The association of cholesterol levels with memory and memory change over a 14-year period in a US national cohort.

Introduction: The impact of cholesterol on late-life cognition remains controversial. We investigated the association of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and non-HDL-C with memory in a nationally representative cohort.

Methods: Health and Retirement Study (HRS) participants ( = 13,258) aged 50+ (mean age: 67.

Avoidance and Rumination as Predictors of Substance Use, Mental Health, and Pain Outcomes Among People Living With HIV.

Pain, substance use, and mental health conditions are common among people living with HIV (PLWH), and avoidance and rumination may influence the co-occurrence of these conditions. The present study examined longitudinal associations between avoidance/rumination and pain outcomes, anxiety, anger, and substance use among PLWH. Participants (N = 187) with chronic pain and depressive symptoms completed self-report assessments over a 1-year period.

Visual Impairment, Eye Conditions, and Diagnoses of Neurodegeneration and Dementia.

Importance: Vision and eye conditions are associated with increased risk for Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRDs), but the nature of the association and the underlying biological pathways remain unclear. If causal, vision would be an important modifiable risk factor with viable population-level interventions.

Objective: To evaluate potentially causal associations between visual acuity, eye conditions (specifically cataracts and myopia), neuroimaging outcomes, and ADRDs.

Design and rationale for a randomized clinical trial testing the efficacy of a lifestyle physical activity intervention for people with HIV and engaged in unhealthy drinking.

Background: Among people living with HIV (PLWH), unhealthy drinking presents an increased risk for negative outcomes. Physical inactivity and sedentariness raise additional health risks. Despite evidence that physical activity (PA) is associated with improved physical and mental functioning and reduced alcohol cravings, there have been no PA studies conducted with PLWH engaged in unhealthy drinking.

Comparison of approaches to control for intracranial volume in research on the association of brain volumes with cognitive outcomes.

Most neuroimaging studies linking regional brain volumes with cognition correct for total intracranial volume (ICV), but methods used for this correction differ across studies. It is unknown whether different ICV correction methods yield consistent results. Using a brain-wide association approach in the MRI substudy of UK Biobank (N = 41,964; mean age = 64.

A Brief Screening Tool for Risk of Self-Medication of Pain With Substance Use.

Objectives: Substance use and pain are both growing public health concerns globally. Evidence suggests that individuals may use substances in order to self-medicate their pain. The Catastrophizing, Anxiety, Negative Urgency, and Expectancy model was developed to provide a theoretical foundation for the modifiable risk factors implicated in self-medication of pain with substance use.

Metformin Cessation and Dementia Incidence.

Importance: Prior studies suggested that metformin may be associated with reduced dementia incidence, but associations may be confounded by disease severity and prescribing trends. Cessation of metformin therapy in people with diabetes typically occurs due to signs of kidney dysfunction but sometimes is due to less serious adverse effects associated with metformin.

Objective: To investigate the association of terminating metformin treatment for reasons unrelated to kidney dysfunction with dementia incidence.

Contribution of life course cardiovascular risk factors to racial disparities in dementia incidence.

Background: Racial disparities in dementia outcomes persist in the United States. Targeting modifiable risk factors, including cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs), is a conceivable way to reduce health disparities. Life course CVRFs are often higher in non-White adults and are associated with risk of dementia, but it is unknown whether they contribute to racial disparities in dementia and cognition.

The association between prescription drug monitoring programs and controlled substance prescribing: a cross-sectional study using data from 2019 National Electronic Health Records Survey.

Objective: The use of controlled medications such as opioids, stimulants, anabolic steroids, depressants, and hallucinogens has led to an increase in addiction, overdose, and death. Given the high attributes of abuse and dependency, prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) were introduced in the United States as a state-level intervention.

Materials And Methods: Using cross-sectional data from the 2019 National Electronic Health Records Survey, we assessed the association between PDMP usage and reduced or eliminated controlled substance prescribing as well as the association between PDMP usage and changing a controlled substance prescription to a nonopioid pharmacologic therapy or nonpharmacologic therapy.

Pain Acceptance Among Retired National Football League Athletes: Implications for Clinical Intervention.

Over 80% of National Football League (NFL) retirees experience daily pain. Pain acceptance is an important psychological construct implicated in the intensity of chronic pain, though these findings have not been extended to NFL retirees. Therefore, the current study examined the association between pain acceptance and pain intensity among former NFL athletes.

Longitudinal associations between pain and substance use disorder treatment outcomes.

Introduction: Pain is commonly reported among those in treatment for substance use disorders (SUD) and is associated with poorer SUD treatment outcomes. The current study examined the trajectory of pain over the course of SUD treatment and associations with substance use outcomes.

Methods: This observational study included adults seeking treatment for alcohol, cannabis, or opioid use disorders (N = 811).

Reliability of an adaptive marijuana purchase task.

Purchase tasks are used to measure the value, or demand, for various substances by assessing the amount of a substance individuals would purchase across a series of escalating prices. Marijuana purchase task (MPT) has been previously developed; however, cannabis can be consumed in various forms and measurements, thus raising questions about the applicability of the MPT across cannabis users. An adaptive MPT was developed to allow participants to select their preferred product (e.

