Search

This article develops an index to measure the level of susceptibility of courses to cheating using ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer), an advanced text-based artificial intelligence (AI) language model. It demonstrates the application of the index to a sample of business courses in a mid-sized university. The study finds that the vulnerability index varies across disciplines and teaching modalities. As advanced language models become more common in academic settings and create new educational challenges, the study provides an intuitive and practical mechanism for instructors and academic units to measure and assess the vulnerability of their courses to various language-based predictive models.

The genetic basis of severe COVID-19 has been thoroughly studied, and many genetic risk factors shared between populations have been identified. However, reduced sample sizes from non-European groups have limited the discovery of population-specific common risk loci. In this second study nested in the SCOURGE consortium, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for COVID-19 hospitalization in admixed Americans, comprising a total of 4702 hospitalized cases recruited by SCOURGE and seven other participating studies in the COVID-19 Host Genetic Initiative. We identified four genome-wide significant associations, two of which constitute novel loci and were first discovered in Latin American populations (BAZ2B and DDIAS). A trans-ethnic meta-analysis revealed another novel cross-population risk locus in CREBBP. Finally, we assessed the performance of a cross-ancestry polygenic risk score in the SCOURGE admixed American cohort. This study constitutes the largest GWAS for COVID-19 hospitalization in admixed Latin Americans conducted to date. This allowed to reveal novel risk loci and emphasize the need of considering the diversity of populations in genomic research.

Introduction: Psychostimulants are FDA-approved for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They are often prescribed off-label for mood disorders (in the majority of cases for augmentation of major depressive disorder [MDD] or treatment-resistant cases) with particular concerns in patients with comorbid ADHD and bipolar disorder (BD). We aimed to systematically appraise the current knowledge on genetic associations of psychostimulant treatment responses for mood disorders and ADHD. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted from database inception until March 21st, 2023. We included randomized controlled studies and non-randomized studies of intervention in adults (>18 years) with a DSM-IV/DSM-5 diagnosis of MDD, BD, or ADHD. We specifically included studies that reported the use of psychostimulants (e.g., methylphenidate [MPH]) and explored genetic associations with dopamine receptors and transporters (DRD4, DRD2, SLC6A3) reuptake inhibitors, norepinephrine transporters (SLC6A2) and serotonin transporters (SLC6A4). Results: We identified and screened 1,479 abstracts and selected 17 articles for full-text review. Five studies met the inclusion criteria (N=498; mean age 37.13±12.26), including two randomized controlled trials (n= 121, mean age 41.16±14.86) which analyzed genetic polymorphisms in SLC6A3 and SLC6A4. Three non-randomized intervention studies were included: one study (n=171, mean age 35±11) analyzed several SLC6A3 variants, and two studies (n=206, mean age 36.5±11.01) analyzed DRD4, SLC6A3, and SLC6A4 variants. Evidence from the selected studies did not consistently show statistically significant differences in treatment response for either MDD or ADHD in association with genetic polymorphisms. No studies evaluating BD were found, and MPH was the only psychostimulant assessed in the selected articles. The most reported adverse events were moderate nausea, anxiety, and polyuria, with a higher percentage for headaches (38.1%), gastrointestinal complaints (21.2%), and decreased appetite (19.08%). None of the included studies reported serious adverse events which required discontinuation. Conclusion: Further research is necessary to determine the implications of genetic polymorphisms on clinical response to stimulants with mood disorders and ADHD. Moreover, studies examining a broader range of stimulant medications as well as duration/dose of treatment, including individuals with BD, are crucial to understanding possible genetic influences on treatment response with the potential to inform personalized treatment strategies-optimization of interventions for individuals with mood disorders and ADHD.

