Refugee-related trauma patterns and mental health symptoms across three generations of Hmong Americans.

Hmong adults who are Vietnam War refugees have been exposed to refugee-related trauma, but little is known about associations between patterns of trauma exposure and mental health outcomes in Hmong adults. We examined patterns of trauma exposure and mental health symptoms (i.e.

Myocardial infarction in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study: the interaction among environmental, health, social, behavioural and genetic factors.

Objectives: This study examined how environmental, health, social, behavioural and genetic factors interact to contribute to myocardial infarction (MI) risk.

Design: Survey data collected by Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), USA, from 1957 to 2011, including 235 environmental, health, social and behavioural factors, and 77 single- nucleotide polymorphisms were analysed for association with MI. To identify associations with MI we utilized recursive partitioning and random forest prior to logistic regression and chi-squared analyses.

Is the US Old-Age Mortality Advantage Vanishing?.

Americans experience higher mortality than their peers in other high-income countries for most of the life course, but recent work has shown that at the oldest ages they experience a mortality advantage- a phenomenon we call the "US mortality crossover." In this paper we document the crossover and time trends thereof. We find that the age of crossover increases linearly by about 0.

Assessment of genetic and nongenetic interactions for the prediction of depressive symptomatology: an analysis of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study using machine learning algorithms.

Objectives: We examined depression within a multidimensional framework consisting of genetic, environmental, and sociobehavioral factors and, using machine learning algorithms, explored interactions among these factors that might better explain the etiology of depressive symptoms.

Methods: We measured current depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (n = 6378 participants in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study). Genetic factors were 78 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs); environmental factors-13 stressful life events (SLEs), plus a composite proportion of SLEs index; and sociobehavioral factors-18 personality, intelligence, and other health or behavioral measures.

Multigene interactions and the prediction of depression in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study.

Objectives: Single genetic loci offer little predictive power for the identification of depression. This study examined whether an analysis of gene-gene (G × G) interactions of 78 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes associated with depression and age-related diseases would identify significant interactions with increased predictive power for depression.

Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis homeostasis predicts longevity.

The reproductive-cell cycle theory of aging posits that reproductive hormone changes associated with menopause and andropause drive senescence via altered cell cycle signaling. Using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (n = 5,034), we analyzed the relationship between longevity and menopause, including other factors that impact "ovarian lifespan" such as births, oophorectomy, and hormone replacement therapy. We found that later onset of menopause was associated with lower mortality, with and without adjusting for additional factors (years of education, smoking status, body mass index, and marital status).

Perceived success in addressing end-of-life care needs of low-income elders and their families: what has family conflict got to do with it?

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictors of perceived success in addressing the end-of-life care needs of low-income older adults and their family members. Perceived success is defined as the clinician's subjective assessment of the extent to which end-of-life care needs of the patient and family have been met by the interdisciplinary team. The results are drawn from a larger longitudinal multimethod case study designed to understand how end-of-life care is provided to a diverse group of frail elders in an innovative, fully "integrated," managed care program.

Age-related changes in drinking patterns from mid- to older age: results from the Wisconsin longitudinal study.

Background: Drinking has generally been shown to decline with age in older adults. However, results vary depending on the measure of alcohol consumption used and the study population. The goals of this study were to (i) describe changes in drinking in a current cohort of older adults using a variety of measures of drinking and (ii) examine a number of different possible predictors of change.

Complicated grief symptoms in caregivers of persons with lung cancer: the role of family conflict, intrapsychic strains, and hospice utilization.

Guided by a stress process conceptual model, this study examines social and psychological determinants of complicated grief symptoms focusing on family conflict, intrapsychic strains, and the potential moderating effect of care quality and hospice utilization. Relying on data from 152 spouse and adult child lung cancer caregiver survey respondents, drawn from an ancillary study of the Assessment of Cancer CarE and SatiSfaction (ACCESS) in Wisconsin, hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to examine determinants of complicated grief. After controlling for contextual factors and time since death, complicated grief symptoms were higher among caregivers with less education, among families with lower prior conflict but higher conflict at the end-of-life, who had family members who had difficulty accepting the illness, and who were caring for patients with greater fear of death.

Predictors of family conflict at the end of life: the experience of spouses and adult children of persons with lung cancer.

Purpose: Guided by an explanatory matrix of family conflict at the end of life, the purpose of this article was to examine the correlates and predictors of family conflict reported by 155 spouses and adult children of persons with lung cancer.

Design And Methods: A cross-sectional statewide survey of family members of persons who died from lung cancer was conducted as part of the larger study on the Assessment of Cancer CarE and SatiSfaction in Wisconsin.

Results: Significant bivariate correlations were found between family conflict and family context variables (i.