Browsing by Author "Beckham, Jean C"
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Item Open Access An epigenome-wide association study of posttraumatic stress disorder in US veterans implicates several new DNA methylation loci.(Clinical epigenetics, 2020-03) Logue, Mark W; Miller, Mark W; Wolf, Erika J; Huber, Bertrand Russ; Morrison, Filomene G; Zhou, Zhenwei; Zheng, Yuanchao; Smith, Alicia K; Daskalakis, Nikolaos P; Ratanatharathorn, Andrew; Uddin, Monica; Nievergelt, Caroline M; Ashley-Koch, Allison E; Baker, Dewleen G; Beckham, Jean C; Garrett, Melanie E; Boks, Marco P; Geuze, Elbert; Grant, Gerald A; Hauser, Michael A; Kessler, Ronald C; Kimbrel, Nathan A; Maihofer, Adam X; Marx, Christine E; Qin, Xue-Jun; Risbrough, Victoria B; Rutten, Bart PF; Stein, Murray B; Ursano, Robert J; Vermetten, Eric; Vinkers, Christiaan H; Ware, Erin B; Stone, Annjanette; Schichman, Steven A; McGlinchey, Regina E; Milberg, William P; Hayes, Jasmeet P; Verfaellie, Mieke; Traumatic Stress Brain Study GroupBackground
Previous studies using candidate gene and genome-wide approaches have identified epigenetic changes in DNA methylation (DNAm) associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Methods
In this study, we performed an EWAS of PTSD in a cohort of Veterans (n = 378 lifetime PTSD cases and 135 controls) from the Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders (TRACTS) cohort assessed using the Illumina EPIC Methylation BeadChip which assesses DNAm at more than 850,000 sites throughout the genome. Our model included covariates for ancestry, cell heterogeneity, sex, age, and a smoking score based on DNAm at 39 smoking-associated CpGs. We also examined in EPIC-based DNAm data generated from pre-frontal cortex (PFC) tissue from the National PTSD Brain Bank (n = 72).Results
The analysis of blood samples yielded one genome-wide significant association with PTSD at cg19534438 in the gene G0S2 (p = 1.19 × 10-7, padj = 0.048). This association was replicated in an independent PGC-PTSD-EWAS consortium meta-analysis of military cohorts (p = 0.0024). We also observed association with the smoking-related locus cg05575921 in AHRR despite inclusion of a methylation-based smoking score covariate (p = 9.16 × 10-6), which replicates a previously observed PGC-PTSD-EWAS association (Smith et al. 2019), and yields evidence consistent with a smoking-independent effect. The top 100 EWAS loci were then examined in the PFC data. One of the blood-based PTSD loci, cg04130728 in CHST11, which was in the top 10 loci in blood, but which was not genome-wide significant, was significantly associated with PTSD in brain tissue (in blood p = 1.19 × 10-5, padj = 0.60, in brain, p = 0.00032 with the same direction of effect). Gene set enrichment analysis of the top 500 EWAS loci yielded several significant overlapping GO terms involved in pathogen response, including "Response to lipopolysaccharide" (p = 6.97 × 10-6, padj = 0.042).Conclusions
The cross replication observed in independent cohorts is evidence that DNA methylation in peripheral tissue can yield consistent and replicable PTSD associations, and our results also suggest that that some PTSD associations observed in peripheral tissue may mirror associations in the brain.Item Open Access Associations between sleep difficulties and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in veterans and active duty military personnel of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.