Suicidal thoughts and behaviors have been studied in association with a variety of risk factors. The aim of the present study was to determine if suicidal ideation in childhood was associated with genes previously associated with suicidal behaviors in adult samples and to determine if childhood aggression was associated with suicidal ideation. A longitudinal study of children who were either from high or low risk for alcohol and other substance use disorders by familial background were assessed. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) aggression scale scores with derived subtypes (physical and relational), and genetic variation (ANKK1, DRD2, COMT, SLC6A4, HTR2C) were used as predictors of the presence and onset of suicidal ideation in childhood using survival analysis. Structural equation models (SEM) were fit to determine the relative importance of the predictors controlling for background variables. Three SNPs in the HTR2C gene, one SNP in the ANKK1 gene, and two haplotypes, AAAC in the ANKK1-DRD2 complex and the CCC haplotype of the HTR2C gene and CBCL aggression, were significantly associated with the presence and onset of childhood suicidal ideation. Follow up in young adulthood showed a significant relationship between presence of suicidal ideation in childhood and young adult depression. SEM results showed improved prediction of suicidal ideation when genetic variation was combined with measures of aggression. Genetic variation and presence of elevated aggression scores from the childhood CBCL are significant predictors of childhood suicidal ideation. Suicidal ideation in childhood and being female are predictors of young adult depression.

Aim: Familial loading for alcohol dependence (AD) and variation in genes reported to be associated with AD or BMI were tested in a longitudinal study. Materials & methods: Growth curve ana...

Patient awareness of medical conditions may influence treatment seeking and monitoring of these conditions. Accurate awareness of hypertension reported to clinicians evaluating patients for whom clinical history is limited, such as in emergency care, can aid in diagnosis by revealing whether measured hypertension is typical or atypical. Measurement of blood pressure in a laboratory study was assessed at rest, immediately before phlebotomy, and within 10 minutes after. The resting measure was used to determine the accuracy of self‐reported hypertension in 283 adults. Parametric analyses were conducted to identify potential variables influencing accuracy of self‐reported hypertension. Sensitivity, specificity, and the kappa coefficient of agreement were calculated to determine the influence of alcohol dependence (AD), sex, age, and cigarette smoking on hypertension awareness. Self‐report was mildly sensitive, correctly identifying individuals with hypertension in approximately 37% of the cases, but was highly specific (95%) in identifying individuals without hypertension. Similar sensitivities were found in analyses separated by sex. Sensitivity was greater in those over age 55 (53%) in comparison with those <54, as well as in those who were not smoking. Comparison of those with and without a history of AD revealed that both groups show similar accuracy in reporting hypertension. Absence of hypertension can be accurately determined with self‐report data in those without hypertension. A significant proportion of those with measured hypertension report an absence of hypertension.

Offspring from families with multiple cases of alcohol dependence have a greater likelihood of developing alcohol dependence and related substance use disorders. Greater susceptibility for these disorders may be related to cerebellar morphology. Because posterior regions of the cerebellum are associated with cognitive abilities, we investigated whether high-risk offspring would display regionally specific differences in cerebellar morphology and whether these would be related to working memory performance. The relationship to externalizing and internalizing psychopathology was of interest because cerebellar morphology has previously been associated with a cognitive affective syndrome. A total of 131 participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with volumes of the cerebellar lobes obtained with manual tracing. These individuals were from high-risk (HR) for alcohol dependence families (N = 72) or from low-risk (LR) control families (N = 59). All were enrolled in a longitudinal follow-up that included repeated clinical assessments during childhood and young-adulthood prior to the scan that provided information on Axis I psychopathology. The Working Memory Index of the Wechsler Memory Scale was given at the time of the scan. Larger volumes of the corpus medullare and inferior posterior lobes and poorer working memory performance were found for the HR offspring relative to LR controls. Across all subjects, a significant positive association between working memory and total volume of corpus of the cerebellum was seen, controlling for familial risk. Presence of an internalizing or externalizing disorder interacting with familial risk was also associated with volume of the corpus medullare.