Examining interactions between polygenic scores and interpersonal trauma exposure on alcohol consumption and use disorder in an ancestrally diverse college cohort.

Genetic factors impact alcohol consumption and use disorder (AUD), with large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identifying numerous associated variants. Aggregate genetic methods in combination with important environmental factors (e.g.

A scoping review of smoking cessation pharmacogenetic studies to advance future research across racial, ethnic, and ancestral populations.

Abstinence rates among smokers attempting to quit remain low despite the wide availability and accessibility of pharmacological smoking cessation treatments. In addition, the prevalence of cessation attempts and abstinence differs by individual-level social factors such as race and ethnicity. Clinical treatment of nicotine dependence also continues to be challenged by individual-level variability in effectiveness to promote abstinence.

The Concept of Resistance to Substance Use and a Research Approach: The Resist! Project.

Illicit substance use is dangerous in both acute and chronic forms, frequently resulting in lethal poisoning, addiction, and other negative consequences. Similar to research in other psychiatric conditions, whose ultimate goal is to enable effective prevention and treatment, studies in substance use are focused on factors elevating the risk for the disorder. The rapid growth of the substance use problem despite the effort invested in fighting it, however, suggests the need in changing the research approach.

A network approach to substance use, internalizing, and externalizing comorbidity in U.S. adults.

Introduction: Use of conventional cigarettes (CIG), alcohol, marijuana, and sedatives [i.e., benzodiazepines and barbiturates]) commonly co-occur with internalizing and externalizing disorders.

Effects of family history of alcohol problems on alcohol consumption: Stronger for medically underserved men.

Family history (FH), informed by genetics and family environment, can be used by practitioners for risk prediction. This study compares the associations of FH with alcohol outcomes for medically underserved (MUS) men and women with the associations for non-underserved individuals to assess the utility of FH as a screening tool for this high-priority group. Data were from 29,993 adult lifetime drinkers in the Wave 1 (2001-2002) and Wave 2 (2004-2005) National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Polygenic score for cigarette smoking is associated with ever electronic-cigarette use in a college-aged sample.

Background And Aims: Electronic cigarette use has escalated rapidly in recent years, particularly among youth. Little is known about the genetic influences on e-cigarette use. This study aimed to determine whether genetic risk for regular use of combustible cigarettes or for number of cigarettes smoked per day confers risk for ever e-cigarette use or frequency of e-cigarette use.

The Association Between Health Literacy and Tobacco Use: Results from a Nationally Representative Survey.

Dual use of conventional cigarettes and electronic cigarettes presents an emerging public health issue. Previous research has demonstrated a negative relationship between health literacy and conventional cigarette (CIG) use. However, the relationship between health literacy and e-cigarette (ECIG) use remains unclear.

The association between internalizing and externalizing severity with current use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and alcohol in adults: Wave 1 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study.

Introduction: Concurrent tobacco/alcohol use is common in adults, and associated with the severity of symptoms experienced by those with mental health disorders. However, few studies have explored this relationship across different combinations of tobacco products [i.e.

GW-SEM 2.0: Efficient, Flexible, and Accessible Multivariate GWAS.

Most genome-wide association study (GWAS) analyses test the association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and a single trait or outcome. While valuable second-step analyses of these associations (e.g.

A Participatory Group Process within a Health Collaborative to Collect and Disseminate Needs Assessment Data.

Background: Inclusion of community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles within an epidemiological study design is anticipated to promote the effective integration of knowledge derived from research data collection into the strategic planning and collaborative effort of a group focused on improving community-based health outcomes. This article describes how CBPR principles were used throughout survey design, data collection, analyses and results dissemination.

Methods: A health needs assessment survey was developed as a partnership between an academic research group from the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), a neighborhood-level health and wellness collaborative, and community residents.

Assessment of Co-Occurring Substance Use During Opiate Treatment Programs in the United States.

The effectiveness of opiate treatment programs (OTPs) can be significantly influenced by co-occurring substance use, yet there are no standardized guidelines for assessing the influence of co-occurring substance use on treatment outcomes. In this review, we aim to provide an overview on the status of the assessment of co-occurring substance use during participation in OTPs in the United States. We searched 4 databases-MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, PsychINFO, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL)-from database inception to November 2018 to select relevant publications on OTPs that assessed participants' co-occurring substance use.

The Genetic and Environmental Influences Contributing to the Association between Electronic and Conventional Cigarette Initiation.

Introduction: As the use of electronic cigarette (EC) continues to rise in the United States, especially among adolescents and young adults, it is necessary to better understand the factors associated with EC initiation. Specifically, it is unclear how genetic and environmental contributions influence the initiation of EC. Furthermore, the degree to which genetic and environmental influences are shared between EC initiation and conventional cigarette (CC) initiation is unknown.

The Influence of Co-Occurring Substance Use on the Effectiveness of Opiate Treatment Programs According to Intervention Type.

This systematic review describes the influence of co-occurring substance use on the effectiveness of opiate treatment programs. MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, PsychINFO, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature were searched from database inception to November 28, 2018, to identify eligible opioid treatment studies in the United States that assessed the relationship between co-occurring substance use and treatment outcome (i.e.