(Journal of behavioral medicine, 2015-06) Ulmer, Christi S; Bosworth, Hayden B; Germain, Anne; Lindquist, Jennifer; Olsen, Maren; Brancu, Mira; VA Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center Registry Workgroup; Beckham, Jean CRecent evidence suggests that sleep disturbance may play an important role in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite the prevalence of sleep complaints among service members of recent military conflicts, few studies have examined associations between sleep and risk factors for CVD in this population. Symptom checklist items regarding distress about "trouble falling asleep" and "restless/disturbed sleep" were used as proxies for sleep onset and maintenance difficulties to examine these associations in US military service members of recent conflicts. Veterans having both sleep onset and maintenance difficulties had greater odds of being a current smoker and having psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses. Increased odds of a self-reported hypertension diagnosis and elevated systolic blood pressure were also found in certain subsets of this sample. Findings highlight the need for greater recognition of sleep difficulties as a CVD risk factor in a population known to be at increased risk for this condition.Item Open Access Autobiographical memory for stressful events: the role of autobiographical memory in posttraumatic stress disorder.(Conscious Cogn, 2011-09) Rubin, David C; Dennis, Michelle F; Beckham, Jean CTo provide the three-way comparisons needed to test existing theories, we compared (1) most-stressful memories to other memories and (2) involuntary to voluntary memories (3) in 75 community dwelling adults with and 42 without a current diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Each rated their three most-stressful, three most-positive, seven most-important and 15 word-cued autobiographical memories, and completed tests of personality and mood. Involuntary memories were then recorded and rated as they occurred for 2 weeks. Standard mechanisms of cognition and affect applied to extreme events accounted for the properties of stressful memories. Involuntary memories had greater emotional intensity than voluntary memories, but were not more frequently related to traumatic events. The emotional intensity, rehearsal, and centrality to the life story of both voluntary and involuntary memories, rather than incoherence of voluntary traumatic memories and enhanced availability of involuntary traumatic memories, were the properties of autobiographical memories associated with PTSD.Item Open Access Diet quality and exercise in older veterans with PTSD: a pilot study.(Translational behavioral medicine, 2021-09-06) Browne, Julia; Morey, Miriam C; Beckham, Jean C; Bosworth, Hayden B; Porter Starr, Kathryn N; Bales, Connie W; McDermott, Jessica; Sloane, Richard; Gregg, Jeffrey J; Hall, Katherine SOlder veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at increased risk of obesity and cardiometabolic disease. Physical activity and healthy eating are two behaviors that impact health, functional independence, and disease risk in later life, yet few studies have examined the relationship between PTSD and diet quality. This secondary analysis aimed to: (a) characterize the diet quality of older veterans with PTSD in comparison to U.S. dietary guidelines and (b) explore if participation in a supervised exercise intervention spurred simultaneous changes in dietary behavior. Diet quality was assessed with the Dietary Screener Questionnaire (DSQ), which measures daily intake of fiber, calcium, added sugar, whole grain, dairy, and fruits/vegetables/legumes. The sample included 54 military veterans ≥ 60 years old with PTSD who participated in a randomized controlled pilot trial comparing 12 weeks of supervised exercise (n = 36) to wait-list usual care (n = 18). The DSQ was administered at baseline and 12 weeks. Consumption of added sugar exceeded U.S. dietary guideline recommendations and consumption of whole grains, fruits/vegetables/legumes, fiber, calcium, and dairy fell short. Participation in the supervised exercise intervention was not associated with changes in diet quality. Results revealed that the diet quality of older veterans with PTSD is poor, and while the exercise intervention improved health through exercise, it did not make veterans any more likely to adopt a more healthful diet. Interventions targeting diet, or diet + exercise, are needed to manage the increased risk of obesity and cardiometabolic disease present in older veterans with PTSD.Item Open Access Examining the factor structure of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) in a post-9/11 U.S. military veteran sample.