Generalized anxiety and mild anxiety symptoms in U.S. military veterans: Prevalence, characteristics, and functioning.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mental disorder characterized by excessive anxiety and worries that impair daily functioning. While prior work has documented the prevalence and correlates of GAD and subthreshold GAD (SGAD) in clinical samples, contemporary data on the epidemiology of anxiety symptoms are lacking, particularly in higher-risk populations such as military veterans. To address this gap, we analyzed data from a large, nationally representative sample of U.

Predictors of veteran attendance in an intimate partner violence intervention.

This study examined session attendance data from 2,754 veterans who participated in a national implementation of a trauma-informed intimate partner violence intervention, Strength at Home, across the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Potential correlates of attendance were demographic characteristics, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity, alcohol use, court involvement, current military involvement, and intervention modality (in-person vs. virtual).

Functional correlates of a novel 8-factor model of PTSD in U.S. military veterans: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

Emerging evidence indicates that more nuanced models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may better capture the condition's symptom structure. Recent theoretical and empirical work suggest that an 8-factor model of PTSD with separate internally- (e.g.

Negative aging stereotypes in U.S. military veterans: results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

U.S. military veterans are an average 20 years older than non-veterans and have elevated rates of certain health conditions.

Determinants and outcome correlates of engagement with a mobile mental health intervention for depression and anxiety in middle-aged and older adults.

Objectives: To examine baseline factors (i.e., age, gender, mobile device proficiency, sensory impairment) associated with app engagement in a 12-week mental health app intervention and to explore whether app engagement predicts changes in depression and anxiety symptoms among middle-aged and older adults.

Which veterans with PTSD are most likely to report being told of their diagnosis?

Veterans who do not know about their posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis experience a fundamental barrier to accessing effective treatment. Little is known about the characteristics that influence veterans' PTSD diagnosis knowledge (i.e.

A prognostic index to predict symptom and functional outcomes of a coached, web-based intervention for trauma-exposed veterans.

Researchers at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have studied interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder and co-occurring conditions in both traditional and digital formats. One such empirically supported intervention is web skills training in affective and interpersonal regulation (webSTAIR), a coached, 10-module web program based on STAIR. To understand which patient characteristics were predictive of webSTAIR outcomes in a sample of trauma-exposed veterans ( = 189), we used machine learning (ML) to develop a prognostic index from among 18 baseline characteristics (i.

Implementation of a self-help mobile mental health app in COVID-19 frontline health care workers: A quality improvement project.

Aim: Frontline health care workers (FHCWs) have endured a range of adverse mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the widespread availability and ease-of-use of self-help mobile mental health apps, little is known about the feasibility of implementing such tools among COVID-19 FHCWs in real-world nursing settings.

Methods: This quality improvement project evaluated the feasibility of implementing the COVID Coach app among COVID-19 FHCWs in a skilled nursing facility.

Development and Initial Performance of the Hospital Mental Health Risk Screen.

Background: Patients hospitalized after emergency care are at risk for later mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. The American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma standards for verification require Level I and II trauma centers to screen patients at high risk for mental health problems. This study aimed to develop and examine the performance of a novel mental health risk screen for hospitalized patients based on samples that reflect the diversity of the US population.

A long and resilient life: the role of coping strategies and variability in their use in lifespan among women.

Objectives: Associations of stress-related coping strategies with lifespan among the general population are understudied. Coping strategies are characterized as being either adaptive or maladaptive, but it is unknown the degree to which variability in tailoring their implementation to different contexts may influence lifespan.

Method: Women (N = 54,353; M= 47) completed a validated coping inventory and reported covariate information in 2001.

Examining mGlu5 Receptor Availability as a Predictor of Vulnerability to PTSD: An [F]FPEB and PET Study in Male and Female Rats.

Background: Females are twice as likely to experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than males, yet specific factors contributing to this greater risk are not fully understood. Our clinical and recent preclinical findings suggest a role for the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) in PTSD and differential involvement between males and females.