Abstract There is increasing interest in individualizing treatment selection for more than 25 regulatory approved treatments for major depressive disorder (MDD). Despite an inconclusive efficacy evidence base, antidepressants (ADs) are prescribed for the depressive phase of bipolar disorder (BD) with oftentimes, an inadequate treatment response and or clinical concern for mood destabilization. This study explored the relationship between antidepressant response in MDD and antidepressant-associated treatment emergent mania (TEM) in BD. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and polygenic score analysis of TEM and tested its association in a subset of BD-type I patients treated with SSRIs or SNRIs. Our results did not identify any genome-wide significant variants although, we found that a higher polygenic score (PGS) for antidepressant response in MDD was associated with higher odds of TEM in BD. Future studies with larger transdiagnostic depressed cohorts treated with antidepressants are encouraged to identify a neurobiological mechanism associated with a spectrum of depression improvement from response to emergent mania.

ObjectivesWe aimed to describe emergency department (ED) care transition interventions delivered to older adults with cognitive impairment, identify relevant patient-centered outcomes, and determine priority research areas for future investigation.DesignSystematic scoping review.Setting and participantsED patients with cognitive impairment and/or their care partners.MethodsInformed by the clinical questions, we conducted systematic electronic searches of medical research databases for relevant publications following published guidelines. The results were presented to a stakeholder group representing ED-based and non-ED-based clinicians, individuals living with cognitive impairment, care partners, and advocacy organizations. After discussion, they voted on potential research areas to prioritize for future investigations.ResultsFrom 3848 publications identified, 78 eligible studies underwent full text review, and 10 articles were abstracted. Common ED-to-community care transition interventions for older adults with cognitive impairment included interdisciplinary geriatric assessments, home visits from medical personnel, and telephone follow-ups. Intervention effects were mixed, with improvements observed in 30-day ED revisit rates but most largely ineffective at promoting connections to outpatient care or improving secondary outcomes such as physical function. Outcomes identified as important to adults with cognitive impairment and their care partners included care coordination between providers and inclusion of care partners in care management within the ED setting. The highest priority research area for future investigation identified by stakeholders was identifying strategies to tailor ED-to-community care transitions for adults living with cognitive impairment complicated by other vulnerabilities such as social isolation or economic disadvantage.Conclusions and implicationsThis scoping review identified key gaps in ED-to-community care transition interventions delivered to older adults with cognitive impairment. Combined with a stakeholder assessment and prioritization, it identified relevant patient-centered outcomes and clarifies priority areas for future investigation to improve ED care for individuals with impaired cognition, an area of critical need given the current population trends.

BackgroundThere have been over 772 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide. A significant portion of these infections will lead to long COVID (post–COVID-19 condition) and its attendant morbidities and costs. Numerous life-altering complications have already been associated with the development of long COVID, including chronic fatigue, brain fog, and dangerous heart rhythms. ObjectiveWe aim to derive an actionable long COVID case definition consisting of significantly increased signs, symptoms, and diagnoses to support pandemic-related clinical, public health, research, and policy initiatives. MethodsThis research employs a case-crossover population-based study using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) data generated at Veterans Affairs medical centers nationwide between January 1, 2020, and August 18, 2022. In total, 367,148 individuals with ICD-10-CM data both before and after a positive COVID-19 test were selected for analysis. We compared ICD-10-CM codes assigned 1 to 7 months following each patient’s positive test with those assigned up to 6 months prior. Further, 350,315 patients had novel codes assigned during this window of time. We defined signs, symptoms, and diagnoses as being associated with long COVID if they had a novel case frequency of ≥1:1000, and they significantly increased in our entire cohort after a positive test. We present odds ratios with CIs for long COVID signs, symptoms, and diagnoses, organized by ICD-10-CM functional groups and medical specialty. We used our definition to assess long COVID risk based on a patient’s demographics, Elixhauser score, vaccination status, and COVID-19 disease severity. ResultsWe developed a long COVID definition consisting of 323 ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes grouped into 143 ICD-10-CM functional groups that were significantly increased in our 367,148 patient post–COVID-19 population. We defined 17 medical-specialty long COVID subtypes such as cardiology long COVID. Patients who were COVID-19–positive developed signs, symptoms, or diagnoses included in our long COVID definition at a proportion of at least 59.7% (268,320/449,450, based on a denominator of all patients who were COVID-19–positive). The long COVID cohort was 8 years older with more comorbidities (2-year Elixhauser score 7.97 in the patients with long COVID vs 4.21 in the patients with non–long COVID). Patients who had a more severe bout of COVID-19, as judged by their minimum oxygen saturation level, were also more likely to develop long COVID. ConclusionsAn actionable, data-driven definition of long COVID can help clinicians screen for and diagnose long COVID, allowing identified patients to be admitted into appropriate monitoring and treatment programs. This long COVID definition can also support public health, research, and policy initiatives. Patients with COVID-19 who are older or have low oxygen saturation levels during their bout of COVID-19, or those who have multiple comorbidities should be preferentially watched for the development of long COVID.

