assessed. Also, there were no significant direct or indirect effects on clinically-adjudicated outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple stressors often co-occur and may contribute to racial disparities in cognitive health. Findings suggest that higher stress burden had negative effects on functioning in executive and visuospatial domains in this community-based sample of older Black American adults. However, there was no evidence of mediation by sleep. Findings highlight the importance of continued work to identify modifiable pathways between stress burden and cognitive health disparities.

Functional Asymmetry During Working Memory and Its Association with Markers of Alzheimer's Disease in Cognitively Normal Older Adults.

BACKGROUND: Amyloid-ß (Aß) deposits asymmetrically early in Alzheimer's disease (AD). This process is variable and has been associated with asymmetric hypometabolism. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether neural asymmetry during working memory and executive function processing was associated with AD genetic risk and markers of AD as well as other brain neuropathology biomarkers, cognitive function, and cognitive reserve in cognitively normal older adults. METHODS: We analyzed data from 77 cognitively healthy, older adults who completed functional magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and cognitive testing. We identified regions of significant activation and asymmetry during the Digital Symbol Substitution Task (DSST). We examined associations between regions with significant hemispheric asymmetry (directional and absolute) and global cerebral Aß, cerebral glucose metabolism, white matter hyperintensities, APOE ɛ4 allele status, DSST reaction time, age, sex, education, and cognitive function. RESULTS: Asymmetry was not associated with several factors including cognitive function, Aß, and white matter hyperintensities. The presence of at least one ɛ4 APOE allele in participants was associated with less asymmetric activation in the angular gyrus (right dominant activation). Greater education was associated with less asymmetric activation in mediodorsal thalamus (left dominant activation). CONCLUSIONS: Genetic risk of AD was associated with lower asymmetry in angular gyrus activation, while greater education was associated with lower asymmetry in mediodorsal thalamus activation. Changes in asymmetry may reflect components of compensation or cognitive reserve. Asymmetric neural recruitment during working memory may be related to maintenance of cognitive function in cognitively normal older adults.

A blood-based marker of mitochondrial DNA damage in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder, and neuroprotective or disease-modifying interventions remain elusive. High-throughput markers aimed at stratifying patients on the basis of shared etiology are required to ensure the success of disease-modifying therapies in clinical trials. Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a prominent role in the pathogenesis of PD. Previously, we found brain region-specific accumulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage in PD neuronal culture and animal models, as well as in human PD postmortem brain tissue. To investigate mtDNA damage as a potential blood-based marker for PD, we describe herein a PCR-based assay (Mito DNADX) that allows for the accurate real-time quantification of mtDNA damage in a scalable platform. We found that mtDNA damage was increased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells derived from patients with idiopathic PD and those harboring the PD-associated leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) G2019S mutation in comparison with age-matched controls. In addition, mtDNA damage was elevated in non-disease-manifesting LRRK2 mutation carriers, demonstrating that mtDNA damage can occur irrespective of a PD diagnosis. We further established that Lrrk2 G2019S knock-in mice displayed increased mtDNA damage, whereas Lrrk2 knockout mice showed fewer mtDNA lesions in the ventral midbrain, compared with wild-type control mice. Furthermore, a small-molecule kinase inhibitor of LRRK2 mitigated mtDNA damage in a rotenone PD rat midbrain neuron model and in idiopathic PD patient-derived lymphoblastoid cell lines. Quantifying mtDNA damage using the Mito DNADX assay may have utility as a candidate marker of PD and for measuring the pharmacodynamic response to LRRK2 kinase inhibitors.

Novel automaticity index reveals a cognitive ability-related decline in gait automaticity during dual-task walking.

