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Background: Perceived discrimination is a major source of health-related stress. The purpose of this study was to model the heterogeneity of everyday-discrimination experiences among African American and Caribbean Blacks and to identify differences in the prevalence of mood and substance use outcomes, including generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, alcohol-use disorder, and illicit drug-use disorder among the identified subgroups., Method: The study uses data from the National Survey of American Life obtained from a sample of African American and Caribbean Black respondents (N=4,462) between 18 and 65 years., Results: We used latent profile analysis and multinomial regression analyses to identify and validate latent subgroups and test hypotheses, yielding 4 classes of perceived everyday discrimination: Low Discrimination, Disrespect and Condescension, General Discrimination, and Chronic Discrimination. Findings show significant differences exist between the Low Discrimination and General Discrimination classes for major depressive disorder, alcohol-use disorder, and illicit drug-use disorder. Moreover, we find significant differences exist between the Low Discrimination and Chronic Discrimination classes for the four disorders examined. Compared with the Chronic Discrimination class, members of the other classes were significantly less likely to meet criteria for generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, alcohol-use disorder, and illicit drug-use disorder., Conclusions: Findings suggest elevated levels of discrimination increase risk for mood and substance-use disorders. Importantly, results suggest the prevalence of mood and substance-use disorders is a function of the type and frequency of discrimination that individuals experience., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Several studies have demonstrated a lower apolipoprotein E4 (APOE ε4) allele frequency in African-Americans, but yet an increased age-related prevalence of AD. An algorithm for prevention clinical trials incorporating TOMM40'523 (Translocase of Outer Mitochondria Membrane) and APOE depends on accurate TOMM40'523-APOE haplotypes., Methods: We have compared the APOE and TOMM40'523 phased haplotype frequencies of a 9.5 kb TOMM40/APOE genomic region in West African, Caucasian, and African-American cohorts., Results: African-American haplotype frequency scans of poly-T lengths connected in phase with either APOE ε4 or APOE ε3 differ from both West Africans and Caucasians and represent admixture of several distinct West African and Caucasian haplotypes. A new West African TOMM40'523 haplotype, with APOE ε4 connected to a short TOMM40'523 allele, is observed in African-Americans but not Caucasians., Conclusion: These data have therapeutic implications for the age of onset risk algorithm estimates and the design of a prevention trial for African-Americans or other mixed ethnic populations., (Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

There is a strong relationship between suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and depression. Rates of successful suicides are relatively high among the chronically ill compared to other populations but are reduced with treatment. Depression and suicide rates also often differ among blacks as compared to other populations. Using survey methods, we evaluated self-reported rates of depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts in 30 male and 37 female black patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). SCD is a condition characterized by chronic, unpredictable pains and psychosocial distress. Thirty-six percent of the sample self-reported depression in the past 30 days, while 22 percent of the sample exhibited scores on the Beck Depression Inventory indicative of mild or greater depression (mean BDI, 8.31 +/- 7.79). Twenty-nine percent of patients indicated an episode of suicidal ideation and 8%, a suicidal attempt in their lifetime. Thirty-three percent reported treatment by a mental health professional. We conclude that there is a continuing need for mental health services in the management of depressed affect and risk for suicide among patients with SCD. Standards of clinical care must remain flexible to accommodate the mental health needs of this population of patients.

Normative neuropsychological data for U.S. racial/ethnic minorities are limited. Extant norms are based on small, regional groups that may not be nationally representative. The objectives of this study were to (1) provide norms for a modified Symbol Digit Modalities Test (M-SDMT) based on a nationally representative sample of African Americans, Caribbean Blacks, and non-Latino Whites (NLW) living in areas with large populations of Blacks; and (2) determine significant correlates of M-SDMT performance. The M-SDMT was administered to a subset of respondents from the National Survey of American Life in standard face-to-face interviews. M-SDMT performance was influenced by race/ethnicity, age, education, and gender. African Americans and NLW groups had similar M-SDMT performances, which differed from Caribbean Blacks. The Black ethnic differences in M-SDMT were not explained by the sociodemographic factors considered in this study. Unlike previous work, this study supports the consideration of Black ethnicity when evaluating Black neuropsychological test performance.