(Assessment, 2014-08) Green, Kimberly T; Hayward, Laura C; Williams, Ann M; Dennis, Paul A; Bryan, Brandon C; Taber, Katherine H; Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center Workgroup; Davidson, Jonathan RT; Beckham, Jean C; Calhoun, Patrick SThe present study examined the structural validity of the 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) in a large sample of U.S. veterans with military service since September 11, 2001. Participants (N = 1,981) completed the 25-item CD-RISC, a structured clinical interview and a self-report questionnaire assessing psychiatric symptoms. The study sample was randomly divided into two subsamples: an initial sample (Sample 1: n = 990) and a replication sample (Sample 2: n = 991). Findings derived from exploratory factor analysis (EFA) did not support the five-factor analytic structure as initially suggested in Connor and Davidson's instrument validation study. Although parallel analyses indicated a two-factor structural model, we tested one to six factor solutions for best model fit using confirmatory factor analysis. Results supported a two-factor model of resilience, composed of adaptability- (8 items) and self-efficacy-themed (6 items) items; however, only the adaptability-themed factor was found to be consistent with our view of resilience-a factor of protection against the development of psychopathology following trauma exposure. The adaptability-themed factor may be a useful measure of resilience for post-9/11 U.S. military veterans.Item Open Access Gene Expression Analysis in Three Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Cohorts Implicates Inflammation and Innate Immunity Pathways and Uncovers Shared Genetic Risk With Major Depressive Disorder.(Frontiers in neuroscience, 2021-01) Garrett, Melanie E; Qin, Xue Jun; Mehta, Divya; Dennis, Michelle F; Marx, Christine E; Grant, Gerald A; VA Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Workgroup; PTSD Initiative; Injury and Traumatic Stress (INTRuST) Clinical Consortium; Psychiatric Genomics Consortium PTSD Group; Stein, Murray B; Kimbrel, Nathan A; Beckham, Jean C; Hauser, Michael A; Ashley-Koch, Allison EPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex psychiatric disorder that can develop following exposure to traumatic events. The Psychiatric Genomics Consortium PTSD group (PGC-PTSD) has collected over 20,000 multi-ethnic PTSD cases and controls and has identified both genetic and epigenetic factors associated with PTSD risk. To further investigate biological correlates of PTSD risk, we examined three PGC-PTSD cohorts comprising 977 subjects to identify differentially expressed genes among PTSD cases and controls. Whole blood gene expression was quantified with the HumanHT-12 v4 Expression BeadChip for 726 OEF/OIF veterans from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), 155 samples from the Injury and Traumatic Stress (INTRuST) Clinical Consortium, and 96 Australian Vietnam War veterans. Differential gene expression analysis was performed in each cohort separately followed by meta-analysis. In the largest cohort, we performed co-expression analysis to identify modules of genes that are associated with PTSD and MDD. We then conducted expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis and assessed the presence of eQTL interactions involving PTSD and major depressive disorder (MDD). Finally, we utilized PTSD and MDD GWAS summary statistics to identify regions that colocalize with eQTLs. Although not surpassing correction for multiple testing, the most differentially expressed genes in meta-analysis were interleukin-1 beta (IL1B), a pro-inflammatory cytokine previously