Gait automaticity refers to the ability to walk with minimal recruitment of attentional networks typically mediated through the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Reduced gait automaticity is common with aging, contributing to an increased risk of falls and reduced quality of life. A common assessment of gait automaticity involves examining PFC activation using near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during dual-task (DT) paradigms, such as walking while performing a cognitive task. However, neither PFC activity nor task performance in isolation measures automaticity accurately. For example, greater PFC activation could be interpreted as worse gait automaticity when accompanied by poorer DT performance, but when accompanied by better DT performance, it could be seen as successful compensation. Thus, there is a need to incorporate behavioral performance and PFC measurements for a more comprehensive evaluation of gait automaticity. To address this need, we propose a novel automaticity index as an analytical approach that combines changes in PFC activity with changes in DT performance to quantify gait automaticity. We validated the index in 173 participants (≥65 y/o) who completed DTs with two levels of difficulty while PFC activation was recorded with fNIRS. The two DTs consisted of reciting every other letter of the alphabet while walking over either an even or uneven surface. We found that as DT difficulty increases, more participants showed the anticipated decrease in automaticity as measured by the novel index compared to PFC activation. Furthermore, when comparing across individuals, lower cognitive function related to worse automaticity index, but not PFC activation or DT performance. In sum, the proposed index better quantified the differences in automaticity between tasks and individuals by providing a unified measure of gait automaticity that includes both brain activation and performance. This new approach opens exciting possibilities to assess participant-specific deficits and compare rehabilitation outcomes from gait automaticity interventions.

Social Isolation and Loneliness in a Population Study of Cognitive Impairment: The MYHAT Study.

In this study, we examined associations of social isolation and loneliness with cognitive impairment among older adults from a Rust Belt region in Southwest Pennsylvania. We used data from the population-based Monongahela-Youghiogheny Healthy Aging Team (MYHAT) study. We found that (a) 11 items combined into two reliable composites of social isolation and loneliness; (b) unique to this study, providing unpaid help to others was an indicator of reduced social isolation; (c) social isolation and loneliness were positively associated with cognitive impairment; and (d) these associations were appreciably attenuated by general health and physical functional status and depressive symptoms, respectively. We concluded that social isolation and loneliness are differentially associated with older adults' cognitive health, and that their effects might operate through separate pathways. Approaches to address social isolation and loneliness should consider the community context and its implications for older adults' cognitive health.

The Automated Test of Embodied Cognition: Concept, Development, and Preliminary Findings.

(1) Background: The Automated Test of Embodied Cognition (ATEC) uses video administration of cognitively demanding physical tasks and motion capture technology to assess cognition in action. Embodied cognition is a radical departure from conventional approaches to cognitive assessment and is in keeping with contemporary neuroscience. (2) Methods: ATEC was administered to a convenience sample of 20 patients with substance use disorder and 25 age-matched community controls. Patients were administered concurrent cognitive assessments. (3) Results: Psychometric analysis revealed excellent internal consistency, test-retest reliability and small practice effects. Groups were significantly different on ATEC scores and ATEC scores significantly related to concurrent measures of cognition. (4) Conclusions: The preliminary results support the reliability and validity of ATEC for older adults.

Design of the think PHRESH longitudinal cohort study: Neighborhood disadvantage, cognitive aging, and alzheimer's disease risk in disinvested, black neighborhoods.

