Dan Blaze

..To examine prevalence of tobacco use and identify psychiatric symptoms and substance use correlates of tobacco use comparing adults 50-64 years of age with those 65+ years of age (N = 10,891)...

..Effective military operations require optimal health of deployed service members, and both mental and physical health can be affected by military operations...

..To estimate 1-year prevalence and correlates of alcohol abuse, dependence, and subthreshold dependence (diagnostic orphans) among middle-aged and elderly persons in the United States...

..We sought to determine whether, among older adults (>65 years), a perception that their basic needs are not being met increased mortality risk and whether this risk varied by race/ethnicity...

..The authors analyzed data from two follow-up intervals-1986-1987 to 1989-1990 (interval 1) and 1992-1993 to 1996-1997 (interval 2)-from a community-based cohort of 4,162 older adults to determine predictors of future antidepressant use...

..Despite the burden of depression in late life, its origins present a paradox to investigators and clinicians alike...

..To determine whether metabolic syndrome is an independent predictor of decline in mobility in an elderly community sample...

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..In this study, we determined, controlling for reported income and functional status, if perceived inadequate basic needs predicted depressive symptoms...

..To estimate the frequency, distribution, and correlates of nonprescription use of pain relievers by middle-aged and elderly persons in the United States...

..We attempted to determine if self-reported shortness of breath (SoB) is associated with depressive symptoms at long-term (3-year) follow-up in a community sample of older (65+) adults...

..To determine which symptoms of depression are most likely to increase the risk of mortality in a biracial sample of older adults...

..The findings do not contradict the previous association of epsilon4 with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other conditions. Such conditions continue to merit full attention...

..The extant literature suggests that many potential approaches may be available to develop and enhance self-efficacy in the elderly--approaches that potentially could be broadly applicable in community settings...

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..This article reviews the assessment and management of psychiatric problems among the oldest old...

..This study focuses on the comorbidity between depression and diabetes, as well as depression and obesity, in a biracial community sample of older adults...

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..Our purpose was to review and evaluate Duke University School of Medicine's 3rd year...

..Finally, I present evidence for the current therapies prescribed for depressed elders, ranging from medications to group therapy...

..The authors explored the hypothesis that the epsilon4 allele is a risk factor for depression among older persons with a low cholesterol level (a known risk factor for depression)...

..To estimate the prevalence, distribution, and correlates of drug use among middle aged and elderly persons in the United States and to compare with alcohol use in this age group...

..quot; and health outcomes over time...

..The recent resurgence in ecstasy use among adults underscores the need to monitor trends in its use...

..To identify subtypes of nonmedical opioid users, gender variations in psychiatric disorders, and quality of life in a representative sample of adults...

..To examine the psychometric properties of diagnostic criteria for prescription analgesic opioid use disorders (OUDs) and to identify background predictors of a latent continuum for OUD liability...

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..Illicit methadone use among patients in maintenance programs is infrequent; however, a number of factors may increase risk of illicit use...

..Further work is needed to determine the generalizability of this finding to the broader population, as well as its significance for clinical outcomes...

..To examine the course of depressive symptoms in older patients with comorbid major depression and dysthymia...

..To review the diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorders in long-term care settings...

..Individuals with comorbid PTSS and BPD demonstrate greater overall impairment and usage of health care resources...

..Regardless of stimulants used, most female users were in the most severe or the physiological dependence group. These results lend support for subtyping dependence in the emerging DSM-V...

..To ascertain accuracy of self-reported height, weight (and hence body mass index) in African American and white women and men older than 70 years of age...

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..To determine whether some health behaviors of older people (e.g., obtaining cancer screens) have a limited and others (e.g., exercise) have a broad association with population-level health status 4 to 6 years later...

..7% of the time, while comparable agreement was found for only 12.3% of candidate decedents who did not have the required combination of information. Thus, an easy to apply algorithm facilitates accurate identification of NDI matches...

..Our aim was to explore the latent traits of trajectories of limitations in mobility and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) tasks in a sample of older adults diagnosed with major depression...

..To present the prevalence and correlates of hallucinogen use disorders (HUDs: abuse or dependence) and subthreshold dependence...

