Publications by authors named "Andrew Heath"

. To compare the acute physiological and perceptual responses to blood flow restriction (BFR) exercise using a traditional research device or novel, automated system..

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Importance: The prevalence, pathophysiology, and long-term outcomes of COVID-19 (post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 [PASC] or "Long COVID") in children and young adults remain unknown. Studies must address the urgent need to define PASC, its mechanisms, and potential treatment targets in children and young adults.

Observations: We describe the protocol for the Pediatric Observational Cohort Study of the NIH's REsearching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative.

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  • - The study investigates how maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSDP) affects offspring's DNA methylation patterns and behaviors, specifically looking at attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder hyperactive/impulsive (ADHD-HI) symptoms.
  • - Using a sibling-comparison design, researchers analyzed data from 328 families with siblings who had different exposure levels to MSDP, aiming to control for confounding variables.
  • - Findings suggest that child-specific MSDP is linked to changes in global DNA methylation, which may partially explain the relationship between MSDP and ADHD-HI symptoms, highlighting the need for further longitudinal research.
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  • PTSD genetics have been difficult to study compared to other psychiatric disorders, limiting our biological understanding of the condition.
  • A large-scale meta-analysis involving over 1.2 million individuals identified 95 genome-wide significant loci, with 80 being new discoveries related to PTSD.
  • Researchers identified 43 potential causal genes linked to neurotransmitter activity, developmental processes, synaptic function, and immune regulation, enhancing our knowledge of the neurobiological systems involved in PTSD.
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Problematic alcohol use (PAU), a trait that combines alcohol use disorder and alcohol-related problems assessed with a questionnaire, is a leading cause of death and morbidity worldwide. Here we conducted a large cross-ancestry meta-analysis of PAU in 1,079,947 individuals (European, N = 903,147; African, N = 122,571; Latin American, N = 38,962; East Asian, N = 13,551; and South Asian, N = 1,716 ancestries). We observed a high degree of cross-ancestral similarity in the genetic architecture of PAU and identified 110 independent risk variants in within- and cross-ancestry analyses.

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  • PTSD genetics are harder to study compared to other mental health disorders, resulting in limited biological insights from past research.
  • A large-scale analysis involving over 1.2 million individuals found 95 significant genetic loci related to PTSD, with 80 being new discoveries.
  • The study identified 43 potential causal genes linked to neurotransmitters, synaptic function, and immune responses, enhancing understanding of PTSD's biological mechanisms and suggesting new research directions.
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Article Synopsis
  • - The RECOVER-Pediatrics study aims to investigate the prevalence and long-term effects of Long COVID (PASC) in children and young adults, addressing the need for more research in this area.
  • - The study recruits caregiver-child pairs and young adults across 100+ sites in the U.S., focusing on a diverse group of participants with and without prior SARS-CoV-2 infections, and will collect data over several years through various tiers of assessments.
  • - The ultimate goal of the study is to understand the clinical trajectory, mechanisms, and sociodemographic factors related to pediatric PASC, thereby contributing to potential treatments and public health responses.
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Objective: Examine the nature of the relationship between adolescent polysubstance use and high school noncompletion.

Method: Among a sample of 9,579 adult Australian twins (58.63% female, = 30.

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Problematic alcohol use (PAU) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. To improve our understanding of the genetics of PAU, we conducted a large cross-ancestry meta-analysis of PAU in 1,079,947 individuals. We observed a high degree of cross-ancestral similarity in the genetic architecture of PAU and identified 110 independent risk variants in within- and cross-ancestry analyses.

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Background And Aims: Alcohol use disorder is comorbid with numerous other forms of psychopathology, including externalizing disorders (e.g. conduct disorder) and, to a lesser extent, internalizing conditions (e.

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  • Twin studies offer insights into genetic variation and causes of human traits, and the ABCD Study® utilizes four universities to conduct representative research on twins.
  • This paper presents initial heritability estimates for various phenotypes and provides a resource for future behavior genetic studies based on data from 772 twin pairs aged 9-10.
  • The online tool delivers detailed genetic and environmental variation estimates for over 14,500 traits, ensuring accurate data for researchers while controlling for factors like age, sex, and race/ethnicity.
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This research examines maternal smoking during pregnancy and risk for poorer executive function in siblings discordant for exposure. Data ( = 173 families) were drawn from the Missouri Mothers and Their Children study, a sample, identified using birth records (years 1998-2005), in which mothers changed smoking behavior between two pregnancies (Child 1 [older sibling]: = 12.99; Child 2 [younger sibling]: = 10.