BACKGROUND: Black Americans have disproportionately higher rates and earlier onset of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) relative to White Americans. We currently lack a comprehensive understanding of how the lived experience and broader societal factors, including cumulative exposure to structural racism and the mechanisms underlying the risks, may contribute to elevated ADRD risk in Black Americans. METHODS: The Think PHRESH study builds on existing, community-based research infrastructure, from the ongoing Pittsburgh Hill/Homewood Research on Neighborhood Change and Health (PHRESH) studies, to examine the contributions of dynamic neighborhood socioeconomic conditions across the lifecourse to cognitive outcomes in mid- and late-life adults living in two historically disinvested, predominantly Black communities (anticipated n = 1133). This longitudinal, mixed-methods study rests on the premise that neighborhood racial segregation and subsequent disinvestment contributes to poor cognitive outcomes via factors including (a) low access to educational opportunities and (b) high exposure to race- and socioeconomically-relevant stressors, such as discrimination, trauma, and adverse childhood events. In turn, these cumulative exposures foster psychological vigilance in residents, leading to cardiometabolic dysregulation and sleep disruption, which may mediate associations between neighborhood disadvantage and ADRD risk. This premise recognizes the importance of potential protective factors that may promote cognitive health, including neighborhood social cohesion, safety, and satisfaction. The proposed study will leverage our existing longitudinal data on risk/protective factors and biobehavioral mediators and will include: (1) up to three waves of cognitive assessments in participants ages 50 years + and one assessment in participants ages 35-49 years; clinical adjudication of ADRD will be completed in participants who are 50+, (2) extensive surveys of risk and protective factors, (3) two assessments of blood pressure and objectively measured sleep, (4) a comprehensive assessment of life and residential history; and (5) two rounds of in-depth qualitative interviews to reveal lifecourse opportunities and barriers experienced by Black Americans in achieving optimal cognitive health in late life. DISCUSSION: Understanding how structural racism has influenced the lived experience of Black Americans, including dynamic changes in neighborhood conditions over time, is critical to inform multi-level intervention and policy efforts to reduce pervasive racial and socioeconomic disparities in ADRD.

The role of social support on cognitive function among midlife and older adult MSM.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the association between social support and cognitive function among midlife and older MSM living with or without HIV. DESIGN: We analyzed longitudinal data from participants enrolled from October 2016 to March 2019 in the Patterns of Healthy Aging Study, a substudy of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis to estimate the association between social support and three measures of cognitive function [Trail Making Test (TMT) Part A, TMT Part B to A ratio, and Symbol Digit Modalities Tasks (SDMT)]. We also used linear mixed-effects models to estimate the association between baseline social support and cognitive function across four subsequent time points. We evaluated a multiplicative interaction term between baseline social support and time, in order to determine whether cognitive trajectories over time vary by baseline social support. RESULTS: Social support was associated with lower TMT Part A scores at baseline and over the subsequent 2 years, indicating better psychomotor ability. Social support was associated with higher SDMT scores at baseline and across 2 years, indicating better information processing. We observed no association between social support and TMT B to A ratio at baseline or across 2 years, indicating no effect on set-shifting ability. Longitudinal cognition outcome trajectories did not vary by the level of baseline social support. CONCLUSION: Social support and cognitive function were associated in this sample over a short time period. Further research should explore causal relationships over the lifespan.

Examining the Cross-sectional Association Between Neighborhood Conditions, Discrimination, and Telomere Length in a Predominantly African American Sample.

Disproportionate exposure to adverse neighborhood conditions and greater discrimination may contribute to health disparities among African Americans (AAs). We examined whether adverse neighborhood conditions, alone or in conjunction with discrimination, associate with shorter leukocyte telomere length among a predominantly AA cohort. The sample included 200 residents from two low-income neighborhoods (96% AA; mean age = 67 years). Perceived neighborhood conditions and discrimination were surveyed in 2018, and objective neighborhood conditions (total crime rate, neighborhood walkability, ambient air pollution (PM2.5, black carbon)) were collected in 2017/2018. Relative telomere length (T/S; ratio of telomeric DNA to a single-gene copy) was assessed from blood samples. Linear regression models estimated the main effects of each neighborhood condition and discrimination and their interactions on the T/S ratio. Less walkable neighborhoods were associated with shorter telomeres. Higher air pollution (PM2.5) was associated with shorter telomeres among those experiencing greater discrimination. Findings highlight the importance of understanding the intersecting influences of historic and contemporary sources of systemic racism and how they contribute to accelerated aging among adults.

Novel attentional gait index reveals a cognitive ability-related decline in gait automaticity during dual-task walking.