associated with PTSD, and integrin-linked kinase (ILK), which is highly expressed in brain and can rescue dysregulated hippocampal neurogenesis and memory deficits. Pathway analysis revealed enrichment of toll-like receptor (TLR) and interleukin-1 receptor genes, which are integral to cellular innate immune response. Co-expression analysis identified four modules of genes associated with PTSD, two of which are also associated with MDD, demonstrating common biological pathways underlying the two conditions. Lastly, we identified four genes (UBA7, HLA-F, HSPA1B, and RERE) with high probability of a shared causal eQTL variant with PTSD and/or MDD GWAS variants, thereby providing a potential mechanism by which the GWAS variant contributes to disease risk. In summary, we provide additional evidence for genes and pathways previously reported and identified plausible novel candidates for PTSD. These data provide further insight into genetic factors and pathways involved in PTSD, as well as potential regions of pleiotropy between PTSD and MDD.Item Open Access GWAS Meta-Analysis of Suicide Attempt: Identification of 12 Genome-Wide Significant Loci and Implication of Genetic Risks for Specific Health Factors.(The American journal of psychiatry, 2023-10) Docherty, Anna R; Mullins, Niamh; Ashley-Koch, Allison E; Qin, Xuejun; Coleman, Jonathan RI; Shabalin, Andrey; Kang, JooEun; Murnyak, Balasz; Wendt, Frank; Adams, Mark; Campos, Adrian I; DiBlasi, Emily; Fullerton, Janice M; Kranzler, Henry R; Bakian, Amanda V; Monson, Eric T; Rentería, Miguel E; Walss-Bass, Consuelo; Andreassen, Ole A; Behera, Chittaranjan; Bulik, Cynthia M; Edenberg, Howard J; Kessler, Ronald C; Mann, J John; Nurnberger, John I; Pistis, Giorgio; Streit, Fabian; Ursano, Robert J; Polimanti, Renato; Dennis, Michelle; Garrett, Melanie; Hair, Lauren; Harvey, Philip; Hauser, Elizabeth R; Hauser, Michael A; Huffman, Jennifer; Jacobson, Daniel; Madduri, Ravi; McMahon, Benjamin; Oslin, David W; Trafton, Jodie; Awasthi, Swapnil; Berrettini, Wade H; Bohus, Martin; Chang, Xiao; Chen, Hsi-Chung; Chen, Wei J; Christensen, Erik D; Crow, Scott; Duriez, Philibert; Edwards, Alexis C; Fernández-Aranda, Fernando; Galfalvy, Hanga; Gandal, Michael; Gorwood, Philip; Guo, Yiran; Hafferty, Jonathan D; Hakonarson, Hakon; Halmi, Katherine A; Hishimoto, Akitoyo; Jain, Sonia; Jamain, Stéphane; Jiménez-Murcia, Susana; Johnson, Craig; Kaplan, Allan S; Kaye, Walter H; Keel, Pamela K; Kennedy, James L; Kim, Minsoo; Klump, Kelly L; Levey, Daniel F; Li, Dong; Liao, Shih-Cheng; Lieb, Klaus; Lilenfeld, Lisa; Marshall, Christian R; Mitchell, James E; Okazaki, Satoshi; Otsuka, Ikuo; Pinto, Dalila; Powers, Abigail; Ramoz, Nicolas; Ripke, Stephan; Roepke, Stefan; Rozanov, Vsevolod; Scherer, Stephen W; Schmahl, Christian; Sokolowski, Marcus; Starnawska, Anna; Strober, Michael; Su, Mei-Hsin; Thornton, Laura M; Treasure, Janet; Ware, Erin B; Watson, Hunna J; Witt, Stephanie H; Woodside, D Blake; Yilmaz, Zeynep; Zillich, Lea; Adolfsson, Rolf; Agartz, Ingrid; Alda, Martin; Alfredsson, Lars; Appadurai, Vivek; Artigas, María Soler; Van der Auwera, Sandra; Azevedo, M Helena; Bass, Nicholas; Bau, Claiton HD; Baune, Bernhard T; Bellivier, Frank; Berger, Klaus; Biernacka, Joanna M; Bigdeli, Tim B; Binder, Elisabeth B; Boehnke, Michael; Boks, Marco P; Braff, David L; Bryant, Richard; Budde, Monika; Byrne, Enda M; Cahn, Wiepke; Castelao, Enrique; Cervilla, Jorge A; Chaumette, Boris; Corvin, Aiden; Craddock, Nicholas; Djurovic, Srdjan; Foo, Jerome C; Forstner, Andreas J; Frye, Mark; Gatt, Justine M; Giegling, Ina; Grabe, Hans J; Green, Melissa J; Grevet, Eugenio H; Grigoroiu-Serbanescu, Maria; Gutierrez, Blanca; Guzman-Parra, Jose; Hamshere, Marian L; Hartmann, Annette M; Hauser, Joanna; Heilmann-Heimbach, Stefanie; Hoffmann, Per; Ising, Marcus; Jones, Ian; Jones, Lisa A; Jonsson, Lina; Kahn, René S; Kelsoe, John R; Kendler, Kenneth S; Kloiber, Stefan; Koenen, Karestan