Assessing Stakeholder Perceptions of the Utility of Genetic Information for the Clinical Care of Mental Health Disorders: We Have a Will but Need to See the Way.

Academic stakeholders' (primarily mental health researchers and clinicians) practices and attitudes related to the translation of genetic information into mental health care were assessed. A three-part survey was administered at two large, urban universities. Response frequencies were calculated.

Developing community-based health education strategies with family history: Assessing the association between community resident family history and interest in health education.

Background: Family history (FH) is an underutilized genetically informative tool that can influence disease prevention and treatment. It is unclear how FH fits into the development of community-based health education. This study examines the role that FH plays in perceived threat and health education related to mental and chronic physical conditions in the context of the health belief model.

Social determinants of smoke exposure during pregnancy: Findings from waves 1 & 2 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSDP) and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure are associated with a myriad of negative health effects for both mother and child. However, less is known regarding social determinants for SHS exposure, which may differ from those of maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSDP). To identify social determinants for SHS exposure only, MSDP only, and MSDP and SHS exposure, data were obtained from all pregnant women (18-54 years; N = 726) in waves 1 and 2 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study (2014-2015).

Associations Between Initial Subjective Experiences with Tobacco and Self-Reported Recent Use in Young Adulthood.

Background: Youth tobacco use behaviors are predictive of patterns in adulthood and effect long-term health outcomes. Yet, few studies have examined the effect of initial subjective experiences (ISEs) during first tobacco use, which has been found to be an indicator of individuals. sensitivity to nicotine and vulnerability to dependence.

Testing associations between cannabis use and subcortical volumes in two large population-based samples.

Background And Aims: Disentangling the putative impact of cannabis on brain morphology from other comorbid substance use is critical. After controlling for the effects of nicotine, alcohol and multi-substance use, this study aimed to determine whether frequent cannabis use is associated with significantly smaller subcortical grey matter volumes.

Design: Exploratory analyses using mixed linear models, one per region of interest (ROI), were performed whereby individual differences in volume (outcome) at seven subcortical ROIs were regressed onto cannabis and comorbid substance use (predictors).

The genetic epidemiology of substance use disorder: A review.

Background: Substance use disorder (SUD) remains a significant public health issue. A greater understanding of how genes and environment interact to regulate phenotypes comprising SUD will facilitate directed treatments and prevention.

Methods: The literature studying the neurobiological correlates of SUD with a focus on the genetic and environmental influences underlying these mechanisms was reviewed.

Assessing the Association Between E-Cigarette Use and Exposure to Social Media in College Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Social media platforms provide an indirect medium for encouraging e-cigarette use between individuals and also serve as a direct marketing tool from e-cigarette brands to potential users. E-cigarette users share information via social media that often contains product details or health-related claims.

Objective: Determine whether e-cigarette use is associated with exposure to e-cigarettes on social media in college students.

Comparison of Twin and Extended Pedigree Designs for Obtaining Heritability Estimates.

This study explores power assumptions relating to extended pedigree designs (EPD) and classical twin designs (CTD). We conducted statistical analyses to compare the power of the two designs for examining neuroimaging phenotypes, varying heritability and varying whether shared environmental variance is fixed or free. Results indicated that CTDs have more power to estimate heritability, with the exception of one condition: in EPDs, the power increases relative to CTDs when shared environmental variance contributes to sibling similarity only.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Smoking Behavior across Adolescence and Young Adulthood in the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development and the Transitions to Substance Abuse Follow-Up.

Little is known regarding the underlying relationship between smoking initiation and current quantity smoked during adolescence into young adulthood. It is possible that the influences of genetic and environmental factors on this relationship vary across sex and age. To investigate this further, the current study applied a common causal contingency model to data from a Virginia-based twin study to determine: (1) if the same genetic and environmental factors are contributing to smoking initiation and current quantity smoked; (2) whether the magnitude of genetic and environmental factor contributions are the same across adolescence and young adulthood; and (3) if qualitative and quantitative differences in the sources of variance between males and females exist.

White matter heritability using diffusion tensor imaging in neonatal brains.

Understanding genetic and environmental effects on white matter development in the first years of life is of great interest, as it provides insights into the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders. In this study, the genetic and environmental effects on white matter were estimated using data from 173 neonatal twin subjects. Diffusion tensor imaging scans were acquired around 40 days after birth and were non-rigidly registered to a group-specific atlas and parcellated into 98 ROIs.

Genetic and environmental influences of white and gray matter signal contrast: a new phenotype for imaging genetics?

The estimation of cortical thickness is in part dependent on the degree of contrast in T1 signal intensity between white matter and gray matter along the cortical mantle. The ratio of white matter to gray matter signal (WM/GM contrast) has been found to vary as a function of age and Alzheimer's disease status, suggesting a biological component to what might otherwise be labeled as a nuisance variable. The aim of the present study was to determine if measures of WM/GM contrast are genetically influenced, as well as the degree to which this phenotype may be related to the genetic and environment determinants of cortical thickness.