Introduction: Gait automaticity refers to the ability to walk with minimal recruitment of attentional networks typically mediated through the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Reduced gait automaticity (i.e., greater use of attentional resources during walking) is common with aging, contributing to an increased risk of falls and reduced quality of life. A common assessment of gait automaticity involves examining PFC activation using near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during dual-task (DT) paradigms, such as walking while performing a cognitive task. However, neither PFC activity nor task performance in isolation measures automaticity accurately. For example, greater PFC activation could be interpreted as worse gait automaticity when accompanied by poorer DT performance, but when accompanied by better DT performance, it could be seen as successful compensation. Thus, there is a need to incorporate behavioral performance and PFC measurements for a more comprehensive evaluation of gait automaticity. To address this need, we propose a novel attentional gait index as an analytical approach that combines changes in PFC activity with changes in DT performance to quantify automaticity, where a reduction in automaticity will be reflected as an increased need for attentional gait control (i.e., larger index). Methods: The index was validated in 173 participants (≥65 y/o) who completed DTs with two levels of difficulty while PFC activation was recorded with fNIRS. The two DTs consisted of reciting every other letter of the alphabet while walking over either an even or uneven surface. Results: As DT difficulty increases, more participants showed the anticipated increase in the attentional control of gait (i.e., less automaticity) as measured by the novel index compared to PFC activation. Furthermore, when comparing across individuals, lower cognitive function was related to higher attentional gait index, but not PFC activation or DT performance. Conclusion: The proposed index better quantified the differences in attentional control of gait between tasks and individuals by providing a unified measure that includes both brain activation and performance. This new approach opens exciting possibilities to assess participant-specific deficits and compare rehabilitation outcomes from gait automaticity interventions.

Higher Soluble CD163 in Blood Is Associated With Significant Depression Symptoms in Men With HIV.

BACKGROUND: People with HIV (PWH) are more likely to experience depression, a highly morbid disease. More evidence is needed to better understand mechanisms of depression in PWH. We evaluated a panel of blood biomarkers in relation to depression symptoms in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). SETTING: Four sites in the United States. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was performed within the MACS, a prospective study of cisgender men with and without HIV. Depression was assessed with the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale, and six blood biomarkers were measured: GlycA, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6, CCL2, soluble CD14 (sCD14), and soluble CD163 (sCD163). Using univariable and multivariable logistic regression, the biomarkers and other factors were evaluated in relation to significant depression symptoms (SDS) by Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression score ≥16. RESULTS: 784 men were analyzed; most of whom (63%) were PWH. PWH were more likely to have SDS (32% vs. 21%). In univariable analysis, higher GlycA, CRP, and sCD163 concentrations were associated with SDS. In multivariable analysis, however, only higher sCD163 concentration was associated with SDS (odds ratio = 2.30, 95% CI = 1.11 to 4.76). This relationship was driven by the PWH group (odds ratio = 2.72, 95% CI = 1.12 to 6.58) and remained significant when controlling for antidepressant use. Lack of college education was also associated with SDS. CONCLUSIONS: Higher sCD163, a marker of macrophage activation, was significantly associated with significant depression symptoms in the MACS. Further research on this biomarker and macrophage activation in general is warranted to better understand and treat depression in PWH.

Clinical Progression of Baseline Risk States for Mild Cognitive Impairment.

BACKGROUND: This memory-clinic study joins efforts to study earliest clinical signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: subjective reports and objective neuropsychological test performance. OBJECTIVE: The memory-clinic denoted two clinical "grey zones": 1) subjective cognitive decline (SCD; n = 107) with normal objective test scores, and 2) isolated low test scores (ILTS; n = 74) without subjective complaints to observe risk for future decline. METHODS: Initial and annual follow-up clinical research evaluations and consensus diagnosis were used to evaluate baseline characteristics and clinical progression over 2.7 years, compared to normal controls (NC; n = 117). RESULTS: The ILTS group was on average older than the NC and SCD groups. They had a higher proportion of people identifying as belonging to a minoritized racial group. The SCD group had significantly more years of education than the ILTS group. Both ILTS and SCD groups had increased risk of progression to mild cognitive impairment. Older age, minoritized racial identity, and baseline cognitive classification were risk factors for progression. CONCLUSION: The two baseline risk groups look different from each other, especially with respect to demographic correlates, but both groups predict faster progression than controls, over and above demographic differences. Varied presentations of early risk are important to recognize and may advance cognitive health equity in aging.