C; Kogevinas, Manolis; Krebs, Marie-Odile; Landén, Mikael; Leboyer, Marion; Lee, Phil H; Levinson, Douglas F; Liao, Calwing; Lissowska, Jolanta; Mayoral, Fermin; McElroy, Susan L; McGrath, Patrick; McGuffin, Peter; McQuillin, Andrew; Mehta, Divya; Melle, Ingrid; Mitchell, Philip B; Molina, Esther; Morken, Gunnar; Nievergelt, Caroline; Nöthen, Markus M; O'Donovan, Michael C; Ophoff, Roel A; Owen, Michael J; Pato, Carlos; Pato, Michele T; Penninx, Brenda WJH; Potash, James B; Power, Robert A; Preisig, Martin; Quested, Digby; Ramos-Quiroga, Josep Antoni; Reif, Andreas; Ribasés, Marta; Richarte, Vanesa; Rietschel, Marcella; Rivera, Margarita; Roberts, Andrea; Roberts, Gloria; Rouleau, Guy A; Rovaris, Diego L; Sanders, Alan R; Schofield, Peter R; Schulze, Thomas G; Scott, Laura J; Serretti, Alessandro; Shi, Jianxin; Sirignano, Lea; Sklar, Pamela; Smeland, Olav B; Smoller, Jordan W; Sonuga-Barke, Edmund JS; Trzaskowski, Maciej; Tsuang, Ming T; Turecki, Gustavo; Vilar-Ribó, Laura; Vincent, John B; Völzke, Henry; Walters, James TR; Weickert, Cynthia Shannon; Weickert, Thomas W; Weissman, Myrna M; Williams, Leanne M; Wray, Naomi R; Zai, Clement C; Agerbo, Esben; Børglum, Anders D; Breen, Gerome; Demontis, Ditte; Erlangsen, Annette; Gelernter, Joel; Glatt, Stephen J; Hougaard, David M; Hwu, Hai-Gwo; Kuo, Po-Hsiu; Lewis, Cathryn M; Li, Qingqin S; Liu, Chih-Min; Martin, Nicholas G; McIntosh, Andrew M; Medland, Sarah E; Mors, Ole; Nordentoft, Merete; Olsen, Catherine M; Porteous, David; Smith, Daniel J; Stahl, Eli A; Stein, Murray B; Wasserman, Danuta; Werge, Thomas; Whiteman, David C; Willour, Virginia; VA Million Veteran Program (MVP); MVP Suicide Exemplar Workgroup; Suicide Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium; Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium; Bipolar Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium; Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium; Eating Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium; German Borderline Genomics Consortium; Coon, Hilary; Beckham, Jean C; Kimbrel, Nathan A; Ruderfer, Douglas MObjective
Suicidal behavior is heritable and is a major cause of death worldwide. Two large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWASs) recently discovered and cross-validated genome-wide significant (GWS) loci for suicide attempt (SA). The present study leveraged the genetic cohorts from both studies to conduct the largest GWAS meta-analysis of SA to date. Multi-ancestry and admixture-specific meta-analyses were conducted within groups of significant African, East Asian, and European ancestry admixtures.Methods
This study comprised 22 cohorts, including 43,871 SA cases and 915,025 ancestry-matched controls. Analytical methods across multi-ancestry and individual ancestry admixtures included inverse variance-weighted fixed-effects meta-analyses, followed by gene, gene-set, tissue-set, and drug-target enrichment, as well as summary-data-based Mendelian randomization with brain expression quantitative trait loci data, phenome-wide genetic correlation, and genetic causal proportion analyses.Results
Multi-ancestry and European ancestry admixture GWAS meta-analyses identified 12 risk loci at p values <5×10-8. These loci were mostly intergenic and implicated DRD2, SLC6A9, FURIN, NLGN1, SOX5, PDE4B, and CACNG2. The multi-ancestry SNP-based heritability estimate of SA was 5.7% on the liability scale (SE=0.003, p=5.7×10-80). Significant brain tissue gene expression and drug set enrichment were observed. There was shared genetic variation of SA with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, smoking, and risk tolerance after conditioning SA on both major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. Genetic causal proportion analyses implicated shared genetic risk for specific health factors.Conclusions