BACKGROUND: Latinx family caregivers of individuals with dementia face many barriers to caregiver support access. Interventions to alleviate these barriers are urgently needed. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe the development of CuidaTEXT, a tailored SMS text messaging intervention to support Latinx family caregivers of individuals with dementia. METHODS: CuidaTEXT is informed by the stress process framework and social cognitive theory. We developed and refined CuidaTEXT using a mixed methods approach that included thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. We followed 6 user-centered design stages, namely, the selection of design principles, software vendor collaboration, evidence-based foundation, caregiver and research and clinical advisory board guidance, sketching and prototyping, and usability testing of the prototype of CuidaTEXT among 5 Latinx caregivers. RESULTS: CuidaTEXT is a bilingual 6-month-long SMS text messaging-based intervention tailored to caregiver needs that includes 1-3 daily automatic messages (n=244) about logistics, dementia education, self-care, social support, end of life, care of the person with dementia, behavioral symptoms, and problem-solving strategies; 783 keyword-driven text messages for further help with the aforementioned topics; live chat interaction with a coach for further help; and a 19-page reference booklet summarizing the purpose and functions of the intervention. The 5 Latinx caregivers who used the prototype of CuidaTEXT scored an average of 97 out of 100 on the System Usability Scale. CONCLUSIONS: CuidaTEXTs prototype demonstrated high usability among Latinx caregivers. CuidaTEXTs feasibility is ready to be tested.

BackgroundIn the burgeoning area of clinical digital phenotyping research, there is a dearth of literature that details methodology, including the key challenges and dilemmas in developing and implementing a successful architecture for technological infrastructure, patient engagement, longitudinal study participation, and successful reporting and analysis of diverse passive and active digital data streams. ObjectiveThis article provides a narrative rationale for our study design in the context of the current evidence base and best practices, with an emphasis on our initial lessons learned from the implementation challenges and successes of this digital phenotyping study. MethodsWe describe the design and implementation approach for a digital phenotyping pilot feasibility study with attention to synthesizing key literature and the reasoning for pragmatic adaptations in implementing a multisite study encompassing distinct geographic and population settings. This methodology was used to recruit patients as study participants with a clinician-validated diagnostic history of unipolar depression, bipolar I disorder, or bipolar II disorder, or healthy controls in 2 geographically distinct health care systems for a longitudinal digital phenotyping study of mood disorders. ResultsWe describe the feasibility of a multisite digital phenotyping pilot study for patients with mood disorders in terms of passively and actively collected phenotyping data quality and enrollment of patients. Overall data quality (assessed as the amount of sensor data obtained vs expected) was high compared to that in related studies. Results were reported on the relevant demographic features of study participants, revealing recruitment properties of age (mean subgroup age ranged from 31 years in the healthy control subgroup to 38 years in the bipolar I disorder subgroup), sex (predominance of female participants, with 7/11, 64% females in the bipolar II disorder subgroup), and smartphone operating system (iOS vs Android; iOS ranged from 7/11, 64% in the bipolar II disorder subgroup to 29/32, 91% in the healthy control subgroup). We also described implementation considerations around digital phenotyping research for mood disorders and other psychiatric conditions. ConclusionsDigital phenotyping in affective disorders is feasible on both Android and iOS smartphones, and the resulting data quality using an open-source platform is higher than that in comparable studies. While the digital phenotyping data quality was independent of gender and race, the reported demographic features of study participants revealed important information on possible selection biases that may result from naturalistic research in this domain. We believe that the methodology described will be readily reproducible and generalizable to other study settings and patient populations given our data on deployment at 2 unique sites.