Sleep Disturbances, Changes in Sleep, and Cognitive Function in Low-Income African Americans.

BACKGROUND: Sleep problems may contribute to the disproportionate burden of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) among African Americans (AAs). OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of sleep problems in contributing to cognitive function and clinically adjudicated cognitive impairment in a predominantly AA sample. METHODS: This study (n = 216, 78.8% female; mean age = 67.7 years) examined associations between 1) the level (i.e., measured in 2018) and 2) change over time (from 2013 to 2018; n = 168) in actigraphy-assessed sleep with domain-specific cognitive function and clinically adjudicated cognitive impairment (2018) in a community-dwelling, predominantly AA (96.9%) sample. A comprehensive cognitive battery assessed global cognitive function (3MS) and domain-specific cognitive function (attention, visuo-spatial ability, language, delayed recall, immediate recall, and executive function) in 2018. Sleep was measured in 2013 and 2018 via actigraphy. RESULTS: Higher sleep efficiency and less wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO; measured in 2018) were associated with greater attention, executive function, and visuospatial ability. Increases in sleep efficiency between 2013 and 2018 were associated with better executive function, language, immediate recall, and visuospatial ability, whereas increases in WASO (2013-2018) were associated with poorer attention, executive function, and visuospatial ability. Level or change in sleep duration were not associated with domain-specific cognitive function, nor were any sleep measures associated with clinically adjudicated cognitive impairment. CONCLUSION: In a predominantly AA sample of older adults, both the level and change (i.e., worsening) of sleep efficiency and WASO were associated with poorer cognitive function. Improving sleep health may support ADRD prevention and reduce health disparities.

Diagnostic Precision in the Detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Comparison of Two Approaches.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared diagnostic rates and clinical predictors of discrepancies between diagnoses conferred via: 1) a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation and National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) criteria versus 2) a cognitive screener and Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria. DESIGN: Cross-sectional examination of baseline data from the Prevention of Alzheimer's dementia (AD) using Cognitive remediation and transcranial direct current stimulation in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Depression (PACt-MD; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02386670) trial. SETTING: Five geriatric psychiatry and memory clinics located at academic hospitals affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto. PARTICIPANTS: Older adults (N = 431) with a history of major depressive disorder (MDD) in remission, MCI, or both. MEASUREMENTS: Main outcome was a comparison of NIA-AA diagnostic rates of MCI or dementia versus DSM-5 rates of mild or major neurocognitive disorder. Secondary analyses examined demographic, race, gender, premorbid intellectual ability, psychosocial, health-related, and genetic predictors of discrepancy between DSM-5 and NIA-AA diagnoses. RESULTS: There were 103 (23.8%) discrepant cases, with most (91; 88.3%) of these discrepant cases reflecting more impairment with the detailed neuropsychological testing and NIA-AA criteria. Discrepancies were more likely in individuals with a history of MDD or who had at least one ApoE4 allele. CONCLUSION: The NIA-AA criteria, in conjunction with comprehensive neuropsychological testing, identified a greater prevalence of cognitive impairment than DSM-5 criteria, in conjunction with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Detailed neuropsychological evaluations are recommended for older adults who have a history of MDD or a genetic vulnerability to dementia.

