Depression, Sleep Health & Sociodemographic Correlates in a Nationwide Survey: Implications for Depression Treatment During the COVID-19.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on mental health worldwide, with depression and sleep problems among the most common issues experienced by many individuals. Depression can lead to sleep problems, which can increase the risk of developing depressive symptoms. However, it is unclear which United States (US) sub-population was most affected by depression and sleep problems during the pandemic. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis using self-reported data from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), focusing on adults aged 18 years and above (n=29,763). We utilized self-reported responses to questions about prescription medication and frequency of depressive feelings to determine participants' depression status. Appropriate weights were applied to account for the sampling design of the surveys. Our analysis involved descriptive statistics and chi-squared tests to compare sociodemographic, clinical, behavioral, and sleep-related characteristics between US adults with and without depression. Additionally, logistic regression was used to examine the associations between sleep duration, sleep quality and depression. Results: The overall prevalence of depression in our sample was 44.4%. It were higher in certain demographic groups, including younger adults (18-39 years, 47.7%), non-Hispanic whites (47.9%), females (50.1%), those at the lower income bracket (52.2%), those with no college or degree (48.7%) uninsured individuals (45.2%), and those reporting poor general health (71.9%). Individuals with depression had a 12% increased odds of experiencing short sleep (aOR: 1.12, 95% CI:1.04-1.20, p<0.001), 34% increased odds of experiencing long sleep (aOR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.20-1.50, p < 0.001) and more than 2.5 fold increased odds of reporting poor sleep quality (aOR:2.57, 95% CI: 2.40-2.78; p<0.0001). In the multivariate analysis, all variables (sex, race/ethnicity, education, health insurance coverage, marital status, general health status and use of sleep medications, smoking and alcohol use status) were significantly predictors of poor sleep quality, with the exceptions of age and family income. Conclusion: The findings emphasize the need to address sleep health in treating depression, especially during times of public health crises.

Bringing Health Care Equity to Diverse and Underserved Populations in Sleep Medicine and Research Through a Digital Health Equity Framework.

Individuals from minoritized groups are less likely to receive sleep medicine care and be the focus of sleep research. Several barriers may explain under-representation and low participation. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted a digital divide that exacerbated disproportionate sleep health outcomes and access to sleep medicine and research opportunities among minoritized groups. The authors' team developed a digital health equity and inclusion model and revamped its culturally-tailored community outreach program to advance sleep health equity among minoritized groups. This article describes how the authors implemented their digital sleep health equity and inclusion model during the COVID-19 pandemic.

pH modulates transport rates of manganese and cadmium in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii through non-competitive interactions: implications for an algal BLM.

The influence of pH on short-term uptake of manganese and cadmium by the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was studied to better understand the nature of proton interactions with metal membrane transporters. Manganese and cadmium internalization fluxes (J(int)) were measured over a wide range of free metal ion concentrations from 1 x 10(-10) to 4 x 10(-4)M at several pH values (Mn: 5.0, 6.5 and 8.0; Cd: 5.0 and 6.5). For both metals, first-order biological internalization kinetics were observed but the maximum transport flux (J(max)) decreased when pH decreased, in contradiction with the Biotic Ligand Model (BLM). This result suggested a non-competitive inhibition of metal uptake by the H(+)-ion. A Michaelis-Menten type inhibition model considering proton and calcium competition was tested. The metal biotic ligand stability constants and the stability constants for competitive binding of Ca(2+) and H(+) with the metal transporters were calculated: for manganese, K(Mn)=10(4.20) and K(Ca)=10(3.71); for cadmium, K(Cd)=10(4.19) and K(Ca)=10(4.76); for both metal transport systems, K(H) was not a significant parameter. Furthermore, metal uptake was not significantly influenced by the pH of the antecedent growth medium, suggesting that increases in metal fluxes as the pH is raised are caused by conformational changes of the surface transport proteins rather than by the synthesis of additional transport sites. Our results demonstrate that the BLM in its present state does not properly describe the true influence of pH on manganese and cadmium uptake by algae and that a non-competitive inhibition component must be integrated.