This study examined whether measures of health status enhance the prediction of performance on everyday problem solving in adult African Americans. The sample consisted of 209 community-dwelling African American adults with a mean age of 66.82 years (SD=7.95). The following variables were included in the analysis: Everyday Problems Test (EPT), summary index of chronic illnesses (cardiovascular disease, hypertension, arthritis, stroke, and diabetes), self-rated health (current health, health in the past month, health compared with others, health compared with 5 years ago), and demographic information. Using hierarchical regression and follow-up communality analysis, the authors found that the number of chronic illnesses and self-rated health as compared with 5 years prior were significant and unique predictors of performance on the EPT but did not account for all of the demographic-related variance. The results indicate that health indices contribute to the variability in everyday cognition in this understudied population., (((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved).)

Objectives The theory of selective survival suggests that possibly around 70–75 years of age, Blacks may display substantive changes in their pattern of cognitive decline. This study examined the age-graded pattern of cognitive decline within older Blacks by describing a trend that characterizes differences in the change of cognitive decline from ages 51.5 to 95.5, and hypothesized that this age-graded pattern is nonlinear. Method Utilizing 2 waves of longitudinal data from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging, this study used multilevel modeling to test whether the interaction between age and the 3-year study period (time between waves) had a positive effect on changes in inductive reasoning, declarative memory, working memory, and perceptual speed. Results A significant positive interaction between age and wave was found for inductive reasoning, demonstrating an age-grade pattern of change/decline in cognitive pattern for Blacks aged 51.5–95.4. Simple slope probing via the Johnson–Neyman Technique suggested that Black adults ~64 years and younger experienced significant decline in inductive reasoning across study time, whereas for those older than 63.71, the decline was nonsignificant. No significant age–wave interactions were found for declarative memory, working memory, or perceptual speed. Discussion Findings suggest a selective survival effect for inductive reasoning ability among Blacks. With decline evident so early, common cognitive intervention programs targeting adults 65+ may come too late for Blacks, signifying the importance and urgency for early health interventions and public policy designed to promote cognitive reserve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of study is to examine the relationships between health status and changes in cognition over time among middle to older aged Blacks. Method: Data come from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging—Patterns of Cognitive Aging. At baseline, 602 Black participants, ranging from ages 48 to 95 years, were enrolled. At follow-up, approximately 3 years later, 450 participants were re-interviewed. Results: After accounting for baseline cognition, age, sex, and education, a greater number of health conditions was associated with slower perceptual speed (b = −5.099, p =.022). Average peak expiratory flow was also associated with improvements in working memory (b = 0.029, p =.019) and perceptual speed (b = 0.026, p =.026), controlling for model covariates. Discussion: Study findings demonstrate that greater disease burden is associated with declines in specific fluid cognitive abilities in middle to later life among Blacks. This finding highlights the importance of reducing health disparities that disproportionately affect Blacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to articles published within the issue is presented on topics including the direct effects of psychosocial resources on health, whether church-based social support offered protective effects on the relationship between discrimination and serious psychological distress across the life course, and the link between major and everyday discrimination and depressive symptoms.

This study examined factors that influence sleep quality in older African American women (N= 181) reporting chronic pain. Participants completed a series of questions assessing demographic and behavioral characteristics, health status, pain intensity, and sleep disturbance. Findings indicated that younger participants and those experiencing poorer physical functioning reported more difficulty sleeping due to pain. Similarly, participants who reported being awakened from sleep due to pain were younger and experienced greater pain intensity. Understanding the relationship between sleep and pain in this group of women may be useful in promoting effective disease management and sleep awareness among patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical research on the chronic pain experience of older African Americans is scarce. Here, the authors examined the influence psychosocial indicators have on the pain experience in a sample of older African Americans. Data were collected from African Americans (N = 247) 50 to 96 years of age (69.4 ± 9.4). All participants provided self-report data on pain indicators, demographic characteristics, social (social support, locus of control, life satisfaction) variables, and depression. Those reporting higher levels of social support and depressive symptoms experienced greater pain intensity. Pain had an indirect effect on depression as mediated through life satisfaction.These findings demonstrate the need to focus more on the means to prevent and treat pain and to ameliorate its impact on social well-being, psychological functioning, and quality of life in older adults in general and older minority adults in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]