..Policymakers will eventually need to confront the issue of the use of this and other markers in the pricing of long-term care insurance...

..This review of selected empirical studies describes religious and spiritual factors that have been examined in their association with the consequences of trauma. A comprehensive model is proposed to explain the complex interrelationship...

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..To explore the underlying structure of symptom presentation in older adults with major depression by identifying homogeneous clusters of individuals based on symptom profiles...

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..Also included is a discussion of risk factors and outcomes of these disorders and a discussion of the implications of these epidemiologic findings for geriatric medicine...

..Our objective was to examine the association between neighborhood context and level of depressive symptomatology in older adults in a diverse geographic region of central North Carolina...

..The goal of this study was to determine whether the epsilon4 allele of apolipoprotein E is predictive of mortality in a community-based sample...

..Factors associated with the severity of posttraumatic stress were depression, functional impairment, subjective severity and number of traumatic events, and the level of resilience...

..Our study focused on Center for Epidemiologic Studies' Depression Scale (CES-D) scores of pregnant black and white women...

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..Finally, we suggest some future steps for clarifying this diagnostic confusion...

..60; p=0.002) across the three periods. Subthreshold depression may result in different outcomes in women, possibly mediating against mortality...

..The authors studied demographic, clinical, social, and perceived health and well-being factors as predictors of partial remission in older patients treated for major depressive disorder (MDD)...

..Until such time as studies use truly representative samples and include younger ages, findings in this area must be treated with caution...

..To determine whether the characteristics of the usual medical care providers of older antidepressant users changed between 1986 and 1997 with the introduction of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors...

..In addition, the APOE4 allele is associated with reduced allopregnanolone levels. Neurosteroids may be relevant to the neurobiology and therapeutics of AD...

..Although a similar but muted nonsignificant association was found in older African Americans, the curves for the two groups were not significantly different. Further studies in older African Americans are needed...

..Treatment options include antidepressants (alone or in combination) and psychotherapy...

..To use a formal decision-making strategy to reach clinically appropriate, internally consistent decisions on the application of quality indicators (QIs) to vulnerable elders (VEs) with advanced dementia (AD) or poor prognosis (PP)...

..The authors examined racial differences in cognitive decline (CD) and the role of education and literacy in mediating this relationship...

..The authors anticipated that BMI would predict depressive symptoms, and that this relationship would be greater among women, individuals of higher socioeconomic status (SES), and white subjects...

..To determine whether self-reports of delayed care predict increased mortality and functional decline in community-dwelling elderly...

..The link between spirituality and depressive symptoms is indirect. The relationship is mediated by optimism, volunteering, and social support. Findings present research and practice implications...

..The authors examined the association between depressive symptoms and cognitive errors measured 3 years apart in a longitudinal sample of community-dwelling elderly persons...

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..Psychosocial factors have been the subject of inquiries about the etiology of preterm birth; a factor of recent interest is maternal prenatal pregnancy-related anxiety (worries and concerns related to the pregnancy)...

..To evaluate the applicability of process-of-care quality indicators (QIs) to vulnerable elders and to measure the effect of excluding indicators based on patients' preferences and for advanced dementia and poor prognosis...

..In the current study, we investigated the relationship between depressive symptoms and health and functional status among pregnant women...

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..The authors examined whether older adults respond comparably to two standard depression instruments rating symptoms by frequency/duration or degree of severity/"bother."..

..Spirituality appears to be a psychosocial resource against depressive symptoms, although the results must be confirmed in longitudinal investigations...

..DISCUSSION: Interventions focused on providing older adults with resources for meeting basic needs may substantially reduce the subsequent level of disability...

..136). This commentary focuses first on selected sources of interference to interpersonal forgiveness and then elaborates a research agenda that aims to expand our knowledge of barriers to interpersonal forgiveness...

..We sought to examine the effect this change has on the morbidity of the operation...

..Cox proportional hazard, discrete time survival, and hierarchical linear modeling will be used according to the metric and distribution of the dependent variable. ..

..We will also test hypotheses specific to individual domains in the larger model. ..

..Students will be paired with a single mentor who will guide them in undertaking a focused research project. Findings will be presented at a National meeting. ..