Religious service attendance and mortality among older Black men.

Religious institutions have been responsive to the needs of Black men and other marginalized populations. Religious service attendance is a common practice that has been associated with stress management and extended longevity. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between religious service attendance and all-cause mortality among Black men 50 years of age and older. Data for this study were from NHANES III (1988-1994). The analytic sample (n = 839) was restricted to participants at least 50 years of age at the time of interview who self-identified as Black and male. Mortality was the primary outcome for this study and the NHANES III Linked Mortality File was used to estimate race-specific, non-injury-related death rates using a probabilistic matching algorithm, linked to the National Death Index through December 31, 2015, providing up to 27 years follow-up. The primary independent variable was religious service attendance, a categorical variable indicating that participants attended religious services at least weekly, three or fewer times per month, or not at all. The mean age of participants was 63.6±0.3 years and 36.4% of sample members reported that they attended religious services one or more times per week, exceeding those attending three or fewer times per month (31.7%), or not at all (31.9%). Cox proportional hazard logistic regression models were estimated to determine the association between religious service attendance and mortality. Participants with the most frequent religious service attendance had a 47% reduction of all-cause mortality risk compared their peer who did not attend religious services at all (HR 0.53, CI 0.35-0.79) in the fully adjusted model including socioeconomic status, non-cardiovascular medical conditions, health behaviors, social support and allostatic load. Our findings underscore the potential salience of religiosity and spirituality for health in Black men, an understudied group where elevated risk factors are often present.

Depression, anxiety and stress among Australian nursing and midwifery undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess depression, anxiety and stress among undergraduate nursing and midwifery students during the COVID-19 pandemic, and identify socio-demographic and educational characteristics associated with higher depression, anxiety and stress scores. METHODS: Cross-sectional study during August-September 2020, using an anonymous, online, self-administered survey. E-mail invitations with a survey link were sent to 2,907 students enrolled in the Bachelor of Nursing suite of courses, offered across four campuses of a single university in Victoria, Australia. Depression, anxiety and stress were assessed using the DASS-21. Data on socio-demographic and educational characteristics, self-rated physical health and exposure to COVID-19 were also collected. DASS-21 subscale scores were compared with existing data for various pre-pandemic and COVID-19 samples. Multiple regression was used to investigate factors associated with higher scores on depression, anxiety and stress subscales. RESULTS: The response rate was 22% (n=638). Mean scores on all DASS-21 subscales were significantly higher (p<0.001) than means from all comparative sample data. The proportions of students reporting moderate to severe symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress were 48.5%, 37.2% and 40.2% respectively. Being a woman, being younger, having completed more years of study and having poorer self-rated general health were all significantly associated (p<0.05) with higher scores on at least one DASS-21 subscale. CONCLUSIONS: Almost half of participants reported at least moderate symptoms of depression; more than a third reported at least moderate symptoms of anxiety or stress. Poor psychological wellbeing can impact students' successful completion of their studies and therefore, has implications for nursing and midwifery workforce recruitment and retention. During and after pandemics, universities should consider screening undergraduate students not only for anxiety and stress, but also for depression. Clear, low-cost referral pathways should be available, should screening indicate that further diagnosis or treatment is required.

Endothelin-1 Mediated Decrease in Mitochondrial Gene Expression and Bioenergetics Contribute to Neurodegeneration of Retinal Ganglion Cells.

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a vasoactive peptide that is elevated in aqueous humor as well as circulation of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients. ET-1 has been shown to promote degeneration of optic nerve axons and apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), however, the precise mechanisms are still largely unknown. In this study, RNA-seq analysis was used to assess changes in ET-1 mediated gene expression in primary RGCs, which revealed that 23 out of 156 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) had known or predicted mitochondrial function, of which oxidative phosphorylation emerged as the top-most enriched pathway. ET-1 treatment significantly decreased protein expression of key mitochondrial genes including cytochrome C oxidase copper chaperone (COX17) and ATP Synthase, H+ transporting, Mitochondrial Fo Complex (ATP5H) in primary RGCs and in vivo following intravitreal ET-1 injection in rats. A Seahorse ATP rate assay revealed a significant decrease in the rate of mitochondrial ATP production following ET-1 treatment. IOP elevation in Brown Norway rats showed a trend towards decreased expression of ATP5H. Our results demonstrate that ET-1 produced a decrease in expression of vital components of mitochondrial electron transport chain, which compromise bioenergetics and suggest a mechanism by which ET-1 promotes neurodegeneration of RGCs in glaucoma.

Acute effects of Sceletium tortuosum (Zembrin), a dual 5-HT reuptake and PDE4 inhibitor, in the human amygdala and its connection to the hypothalamus.

The South African endemic plant Sceletium tortuosum has a long history of traditional use as a masticatory and medicine by San and Khoikhoi people and subsequently by European colonial farmers as a psychotropic in tincture form. Over the past decade, the plant has attracted increasing attention for its possible applications in promoting a sense of wellbeing and relieving stress in healthy individuals and for treating clinical anxiety and depression. The pharmacological actions of a standardized extract of the plant (Zembrin) have been reported to be dual PDE4 inhibition and 5-HT reuptake inhibition, a combination that has been argued to offer potential therapeutic advantages. Here we tested the acute effects of Zembrin administration in a pharmaco-fMRI study focused on anxiety-related activity in the amygdala and its connected neurocircuitry. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design, 16 healthy participants were scanned during performance in a perceptual-load and an emotion-matching task. Amygdala reactivity to fearful faces under low perceptual load conditions was attenuated after a single 25 mg dose of Zembrin. Follow-up connectivity analysis on the emotion-matching task showed that amygdala-hypothalamus coupling was also reduced. These results demonstrate, for the first time, the attenuating effects of S. tortuosum on the threat circuitry of the human brain and provide supporting evidence that the dual 5-HT reuptake inhibition and PDE4 inhibition of this extract might have anxiolytic potential by attenuating subcortical threat responsivity.

Decreased false memory for visually presented shapes and symbols among adults on the autism spectrum.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been shown in some studies to be less susceptible to the verbal "false memory" effect, perhaps due to restricted semantic associative networks. High-functioning individuals with ASD can demonstrate subtle language impairments. However, relative preservation of spatial skills can also be observed. This study investigated false memory in both visual and verbal paradigms to elucidate whether adults with ASD would be more or less prone to illusory recognition in a visual paradigm that contained slides of geometric figures with minimal linguistic and semantic associative representation. In the verbal paradigm, modeled on the Deese-Roediger-McDermott method, those with ASD did not perform significantly better than a matched comparison group. In contrast, in the visual paradigm those with ASD were significantly better able to discriminate true items from lure items and were less likely to falsely recognize the lures. Findings from the visual paradigm provide further evidence of restricted associative networks in ASD, particularly in the spatial domain.