Pesticide Toxicity and the Developing Brain Eskenazi, Brenda; Rosas, Lisa G.; Marks, Amy R. ...
Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology,
February 2008, Volume:
102, Issue:
2
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Peer reviewed
Open access
: Organochlorine pesticides are used in some countries for malaria control and organophosphate pesticides are widely used in agriculture and in homes. Previous literature documents children's ...exposure to these chemicals both in utero and during development. Animal studies suggest that many of these chemicals are neurodevelopmental toxicants even in moderate doses, but there are few studies in human beings. Associations of children's pesticide exposure with neurodevelopment from studies being conducted worldwide are summarized. In addition, we present the work of the CHAMACOS study, a longitudinal birth cohort study of Mexican‐American children living in the Salinas Valley of California. In this study, we investigated the relationship of children's neurodevelopment with maternal dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene serum levels, as well as prenatal and child organophosphate urinary metabolite levels. We have examined the association with children's performance on the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scales and at 6, 12 and 24 months on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (mental development and psychomotor development) and mothers report on the Child Behaviour Checklist. We observed a negative association of prenatal dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane exposure and child mental development. We also observed adverse associations of prenatal but not postnatal organophosphate pesticide exposure with mental development and pervasive developmental disorder at 24 months.
Existing literature suggests that metformin, the most commonly used biguanide, may lower colorectal cancer risk. Because most colorectal cancers originate in precancerous adenomas, we examined ...whether metformin use lowered colorectal adenoma risk after polypectomy in patients with type-2 diabetes.
Retrospective cohort study of 40- to 89-year-old Kaiser Permanente Northern California patients who had type 2 diabetes, and ≥1 adenoma detected at baseline colonoscopy during 2000 to 2009 and a repeat colonoscopy 1 to 10 years from baseline adenoma diagnosis through 2012. Cox models evaluated the association between metformin use during follow-up and subsequent adenoma diagnoses, controlling for age, race/ethnicity, sex, body mass index, and repeat examination indication.
Study included 2,412 patients followed for a median of 4.5 years; cumulatively, 1,117 (46%) patients had ≥1 adenoma at repeat colonoscopy. Compared with patients not receiving diabetes medications (n = 1,578), metformin-only use (n = 457) was associated with lower adenoma recurrence risk adjusted HR, 0.76; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.65-0.89, and the association was stronger with increasing total metformin dose quartile (Q) 1: HR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.72-1.12; Q2: HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.70-1.12; Q3: HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.63-1.01; Q4: HR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.42-0.60, Ptrend < 0.001. Findings were unchanged in sensitivity analyses, including evaluating only outcomes during the 3- to 10-year period from baseline.
Our study suggests a potential benefit of metformin use in lowering the risk of subsequent adenomas after polypectomy in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Metformin may lower colorectal cancer risk by reducing the formation of precancerous lesions, reinforcing the potential additional benefits of its use.
National Immigration Receiving Contexts Marks, Amy K; McKenna, John L; Garcia Coll, Cynthia
European psychologist,
2018, Volume:
23, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Extraordinary increases in refugee and voluntary
migration have recently been observed in many European and North American
countries. At the same time, negative attitudes toward immigrants and
...unfavorable immigration-related policy changes are promoting national climates
of increased discrimination, fear of deportation, and experiences of income and
education inequality among many immigrant origin youth and families. This paper
considers how national receiving contexts, in particular the efficacy of
national immigration integration policies and markers of national attitudes
toward immigrants, can shape both native-born youth and immigrant and refugee
youth well-being. Using an ecological framework, we draw from the recent
empirical literature and three sources of international policy and child
well-being data, to assess how national receiving contexts matter for
native-born children and immigrant youth adaptation. Results indicate strong
linkages among the macro-level contexts of multicultural policies and positive
integration approaches with overall child well-being. More favorable immigrant
national attitudes, and the more micro-level perceptions of discrimination and
xenophobia, also matter tremendously for immigrant and refugee youth adaptation
and health outcomes.
(1) Background: Immigrant families in the U.S. face a myriad of migration-related stressors and trauma, and legal vulnerability can further compound such stressors, influencing both immigrant ...caregiver and child wellbeing. This study explored the relationships between legal vulnerability, trauma, and migration and their effects on caregiving, psychological distress, and resilience in immigrant families. (2) Methods: In total, 37 Latinx immigrant caregiver–child dyads from a community sample were interviewed and completed self-report measures on their experiences of migration, trauma, psychological functioning, and parent–child relationships. (3) Results: Using a community-based, sequential quantitative-qualitative design, person-centered analyses revealed two caregiver clusters: “Personalizing Stress” and “Meaning-making”. Exemplar case analyses characterized differences between clusters, particularly related to trauma symptoms, in which the “meaning-making” cluster endorsed higher levels of psychological functioning and wellbeing compared to the “personalizing stress” cluster, in which the process of creating meaning from adversity appeared to function as a resilience resource for the “meaning-making” cluster. While most indicators of caregiver–child wellbeing were not correlated, family legal vulnerability was strongly correlated with high resilience in children. (4) Conclusions: Clinicians should attend to the resilience resources that immigrant families from legally vulnerable communities utilize, including meaning-making.
The immigrant paradox is a population health pattern whereby later generation immigrant youth display less favorable outcomes when compared to first‐generation co‐ethnic peers. This study examines ...the role of number of sex partners in explaining the immigrant paradox in pregnancy among Latina adolescents. This secondary analysis utilized a nationally representative sample of Latinas in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. As expected, first‐generation Latina adolescents demonstrated less risk than second‐ or third+ generation Latinas for becoming pregnant. Further, the lower number of sexual partners fully accounted for the first generation's advantage in lower rate of adolescent pregnancy. These findings have important implications for healthcare providers who work with Latina girls in pregnancy prevention.
