Digital neuropsychological measures by defense automated neurocognitive assessment: reference values and clinical correlates.

Introduction: Although the growth of digital tools for cognitive health assessment, there's a lack of known reference values and clinical implications for these digital methods. This study aims to establish reference values for digital neuropsychological measures obtained through the smartphone-based cognitive assessment application, Defense Automated Neurocognitive Assessment (DANA), and to identify clinical risk factors associated with these measures.

Methods: The sample included 932 cognitively intact participants from the Framingham Heart Study, who completed at least one DANA task.

An Update on Prenatal Diethylstilbestrol Exposure and High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions of the Lower Genital Tract.

Women with prenatal diethylstilbestrol exposure are excluded from less frequent cervical cancer screening because of their increased neoplasia risk. We report the results of a prospective follow-up study of prenatal diethylstilbestrol exposure and lower genital tract high-grade (grade 2 or higher) squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL). The age-adjusted risk of HSIL among diethylstilbestrol-exposed women (n=4,062) was higher than among the diethylstilbestrol unexposed (n=1,837) through age 44 years (hazard ratio 2.

BMI and breast cancer risk around age at menopause.

Background: A high body mass index (BMI, kg/m) is associated with decreased risk of breast cancer before menopause, but increased risk after menopause. Exactly when this reversal occurs in relation to menopause is unclear. Locating that change point could provide insight into the role of adiposity in breast cancer etiology.

Perceived Experiences of racism in Relation to Genome-Wide DNA Methylation and Epigenetic Aging in the Black Women's Health Study.

Background: African American women have a disproportionate burden of disease compared to US non-Hispanic white women. Exposure to psychosocial stressors may contribute to these health disparities. Racial discrimination, a major stressor for African American women, could affect health through epigenetic mechanisms.

Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and Risk of Stroke in U.S. Black Women.

BACKGROUND: Black women have a disproportionately higher burden of both preeclamptic pregnancy and stroke compared with White women, but virtually all existing evidence on this possible association has been generated from women of European ancestry. METHODS: In the Black Women’s Health Study, a prospective cohort of U.S.

Personal Mastery Attenuates the Association between Greater Perceived Discrimination and Lower Amygdala and Anterior Hippocampal Volume in a Diverse Sample of Older Adults.

There is limited research investigating whether perceived discrimination influences brain structures that subserve episodic memory, namely the hippocampus and amygdala. Our rationale for examining these regions build on their known sensitivity to stress and functional differences along the long-axis of the hippocampus, with the anterior hippocampus and amygdala implicated in emotional and stress regulation. We defined perceived discrimination as the unfair treatment of one group by a dominant social group without the agency to respond to the event.

Perceived Interpersonal Racism in Relation to Incident Coronary Heart Disease Among Black Women.

Background: Racism is highly prevalent in the United States. Few data exist about whether perceived interpersonal racism is associated with risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).

Methods: We followed 48 305 participants in the Black Women's Health Study through biennial mailed and Internet-based health questionnaires from 1997, when they provided information on perceived interpersonal racism and were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer, until the end of 2019.

Asian Cohort for Alzheimer's Disease (ACAD) pilot study on genetic and non-genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease among Asian Americans and Canadians.

Introduction: Clinical research in Alzheimer's disease (AD) lacks cohort diversity despite being a global health crisis. The Asian Cohort for Alzheimer's Disease (ACAD) was formed to address underrepresentation of Asians in research, and limited understanding of how genetics and non-genetic/lifestyle factors impact this multi-ethnic population.

Methods: The ACAD started fully recruiting in October 2021 with one central coordination site, eight recruitment sites, and two analysis sites.

Body size and risk of multiple myeloma in the Black Women's Health Study.

Background: Obesity is an established risk factor for multiple myeloma (MM). Relatively few prior studies, however, have evaluated associations in Black populations.

Methods: Among 55,276 participants in the Black Women's Health Study, a prospective U.

Addition of polygenic risk score to a risk calculator for prediction of breast cancer in US Black women.

Background: Previous work in European ancestry populations has shown that adding a polygenic risk score (PRS) to breast cancer risk prediction models based on epidemiologic factors results in better discriminatory performance as measured by the AUC (area under the curve). Following publication of the first PRS to perform well in women of African ancestry (AA-PRS), we conducted an external validation of the AA-PRS and then evaluated the addition of the AA-PRS to a risk calculator for incident breast cancer in Black women based on epidemiologic factors (BWHS model).