Research Findings: A social validity measure was used to examine 56 bilingual preschool teachers' perceptions and acceptability of an interactive shared book reading vocabulary intervention implemented in English with Spanish-speaking preschool children (N = 334) in a dual language program model. Social validity outcomes indicated that bilingual teachers believed the shared book reading vocabulary approach was effective and could be feasibly managed to expand preschool dual language learners' (DLLs) content vocabulary knowledge by building deep knowledge networks around the worlds of science and social studies even as students' English abilities were still developing. Researchers also found a significant positive association between teachers' social validity outcomes and DLLs' English vocabulary outcomes of taught words, warranting further research in this area. Practice or Policy: Teacher perceptions of intervention effectiveness and usability are important and may serve as a barometer for whether teachers may be willing to both adopt and persist with intensive practices when there is a benefit for young children acquiring academic content in a second language. Results suggest, however, that customized and more responsive PD may be especially important to support teachers' ability to facilitate analytical discussions using academic words when DLLs are in the beginning stage of English language production.

BackgroundThere is evidence suggesting racial disparities in diagnosis and treatment in bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (SZ). The purpose of this study is to compare psychiatric diagnoses and psychotropic use preceding a first episode of mania (FEM) or psychosis (FEP) in racially diverse patients.MethodsUsing a comprehensive medical records linkage system (Rochester Epidemiology Project, REP), we retrospectively identified individuals diagnosed with BD or SZ and a documented first episode of mania or psychosis. Illness trajectory before FEP/FEM were characterized as the time from first visit for a mental health complaint to incident case. Pathways to care and clinical events preceding FEP/FEM were compared based on subsequent incident case diagnosis (BD or SZ) and self-reported race (White vs. non-White).ResultsA total of 205 (FEM = 74; FEP = 131) incident cases were identified in the REP. Duration of psychiatric antecedents was significantly shorter in non-White patients, compared to White patients (2.2 ± 4.3 vs. 7.4 ± 6.6 years; p

INTRODUCTION: Hispanics remain underrepresented in dementia clinical research. This one-arm trial aimed to assess the preliminary efficacy of a culturally tailored recruitment educational strategy among Hispanic older adults on dementia knowledge, research participation attitudes, and enrollment. METHOD: The recruitment strategy included 6 one-session culturally tailored dementia education events at trusted community senior centers. Participants received a pre-post survey including a 5-point Likert-type scale and the Epidemiology/Etiology Disease Scale to assess dementia knowledge, and a 4-point Likert-type scale assessing research participation attitudes. We gave participants contact information slips to complete if interested in dementia research. We also tracked participants enrollment into the National Alzheimers Coordinating Center Cohort. RESULTS: Dementia knowledge increased 0.9 points (5-point Likert-type scale) and 2.2 points (epidemiology/etiology disease scale, p < .001). Interest in participating in dementia research increased from 61.7% to 80.9% (p = .039), 64.0% returned their contact information slips, and 41.1% successfully enrolled into the National Alzheimers Coordinating Center Cohort. CONCLUSION: A recruitment strategy including culturally tailored dementia education improves dementia knowledge, research participation attitudes, and enrollment among Hispanic older adults.

Background: Latinos experience disparities in Alzheimer's disease (AD) knowledge. The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of a 45-minute culturally-tailored AD knowledge presentation for professionals serving the Latino community and Latinos served by Latino community organizations. Methods: One-session AD knowledge lunch-and-learn events were conducted with 40 professionals and 37 served Latinos. Participants received a pre-post survey including questions on satisfaction, a subjective AD knowledge question and a 14 item objective AD knowledge questionnaire. Results: Professionals (54.3%) and served Latinos (94.6%) reported the session as being very enjoyable and increased in objective AD knowledge (2.1 and 2.5 units, p