This multi-ancestry analysis of suicide attempt identified several loci contributing to risk and establishes significant shared genetic covariation with clinical phenotypes. These findings provide insight into genetic factors associated with suicide attempt across ancestry admixture populations, in veteran and civilian populations, and in attempt versus death.Item Open Access International meta-analysis of PTSD genome-wide association studies identifies sex- and ancestry-specific genetic risk loci.(Nature communications, 2019-10) Nievergelt, Caroline M; Maihofer, Adam X; Klengel, Torsten; Atkinson, Elizabeth G; Chen, Chia-Yen; Choi, Karmel W; Coleman, Jonathan RI; Dalvie, Shareefa; Duncan, Laramie E; Gelernter, Joel; Levey, Daniel F; Logue, Mark W; Polimanti, Renato; Provost, Allison C; Ratanatharathorn, Andrew; Stein, Murray B; Torres, Katy; Aiello, Allison E; Almli, Lynn M; Amstadter, Ananda B; Andersen, Søren B; Andreassen, Ole A; Arbisi, Paul A; Ashley-Koch, Allison E; Austin, S Bryn; Avdibegovic, Esmina; Babić, Dragan; Bækvad-Hansen, Marie; Baker, Dewleen G; Beckham, Jean C; Bierut, Laura J; Bisson, Jonathan I; Boks, Marco P; Bolger, Elizabeth A; Børglum, Anders D; Bradley, Bekh; Brashear, Megan; Breen, Gerome; Bryant, Richard A; Bustamante, Angela C; Bybjerg-Grauholm, Jonas; Calabrese, Joseph R; Caldas-de-Almeida, José M; Dale, Anders M; Daly, Mark J; Daskalakis, Nikolaos P; Deckert, Jürgen; Delahanty, Douglas L; Dennis, Michelle F; Disner, Seth G; Domschke, Katharina; Dzubur-Kulenovic, Alma; Erbes, Christopher R; Evans, Alexandra; Farrer, Lindsay A; Feeny, Norah C; Flory, Janine D; Forbes, David; Franz, Carol E; Galea, Sandro; Garrett, Melanie E; Gelaye, Bizu; Geuze, Elbert; Gillespie, Charles; Uka, Aferdita Goci; Gordon, Scott D; Guffanti, Guia; Hammamieh, Rasha; Harnal, Supriya; Hauser, Michael A; Heath, Andrew C; Hemmings, Sian MJ; Hougaard, David Michael; Jakovljevic, Miro; Jett, Marti; Johnson, Eric Otto; Jones, Ian; Jovanovic, Tanja; Qin, Xue-Jun; Junglen, Angela G; Karstoft, Karen-Inge; Kaufman, Milissa L; Kessler, Ronald C; Khan, Alaptagin; Kimbrel, Nathan A; King, Anthony P; Koen, Nastassja; Kranzler, Henry R; Kremen, William S; Lawford, Bruce R; Lebois, Lauren AM; Lewis, Catrin E; Linnstaedt, Sarah D; Lori, Adriana; Lugonja, Bozo; Luykx, Jurjen J; Lyons, Michael J; Maples-Keller, Jessica; Marmar, Charles; Martin, Alicia R; Martin, Nicholas G; Maurer, Douglas; Mavissakalian, Matig R; McFarlane, Alexander; McGlinchey, Regina E; McLaughlin, Katie A; McLean, Samuel A; McLeay, Sarah; Mehta, Divya; Milberg, William P; Miller, Mark W; Morey, Rajendra A; Morris, Charles Phillip; Mors, Ole; Mortensen, Preben B; Neale, Benjamin M; Nelson, Elliot C; Nordentoft, Merete; Norman, Sonya B; O'Donnell, Meaghan; Orcutt, Holly K; Panizzon, Matthew S; Peters, Edward S; Peterson, Alan L; Peverill, Matthew; Pietrzak, Robert H; Polusny, Melissa A; Rice, John P; Ripke, Stephan; Risbrough, Victoria B; Roberts, Andrea L; Rothbaum, Alex O; Rothbaum, Barbara O; Roy-Byrne, Peter; Ruggiero, Ken; Rung, Ariane; Rutten, Bart PF; Saccone, Nancy L; Sanchez, Sixto E; Schijven, Dick; Seedat, Soraya; Seligowski, Antonia V; Seng, Julia S; Sheerin, Christina M; Silove, Derrick; Smith, Alicia K; Smoller, Jordan W; Sponheim, Scott R; Stein, Dan J; Stevens, Jennifer S; Sumner, Jennifer A; Teicher, Martin H; Thompson, Wesley K; Trapido, Edward; Uddin, Monica; Ursano, Robert J; van den Heuvel, Leigh Luella; Van Hooff, Miranda; Vermetten, Eric; Vinkers, Christiaan H; Voisey, Joanne; Wang, Yunpeng; Wang, Zhewu; Werge, Thomas; Williams, Michelle A; Williamson, Douglas E; Winternitz, Sherry; Wolf, Christiane; Wolf, Erika J; Wolff, Jonathan D; Yehuda, Rachel; Young, Ross McD; Young, Keith A; Zhao, Hongyu; Zoellner, Lori A; Liberzon, Israel; Ressler, Kerry J; Haas, Magali; Koenen, Karestan CThe risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma is heritable, but robust common variants have yet to be identified. In a multi-ethnic cohort including over 30,000 PTSD cases and 170,000 controls we conduct a genome-wide association study of PTSD. We demonstrate SNP-based heritability