Objective
We aimed to expand the scant research on disordered eating in women identifying same‐sex sexual attractions.
Method
We used multiple linear regressions to explore potential mechanisms ...driving disordered eating—both explicit and implicit weight bias and heterosexism—in a cross‐sectional, online‐recruited community sample of women (N = 437). Participants endorsed a range of sexual attractions from exclusively opposite‐sex (21.1%) to exclusively same‐sex (19.5%) attraction.
Results
Findings revealed no associations between sexual attraction and disordered eating. Awareness of sociocultural norms valuing thinness accounted for disordered eating for all women, regardless of sexual attraction, and was influenced by attitudes regarding weight. Among women endorsing same‐sex attractions, self‐reported internalized heterosexism influenced disordered eating.
Discussion
Findings contradict long‐held beliefs that same‐sex attracted women are protected from disordered eating. They emphasize a universal risk, for all women, of sociocultural norms valuing thinness, as well as the risk of internalized heterosexism among same‐sex attracted women.
Being Bicultural Marks, Amy K; Patton, Flannery; Coll, Cynthia García
Developmental psychology,
01/2011, Volume:
47, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Understanding how ethnic identities develop in adolescence is currently limited by a reliance on self-report paper-and-pencil measures. This mixed-methods study presents a novel response time ...measure, the Multiethnic Identities Processing Task (MIPT), to quantify bicultural adolescents' implicit identifications with ethnic and racial identity labels. Eighty-four adolescents (age 14-21 years) of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds self-identified as bicultural or not bicultural and described their ethnic identities, pride, and ethnic centrality during a brief interview. Participants were assigned to complete either the interview (self-prime) or the MIPT (no prime) first. Results indicate that bicultural adolescents readily endorsed a variety of ethnic and racial labels in the MIPT, reflecting their multifaceted identities. Younger bicultural adolescents showed a large inhibited response to the label "White," indicating some hesitation in deciding whether the label was "like me" or "not like me." Heart rate monitoring and qualitative analyses of interviews provide some insight into this pattern of results. Findings are discussed with respect to developmental theory, and the strengths of using both implicit and explicit measures to understand multiethnic identity development in adolescence.
This paper presents an application of the Lifespan Model of Ethnic-Racial Identity (ERI) Development (see Williams, et al.,
in press
). Using a tripartite approach, we present the affective, ...behavioral, and cognitive aspects of ERI in a framework that can be adapted for group and individual psychosocial interventions across the lifespan. These A-B-C anchors are presented in developmental contexts as well as the larger social contexts of systemic oppression and current and historical sociopolitical climates. It is ultimately the aspiration of this identity work that individuals will engage in ERI meaning-making, drawing from the implicit and explicit aspects of their A-B-Cs, to support a healthy and positive sense of themselves and others as members of ethnic-racial social groups.
Background
Fecal immunochemical test (FIT) screening detects most asymptomatic colorectal cancers. Combining FIT screening with stool-based genetic biomarkers increases sensitivity for cancer, but ...whether DNA biomarkers (biomarkers) differ for cancers detected versus missed by FIT screening has not been evaluated in a community-based population.
Aims
To evaluate tissue biomarkers among Kaiser Permanente Northern California patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer within 2 years after FIT screening.
Methods
FIT-negative and FIT-positive colorectal cancer patients 50–77 years of age were matched on age, sex, and cancer stage. Adequate DNA was isolated from paraffin-embedded specimens in 210 FIT-negative and 211 FIT-positive patients. Quantitative allele-specific real-time target and signal amplification assays were performed for 7
K-ras
mutations and 10 aberrantly methylated DNA biomarkers (
NDRG4
,
BMP3
,
SFMBT2_895
,
SFMBT2_896
,
SFMBT2_897
,
CHST2_7890
,
PDGFD
,
VAV3
,
DTX1
,
CHST2_7889
).
Results
One or more biomarkers were found in 414 of 421 CRCs (98.3%). Biomarker expression was not associated with FIT status, with the exception of higher
SFMBT2_897
expression in FIT-negative (194 of 210; 92.4%) than in FIT-positive cancers (180 of 211; 85.3%;
p
= 0.02). There were no consistent differences in biomarker expression by FIT status within age, sex, stage, and cancer location subgroups.
Conclusions
The biomarkers of a currently in-use multi-target stool DNA test (
K
-
ras
,
NDRG4
, and
BMP3
) and eight newly characterized methylated biomarkers were commonly expressed in tumor tissue specimens, independent of FIT result. Additional study using stool-based testing with these new biomarkers will allow assessment of sensitivity, specificity, and clinical utility.
This study aimed to explore commonalities among discrimination, stereotyping, and peer-related social experiences of children of immigrants, and to see if these experiences might relate to children's ...school-based well-being. Two age-based cohorts of 294 children and their immigrant parents from Portugal, the Dominican Republic, and Cambodia were interviewed. Person-centered analyses resulted in four unique clusters of children's social experiences. Notably, children in clusters with positive views of cultural in-group and out-group members also reported positive school-based well-being. Person-centered analyses on parent variables found three clusters based on parents' ethnic/racial socialization practices. There was no overlap between parent and child clusters, indicating unique profiles between parent socialization and child social experiences within immigrant families. Implications of connections among social experiences and school-based emotional well-being for children of immigrants are discussed.
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