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Background And Aims: Previous studies have demonstrated associations between substance use and reduced educational attainment; however, many were unable to account for potential confounding factors like genetics and the rearing environment. In the few studies that controlled for these factors, the substances assessed were limited to alcohol, cannabis, and tobacco. To address these limitations, we examined the relationship between adolescent use of seven kinds of substances, the number of additional substances used, and high school noncompletion within a large sample of Australian twins.

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Plant fibers in byproduct streams produced by non-harsh food processing methods represent biorepositories of diverse, naturally occurring, and physiologically active biomolecules. To demonstrate one approach for their characterization, mass spectrometry of intestinal contents from gnotobiotic mice, plus in vitro studies, revealed liberation of N-methylserotonin from orange fibers by human gut microbiota members including Bacteroides ovatus. Functional genomic analyses of B.

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Increases in snack consumption associated with Westernized lifestyles provide an opportunity to introduce nutritious foods into poor diets. We describe two 10-wk-long open label, single group assignment human studies that measured the effects of two snack prototypes containing fiber preparations from two sustainable and scalable sources; the byproducts remaining after isolation of protein from the endosperm of peas and the vesicular pulp remaining after processing oranges for the manufacture of juices. The normal diets of study participants were supplemented with either a pea- or orange fiber-containing snack.

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Previous research has shown that self-reports of the amount of social support are heritable. Using the Kessler perceived social support (KPSS) measure, we explored sex differences in the genetic and environmental contributions to individual differences. We did this separately for subscales that captured the perceived support from different members of the network (spouse, twin, children, parents, relatives, friends and confidant).

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  • The study investigated the genetics of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its relationship with lifetime trauma exposure (LTE) using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving over 182,000 participants.
  • Researchers identified 5 significant genetic loci related to PTSD symptoms and 6 related to LTE, revealing a 72% genetic correlation between the two.
  • The findings suggest that a quantitative measurement approach can uncover new risk factors for PTSD and emphasizes the importance of considering trauma exposure to improve genetic discovery.
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  • Childhood aggressive behavior (AGG) is significantly heritable, with around 50% of its variation attributed to genetics, as shown in a study analyzing data from over 87,000 children aged 1.5 to 18 years; however, no genome-wide significant SNPs were identified.* -
  • Three significant genes (ST3GAL3, PCDH7, and IPO13) linked to educational traits were found, and genetic analysis revealed moderate to strong correlations between AGG and various psychiatric traits, with notable weak correlations concerning teacher assessments.* -
  • The research also showed negative genetic correlations of aggression with cognitive abilities and age at first birth, alongside strong correlations with smoking behaviors, highlighting complex genetic interactions within childhood aggression.*
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Background: Despite an overall decline in tobacco use in the United States, secular trends of smoking and nicotine dependence with co-occurring substance use are not well characterized.

Methods: We examined self-reported tobacco and other substance use in 22,245 participants age 21-59 in the United States from six waves of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Using Joinpoint regression, we assessed secular trends of smoking and nicotine dependence as a function of co-occurring use of alcohol, prescription opioids, marijuana/hashish, cocaine/heroin/methamphetamine, or other injection drug use.

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Epigenetic mechanisms have been associated with genes involved in Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD often co-occurs with other health conditions such as depression, cardiovascular disorder and respiratory illnesses. PTSD and migraine have previously been reported to be symptomatically positively correlated with each other, but little is known about the genes involved.

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Changing food preferences brought about by westernization that have deleterious health effects-combined with myriad forces that are contributing to increased food insecurity-are catalysing efforts to identify more nutritious and affordable foods. Consumption of dietary fibre can help to prevent cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. A substantial number of reports have explored the effects of dietary fibre on the gut microbial community.

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Importance: Incidental findings (IFs) are unexpected abnormalities discovered during imaging and can range from normal anatomic variants to findings requiring urgent medical intervention. In the case of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), reliable data about the prevalence and significance of IFs in the general population are limited, making it difficult to anticipate, communicate, and manage these findings.

Objectives: To determine the overall prevalence of IFs in brain MRI in the nonclinical pediatric population as well as the rates of specific findings and findings for which clinical referral is recommended.

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Aim: To examine individual variability between perceived physical features and hormones of pubertal maturation in 9-10-year-old children as a function of sociodemographic characteristics.

Methods: Cross-sectional metrics of puberty were utilized from the baseline assessment of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study-a multi-site sample of 9-10 year-olds (n = 11,875)-and included perceived physical features the pubertal development scale (PDS) and child salivary hormone levels (dehydroepiandrosterone and testosterone in all, and estradiol in females). Multi-level models examined the relationships among sociodemographic measures, physical features, and hormone levels.

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