Legacy effect on neuropsychological function in HIV-infected men on combination antiretroviral therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) initiation alters the trajectory of cognitive performance in HIV+ men, and whether cognition prior to cART predicts postcART function. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study. Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. METHODS: From an initial set of 3701 men with complete neuropsychological data, men with HIV infection were initially matched with men without infection on cognitive status, race, age, and timeline (T0 defined as cART initiation). Propensity score matching was then used to match pairs on depressive symptoms at T0, education, T0 cognitive scores, and recruitment cohort. There were 506 matched pairs of infected and uninfected men in the final analysis. Mixed effect models were constructed to analyze the trajectories of cognitive functions and to test the effect of cART and HIV on cognitive functions over time. RESULTS: Performance in each cognitive domain did not change following the initiation of cART among HIV-infected men with prior impairment and was comparable to the performance of their matched uninfected men. However, among the infected men who were unimpaired prior to cART, motor function declined significantly faster than it did for uninfected controls. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive dysfunction is persistent in HIV-infected men and cART does not alter the trajectory of cognitive decline in men who were impaired prior to effective therapy. This suggests that current cognitive impairment in HIV+ men results from a legacy effect, and from factors other than the HIV itself. Furthermore, motor skills may be uniquely vulnerable to the virus, cART, or age-related co-morbidities.

The Activate Test of Embodied Cognition (ATEC): Reliability, concurrent validity and discriminant validity in a community sample of children using cognitively demanding physical tasks related to executive functioning.

Embodied cognition assessment may be more closely related to how children function than standard measures of executive functioning (EF) that require little body movement. Activate Test of Embodied Cognition (ATEC) measures cognitive functioning based on cognitively demanding physical tasks assessed using an automated administration with motion capture technology. This study evaluated the psychometrics of ATEC.Children ages 5-11 years were recruited from the community (N = 55). ATEC was performed twice for a subsample, approximately 2 weeks apart. Motion capture data were collected and converted into ATEC Total Score. Concurrent measures included scores from NIH Toolbox for EF (Flanker, Working Memory, Go/No-Go task, Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART)), and parent reports (Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF-2) and Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Rating Scale (SNAP-IV) for ADHD).ATEC Total Score was significantly correlated with concurrent measures of EF and showed significant discriminant validity between At-Risk children and Normal Range children on CBCL Competency, CBCL ADHD Combined score, BRIEF-2 Global Executive Composite, BRIEF-2 Cognitive Regulation Index and SNAP-IV ADHD Combined Score. Regression analyses showed that ATEC Total score was a better predictor of CBCL Competency than any of the standard EF assessments. ATEC Total Score had excellent test-retest reliability, (ICC = .945, df = 27, p < .001) with a small practice effect (Cohen's d = 0.33). ATEC Total Score correlated with age (r = .42, p < .003) suggesting improvement with normal development. ATEC produces reliable scores that may identify children at risk for EF impairments.

Attitude change after a curriculum on the science and philosophy of well-being and happiness for high school students: A classroom-randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Multiple interventions have been tested to promote well-being in high school students, often focusing on depression prevention. AIMS: To test the impact of a one-semester active learning curriculum covering the modern science and philosophy of well-being and happiness on attitudinal measures related to the curriculum and standard measures of depression and well-being. SAMPLE: Subjects were first-year students in an urban high school in Beijing, China (equivalent to US tenth grade). METHODS: Nine classrooms were randomly assigned to the intervention curriculum (n = 252), and nine classrooms were randomly assigned to a traditional psychology curriculum (n = 263). Students completed questionnaires pre- and post-semester including a Positive Attitude Scale (PAS, concerning Relatedness, Competence, Autonomy, Gratitude, Calmness, Mindfulness, and Hope), Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), Centers for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Life Satisfaction Scale (LS), Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), and a test of knowledge about well-being (Knowledge Test, KT). RESULTS: In a hierarchical linear model, there were statistically significant intervention effects on six of the seven subscales of the PAS, on PANAS balance, and on the KT. CES-D, LS, SHS, and MLQ were improved but not significantly so. Notable overall secular trends in measures of well-being were observed, with a peak in September and nadir in April. CONCLUSIONS: A one-semester course for high school students regarding well-being and happiness demonstrated significant changes in positive attitudes, affective balance, and knowledge about happiness. Circannual trends in well-being measures over the academic year have implications for those designing school intervention studies.

