23 Jan Psychiatric Problems Related to Lead Exposure Detected As Early As Age 11
Posted at 18:33h
in Author Interviews, Duke, JAMA, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics, Toxin Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Aaron Reuben, MEM
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
(1) Study members with greater lead exposure in childhood tended to endorse more psychiatric symptoms when assessed for psychiatric disorders in adulthood (between 18 and 38 years of age).
- These individuals tended to report more internalizing (e.g., depression, anxiety) and thought disorder (e.g., OCD, schizophrenia, mania) symptoms.
- Compared to other findings from this sample, the associations reported in this article are similar to those reported for lead and IQ, and are stronger than those reported for lead and criminal offending.
- Informants who knew Study members well reported higher levels of difficult adult personality traits among Study members with greater lead exposure in childhood.
- Specifically, Study members with greater blood lead levels at age 11 were rated as more neurotic, less agreeable, and less conscientious by 38 years of age.
- These personality traits have been previously linked to a number of poor life outcomes, including greater psychopathology, worse physical health, less job satisfaction, and troubled interpersonal relationships
- Psychiatric problems related to lead exposure could be detected as early as 11 years of age. In the 1980’s, parents and teachers of children with higher blood-lead levels had described them as displaying more antisocial behavior, hyperactivity, and negative emotions (e.g., sadness, anxiety).
Dr. Sehested[/caption]
Thomas S. G. Sehested MD
Department of Cardiology
Copenhagen University Hospital Gentofte
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Dr. Kruger[/caption]
Daniel J. Kruger, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
University of Michigan
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: We study health-related behaviors, such as diet and the consumption of caffeine and alcohol.
Given the recent trends in legalization of cannabis for medical and even recreational purposes, we were concerned with the narrow focus of current public health efforts regarding cannabis. Although some in the field take a harm-reduction approach to substance use, too many efforts focus solely on abstinence. These programs are a legacy from the era of prohibition, and we know that there are disadvantages to such a restricted scope in public health.
For example, municipalities that eliminated or blocked accurate and effective sex education had increases in teenage pregnancy rates. There are so many public health-related aspects of cannabis, beyond risks and adverse effects, which need to be addressed by systematic scientific research. Because of the legal history of cannabis, there is little integration with the mainstream health care system.
The focus of the current study was investigating how medical cannabis users perceived 
Dr. Longo[/caption]
Valter Longo, PhD
Edna M. Jones Professor of Gerontology
Professor of Biological Sciences
Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
Director of the USC Longevity Institute
USC
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The use of a low calorie diet that mimics fasting for 4 days twice a month starting at middle age can extend lifespan and rejuvenate mice.
In humans a similar diet once a month causes improvements in cholesterol, blood pressure , inflammation, fasting glucose etc consistent with rejuvenation
Dr. Leas[/caption]
Eric Leas PhD, MPH
Stanford Prevention Research Center
University of California, San Diego
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Recent research has demonstrated the importance that neighborhood context has on life opportunity, health and well-being that can perpetuate across generations. A strongly defining factor that leads to differences in health outcomes across neighborhoods, such as differences in chronic disease, is the concurrent-uneven distribution of modifiable risk factors for chronic disease.
The main goal of our study was to characterize inequities in smoking, the leading risk factor for chronic disease, between neighborhoods in America's 500 largest cities. To accomplish this aim we used first-of-its-kind data generated from the 500 Cities Project—a collaboration between Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—representing the largest effort to provide small-area estimates of modifiable risk factors for chronic disease.
We found that inequities in smoking prevalence are greater within cities than between cities, are highest in the nation’s capital, and are linked to inequities in chronic disease outcomes. We also found that inequities in smoking were associated to inequities in neighborhood characteristics, including race, median household income and the number of tobacco retailers.
Dr. Schneider[/caption]
Dr. Michael Schneider DC, PhD
Associate Professor
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
University of Pittsburgh
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is one of the fastest growing problems in the country due to its aging population. One third of Medicare users have the condition, and it is the number one reason for spine surgery in this population. Existing research evaluates the benefits of nonsurgical treatment options compared to surgery, but there was no existing research that compared the available nonsurgical options to each other to determine the best course of treatment for each patient.
We studied three nonsurgical treatments for LSS: medical management with medications and/or epidural injections, individualized care with a physical therapist or chiropractor, and group exercise. We assessed each of these treatment methods with a questionnaire, a walking distance test, and a physical activity monitor.
Dr. Rebholz[/caption]
Casey M. Rebholz, PhD, MS, MNSP, MPH, FAHA
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Core Faculty, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research
Baltimore, MD 21287
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Individual beverages have been previously shown to influence risk of a wide range of cardiometabolic diseases. Less is known about beverage consumption and kidney disease risk.
In this study population, we found that one such beverage pattern consisted of soda, sugar-sweetened beverages, and water, and that higher adherence to the sugar-sweetened beverage pattern was associated with greater odds of developing incident kidney disease, even after accounting for demographic characteristics and established risk factors. 
Dr. Miech[/caption]
Richard Miech Ph.D
Professor
Principal Investigator, Monitoring the Future
Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Every year Monitoring the Future conducts a survey to examine trends in adolescent substance use. We draw a random sample of schools from a list of all schools in the United States and conduct our survey in ~400 schools. Our survey is representative of U.S. 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students. In other words, our results are what you would find if you surveyed every single 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in the United States, within the bounds of a small sampling error of a few percentage points.
An increase in vaping is the big news for 2018. In 10th and 12th grade the increase in nicotine vaping was the largest we've ever seen for any substance in the past 43 years. As a result of this increase in nicotine vaping, overall use of nicotine increased as well, which suggests that vaping is drawing youth into nicotine use. We also saw a significant increase in marijuana vaping. 
Dr. Nguyen[/caption]
Oanh Kieu Nguyen, MD, MA
Assistant Professor
Division of Hospital Medicine
Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital
UCSF
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In U.S. citizens and permanent residents with kidney failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), having health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid guarantees access to regularly scheduled hemodialysis 2-3 times per week, the evidence-based standard of care for ESRD. This treatment helps people live relatively normal lives. In 40 of 50 U.S. states, undocumented immigrants with ESRD have limited access to hemodialysis because they are not eligible for any form of federal assistance including Medicare or Medicaid, and must wait until they are life-threateningly ill to receive dialysis through a hospital emergency department, a situation called “emergency-only hemodialysis.” There are an estimated 6,500 undocumented individuals in the U.S. suffering from ESRD.
A unique opportunity made it feasible for uninsured undocumented immigrants with ESRD receiving emergency-only dialysis in Dallas, Texas, to enroll in private, commercial health insurance plans in 2015 and made it possible for researchers to compare scheduled vs. emergency-only dialysis among undocumented immigrants with ESRD. This natural experiment included 181 
Dr. Johnson[/caption]
Dayna A. Johnson PhD
Department of Epidemiology
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: There are several studies that have determined that African Americans have the highest prevalence of hypertension and are the most likely to have uncontrolled hypertension compared to other racial/ethnic groups. We were interested in studying whether sleep apnea contributed to hypertension control among African Americans.
We found that participants with sleep apnea were more likely to have resistant hypertension than those without sleep apnea. In particular, individuals with severe sleep apnea had the highest risk of resistant hypertension. Most of the participants with measured sleep apnea were undiagnosed (96%). 