Methods: Here, we further investigate whether mGlu5 receptor availability may contribute to individual and sex differences in PTSD susceptibility by quantifying receptor availability using the mGlu5 receptor-specific radiotracer, [F]FPEB, and positron emission tomography in male (n = 16) and female (n = 16) rats before and after traumatic footshock exposure (FE) and assessment of stress-enhanced fear learning (SEFL) susceptibility, as compared with no-shock controls (CON; n = 7 male; n = 8 female).

Ketamine and the neurobiology of depression: Toward next-generation rapid-acting antidepressant treatments.

Ketamine has emerged as a transformative and mechanistically novel pharmacotherapy for depression. Its rapid onset of action, efficacy for treatment-resistant symptoms, and protection against relapse distinguish it from prior antidepressants. Its discovery emerged from a reconceptualization of the neurobiology of depression and, in turn, insights from the elaboration of its mechanisms of action inform studies of the pathophysiology of depression and related disorders.

Efficacy of an Internet-Delivered Intervention for Improving Insomnia Severity and Functioning in Veterans: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Despite a growing evidence base that internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (iCBT-I) is associated with decreased insomnia severity, its efficacy has been minimally examined in veterans.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of an unguided iCBT-I (Sleep Healthy Using the Internet [SHUTi]) among veterans.

Methods: We conducted a single-blind, randomized controlled trial in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn veterans eligible for Veterans Health Administration care.

Development and validation of a prognostic index for mental health and substance use disorder burden.

Objective: To develop an accessible index which quantifies MHSUD burden among patients of Veterans Affairs hospitals.

Method: We used 21 disorder categories provided by the diagnostic and statistical manual (DSM) to characterize diagnoses among primary care (PC) patients. For each patient, we generated counts of unique disorder categories present during the PC encounter or in the year prior.

Evaluating a novel 8-factor dimensional model of PTSD in U.S. military veterans: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

Background: Accumulating data suggest that the structure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms may be more nuanced than proposed by prevailing nosological models. Emerging theory further suggests that an 8-factor model with separate internally- (e.g.

Posttraumatic Growth in U.S. Military Veterans: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

Despite increasing recognition that positive psychological changes or posttraumatic growth (PTG) may develop after highly stressful or traumatic events, contemporary population-based data on the epidemiology of PTG in high-risk samples such as U.S. military veterans are lacking.

Exploring the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-3 in a transgender and gender diverse sample.

Comparisons of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals' mental health functioning with that of cisgender individuals rely almost exclusively on screening measures. The limited research with TGD individuals and omnibus assessment measures has primarily used previous iterations of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventories (MMPIs). This study sought to examine the psychometric functioning of the MMPI-3 with a TGD community sample ( = 97) and compare mean scores across TGD and cisgender subsamples.

Mental health apps and U.S. military veterans: Perceived importance and utilization of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder app portfolio.

U.S. veterans have historically experienced more mental health concerns as compared to the general population, yet face a variety of barriers to accessing care.

Half a Century of Research on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Scientometric Analysis.

We conducted a scientometric analysis to outline clinical research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our primary objective was to perform a broad-ranging scientometric analysis to evaluate key themes and trends over the past decades. Our secondary objective was to measure research network performance.

Perceived social support and longitudinal trajectories of depression and anxiety in World Trade Center responders.

Purpose: While severely distressing events are known to affect mental health adversely, some survivors develop only short-lived or no psychiatric symptoms in the aftermath of a disaster. In the WTC Health Program General Responder Cohort (WTCHP GRC) we examined whether social support was protective against the development of depression or anxiety symptoms after the 9/11 WTC attacks and explored in a subsample whether trait resilience moderated this relationship.

Methods: We analyzed data from 14,033 traditional and 13,478 non-traditional responders who attended at least three periodic health monitoring visits between 2002 and 2019.

Effects of a dissociative drug on fronto-limbic resting-state functional connectivity in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled pilot study.

Rationale: A subanesthetic dose of ketamine, a non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist, elicits dissociation in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), who also often suffer from chronic dissociative symptoms in daily life. These debilitating symptoms have not only been linked to worse PTSD trajectories, but also to increased resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) between medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and amygdala, supporting the conceptualization of dissociation as emotion overmodulation. Yet, as studies were observational, causal evidence is lacking.