Methods: Data from the Black Women's Health Study, an ongoing prospective cohort study of 59,000 US Black women followed by biennial questionnaire since 1995, were used to calculate AUCs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for discriminatory accuracy of the BWHS model, the AA-PRS alone, and a new model that combined them.

Association of Vascular Risk Factors and CSF and Imaging Biomarkers With White Matter Hyperintensities in Former American Football Players.

Background And Objectives: Recent data link exposure to repetitive head impacts (RHIs) from American football with increased white matter hyperintensity (WMH) burden. WMH might have unique characteristics in the context of RHI beyond vascular risk and normal aging processes. We evaluated biological correlates of WMH in former American football players, including markers of amyloid, tau, inflammation, axonal injury, neurodegeneration, and vascular health.

Psychosocial stressors and breast cancer gene expression in the Black Women's Health Study.

Purpose: Prior studies indicate that the physiologic response to stress can affect gene expression. We evaluated differential gene expression in breast cancers collected from Black women with high versus low exposure to psychosocial stressors.

Methods: We analyzed tumor RNA sequencing data from 417 Black Women's Health Study breast cancer cases with data on early life trauma and neighborhood disadvantage.

Association of germline variants with somatic variants in breast tumors in a genome-wide study.

Background: In breast tumors, somatic mutation frequencies in and vary by tumor subtype and ancestry. HER2 positive and triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) have a higher frequency of somatic mutations than other subtypes. mutations are more frequently observed in hormone receptor positive tumors.

Reproductive risk factors for breast cancer and association with novel breast density measurements among Hispanic, Black, and White women.

Purpose: There are differences in the distributions of breast cancer incidence and risk factors by race and ethnicity. Given the strong association between breast density and breast cancer, it is of interest describe racial and ethnic variation in the determinants of breast density.

Methods: We characterized racial and ethnic variation in reproductive history and several measures of breast density for Hispanic (n = 286), non-Hispanic Black (n = 255), and non-Hispanic White (n = 1694) women imaged at a single hospital.

International Pooled Analysis of Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Premenopausal Breast Cancer in Women From 19 Cohorts.

Purpose: There is strong evidence that leisure-time physical activity is protective against postmenopausal breast cancer risk but the association with premenopausal breast cancer is less clear. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of physical activity with the risk of developing premenopausal breast cancer.

Methods: We pooled individual-level data on self-reported leisure-time physical activity across 19 cohort studies comprising 547,601 premenopausal women, with 10,231 incident cases of breast cancer.

Molecular subtypes of high-grade serous ovarian cancer across racial groups and gene expression platforms.

Introduction: High-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) gene expression subtypes are associated with differential survival. We characterized HGSC gene expression in Black individuals and considered whether gene expression differences by race may contribute to poorer HGSC survival among Black versus non-Hispanic White individuals.

Methods: We included newly generated RNA-Seq data from Black and White individuals, and array-based genotyping data from four existing studies of White and Japanese individuals.

Perceived Interpersonal Racism and Incident Stroke Among US Black Women.

Importance: Black individuals in the US experience stroke and stroke-related mortality at younger ages and more frequently than other racial groups. Studies examining the prospective association of interpersonal racism with stroke are lacking.

Objective: To examine the association of perceived interpersonal racism with incident stroke among US Black women.

"Does Religious Service Attendance Modify the Relationship between Everyday Discrimination and Risk of Obesity? Results from the Study on Stress, Spirituality and Health".

This study examined the association of everyday discrimination with risk of obesity and the potential modifying effect of religious service attendance. Participants included Black, South Asian, and white women in three cohort studies that belong to the Study on Stress, Spirituality and Health. Logistic regression models estimated odds of obesity classification (BMI ≥ 30) relative to experiences of everyday discrimination.

Enhancing Mammography and Empowering Solutions for Breast Cancer Disparities.

Mammography enables early detection of breast cancer, a critical factor in improving treatment outcomes and breast cancer mortality. Yet, not all women benefit equally, and striking racial disparities in breast cancer mortality persist, with Black women 40% more likely to die from breast cancer compared with non-Hispanic White women. The current issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention presents three informative reports revealing racial and ethnic variations in mammography's performance in risk stratification, detection, and surveillance.