Association of therapeutic and recreational reasons for alcohol use with alcohol demand.

Motives for alcohol use and behavioral economic measures of demand are associated with alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. However, it is unclear how differences in reasons for alcohol use may affect alcohol demand. Additionally, although alcohol is commonly used to self-manage conditions such as pain and sleep problems, the impact of these reasons for alcohol use on alcohol demand is not well characterized.

Sex differences in associations between delay discounting and expectancies for alcohol analgesia.

Self-medication of pain with alcohol is prevalent, and expectancies for alcohol analgesia likely influence pain relief and alcohol consumption. Hazardous alcohol use has been associated with greater delay discounting rates; however, little is known about the relationship between delay discounting and expectancies for alcohol analgesia. Therefore, the present study examined sex differences in associations between delay discounting and expectancies for alcohol analgesia.

The effect of next day responsibilities and an adaptive purchase task on cannabis demand.

Background: The marijuana purchase task (MPT) is a commonly used behavioral economic measure of relative cannabis value (i.e. demand) that presents specific methodological concerns due to non-standardized measurement, variability in modality of use, and evolving legalization policies.

Sex-specific mechanisms of tolerance for the cannabinoid agonists CP55,940 and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-THC).

Rationale: Tolerance to cannabinoids could limit their therapeutic potential. Male mice expressing a desensitization-resistant form (S426A/S430A) of the type-1 cannabinoid receptor (CBR) show delayed tolerance to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (∆-THC) but not CP55,940. With more women than men using medical cannabis for pain relief, it is essential to understand sex differences in cannabinoid antinociception, hypothermia, and resultant tolerance.

Acute Tolerance to the Analgesic Effects of Alcohol.

Objective: The goal of this study was to determine whether the acute analgesic effects of alcohol intake are moderated by acute alcohol tolerance, characterized by differing subjective and neurobehavioral effects of a given blood alcohol concentration (BAC) depending on whether BAC is rising or falling.

Method: Twenty-nine healthy drinkers (20 women) completed two laboratory sessions in which they consumed a study beverage: active alcohol (target BAC= .08 g/dl) and placebo.

Sex moderates the effects of experimentally induced musculoskeletal pain on alcohol demand in healthy drinkers.

Background: Pain may serve as an antecedent for alcohol use, increasing risk for hazardous drinking and associated consequences. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) induction produces clinically relevant but time-limited musculoskeletal pain. This study was conducted to determine whether DOMS induction on the dominant elbow flexors influenced alcohol demand using the Alcohol Purchase Task (APT).

History of opioid use as a risk factor for current use and mental health consequences among retired National Football League athletes: A 9-year follow-up investigation.

Background: Many retired National Football League (NFL) athletes manage pain with opioids during their playing careers and in retirement, though the longitudinal association between opioid use and health outcomes pertinent to an NFL career are not yet known. This study aimed to assess the relationship between opioid use in 2010 and current use, depressive symptoms, and health related quality of life (HRQoL) among NFL retirees.

Methods: Former NFL athletes from the Retired NFL Players Association initially recruited in 2010 for a study examining risk factors of opioid use and misuse were re-contacted (N = 89) from 2018 to 2019 and administered measures of pain, opioid use, depressive symptoms, and HRQoL.

CANUE: A Theoretical Model of Pain as an Antecedent for Substance Use.

Background: Pain and substance use are frequently comorbid and have been shown to exert bidirectional effects. Self-medication of pain and distress via substance use is common and can be understood via negative reinforcement, ultimately strengthening the pathway between pain to substance use over time. As such, a testable model of the potentially modifiable candidate mechanisms that underlie the pain to substance use pathway is needed.

Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder as a risk factor for substance use among adults living with HIV.

This study examined the association between symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and substance use among 932 people living with HIV (PLWH) in Florida. PLWH completed a 45-minute questionnaire assessing demographics, symptoms of GAD and depression, and use of substances including alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, crack/cocaine, and injection drugs. The GAD-7 measured symptoms of anxiety and participants were categorized as experiencing none/mild anxiety (score 0-9) or moderate/severe symptoms (score ≥10).

Negative health consequences of pain catastrophizing among retired National Football League athletes.

Objective: This study examined the association between pain catastrophizing with pain interference, depressive symptoms, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among National Football League (NFL) retirees.

Method: Former NFL athletes from the Retired NFL Players Association ( = 90) were recruited from 2018 to 2019 via telephone and were administered measures of pain, substance use, depressive symptoms, and HRQoL. Multiple linear and binomial regression analyses examined the association of pain catastrophizing with pain interference, depressive symptoms, and HRQoL while controlling for covariates (i.

Prevalence and Correlates of Psychological Distress among Retired Elite Athletes: A Systematic Review.

This article presents results of a systematic review of the literature (2000-2017) examining the prevalence and correlates of psychological distress among retired elite athletes. Forty articles were selected and included. Our review suggests the prevalence of psychological distress among retired athletes is similar to that found in the general population.