Longitudinal 5-year prediction of cognitive impairment among men with HIV disease.

BACKGROUND: Although combination antiretroviral therapy reduced the prevalence of HIV-associated dementia, milder syndromes persist. Our goals were to predict cognitive impairment of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) participants 5 years ahead and from a large pool of factors, select the ones that mostly contributed to our predictions. DESIGN: Longitudinal, natural and treated history of HIV infection among MSM. METHODS: The MACS is a longitudinal study of the natural and treated history of HIV disease in MSM; the neuropsychological substudy aims to characterize cognitive disorders in men with HIV disease. RESULTS: We modeled on an annual basis the risk of cognitive impairment 5 years in the future. We were able to predict cognitive impairment at individual level with high precision and overperform default methods. We found that while a diagnosis of AIDS is a critical risk factor, HIV infection per se does not necessarily convey additional risk. Other infectious processes, most notably hepatitis B and C, are independently associated with increased risk of impairment. The relative importance of an AIDS diagnosis diminished across calendar time. CONCLUSION: Our prediction models are a powerful tool to help clinicians address dementia in early stages for MACS paticipants. The strongest predictors of future cognitive impairment included the presence of clinical AIDS and hepatitis B or C infection. The fact that the pattern of predictive power differs by calendar year suggests a clinically critical change to the face of the epidemic.

Sedentary Time is Associated with Worse Attention in Parkinson's Disease: A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) may be alleviated by moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), but no published research has characterized the relationship between objectively measured sedentary behavior and cognitive symptoms of PD. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the cross-sectional relationship between sedentary time and cognitive performance in a small pilot sample of individuals with mild-to-moderate PD. METHODS: Objective measures of sedentary time were obtained using an armband accelerometer. Cognition was assessed with the Parkinson's Disease Cognitive Rating Scale and a computerized task-switching paradigm. RESULTS: The percentage of awake time spent in sedentary activities was negatively correlated with attention (ß = -14.20, t(12) = -2.47, p = 0.03) but not other cognitive domains (p > 0.05) after controlling for MVPA and medication dosage. CONCLUSION: Sedentary activity may have unique associations with cognition, particularly attention, over and above MVPA in individuals with PD.

Randomized clinical trial of Cognitive Remediation Therapy with Work Therapy in the early phase of substance use disorder recovery for older Veterans: 12-Month follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: In a previous report on a randomized clinical trial of a 3-month program of Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) augmented by Work Therapy (WT) compared with WT alone for older veterans with substance use disorder (SUD), we reported significantly greater improvements at six-month follow-up on neurocognitive outcomes of working memory and executive functions for the CRT + WT condition. However, no difference was found between conditions on SUD outcomes, with both groups showing unusually high levels of abstinence. In this study, we extended follow-up to 12 months to test whether there was an SUD outcome "sleeper effect" from CRT + WT. To better understand the effects of WT, we added a treatment-as-usual (TAU) comparison sample. METHOD: Forty-eight veterans with SUD receiving standard outpatient VA care were randomized into CRT + WT or WT. Clinical Global Impression (CGI) ratings were performed on 43/48 participants with up-to-date medical records. A TAU comparison group (n = 44) with similar demographic and illness characteristics was added to the analysis. RESULTS: Treatment groups did not differ significantly at 12 months on CGI (p = 0.27), with 77% receiving CRT + WT showing favorable SUD outcomes compared to 62% in WT. Both groups had better CGI outcomes (p < 0.01) compared to the TAU comparison group (27%). Hours of WT participation (r = -0.49, p = 0.001) and hours of CRT (r = -0.45, p = 0.048) were associated with better CGI scores. CONCLUSION: While no sleeper effect was found for CRT, a robust effect was strongly supported for WT on SUD outcomes.