estimates of 5-20%, varying by sex. Three genome-wide significant loci are identified, 2 in European and 1 in African-ancestry analyses. Analyses stratified by sex implicate 3 additional loci in men. Along with other novel genes and non-coding RNAs, a Parkinson's disease gene involved in dopamine regulation, PARK2, is associated with PTSD. Finally, we demonstrate that polygenic risk for PTSD is significantly predictive of re-experiencing symptoms in the Million Veteran Program dataset, although specific loci did not replicate. These results demonstrate the role of genetic variation in the biology of risk for PTSD and highlight the necessity of conducting sex-stratified analyses and expanding GWAS beyond European ancestry populations.Item Open Access Large epigenome-wide association study identifies multiple novel differentially methylated CpG sites associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors in veterans.(Frontiers in psychiatry, 2023-01) Kimbrel, Nathan A; Garrett, Melanie E; Evans, Mariah K; Mellows, Clara; Dennis, Michelle F; Hair, Lauren P; Hauser, Michael A; VA Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Workgroup; Ashley-Koch, Allison E; Beckham, Jean CIntroduction
The U.S. suicide mortality rate has steadily increased during the past two decades, particularly among military veterans; however, the epigenetic basis of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) remains largely unknown.Methods
To address this issue, we conducted an epigenome-wide association study of DNA methylation (DNAm) of peripheral blood samples obtained from 2,712 U.S. military veterans.Results
Three DNAm probes were significantly associated with suicide attempts, surpassing the multiple testing threshold (FDR q-value <0.05), including cg13301722 on chromosome 7, which lies between the genes SLC4A2 and CDK5; cg04724646 in PDE3A; and cg04999352 in RARRES3. cg13301722 was also found to be differentially methylated in the cerebral cortex of suicide decedents in a publicly-available dataset (p = 0.03). Trait enrichment analysis revealed that the CpG sites most strongly associated with STB in the present sample were also associated with smoking, alcohol consumption, maternal smoking, and maternal alcohol consumption, whereas pathway enrichment analysis revealed significant associations with circadian rhythm, adherens junction, insulin secretion, and RAP-1 signaling, each of which was recently associated with suicide attempts in a large, independent genome-wide association study of suicide attempts of veterans.Discussion
Taken together, the present findings suggest that SLC4A2, CDK5, PDE3A, and RARRES3 may play a role in STB. CDK5, a member of the cyclin-dependent kinase family that is highly expressed in the brain and essential for learning and memory, appears to be a particularly promising candidate worthy of future study; however, additional work is still needed to replicate these finding in independent samples.Item Open Access Neuroticism Increases PTSD Symptom Severity by Amplifying the Emotionality, Rehearsal, and Centrality of Trauma Memories.(Journal of personality, 2017-10) Ogle, Christin M; Siegler, Ilene C; Beckham, Jean C; Rubin, David COBJECTIVE:Although it is well established that neuroticism increases the risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), little is known about the mechanisms that promote PTSD in individuals with elevated levels of neuroticism. Across two studies, we examined the cognitive-affective processes through which neuroticism leads to greater PTSD symptom severity. METHOD:Community-dwelling adults with trauma histories varying widely in severity (Study 1) and clinically diagnosed individuals exposed to DSM-IV-TR A1 criterion traumas (Study 2) completed measures of neuroticism, negative affectivity, trauma memory characteristics, and PTSD symptom severity. RESULTS:Longitudinal data in Study 1 showed that individuals with higher scores on two measures of neuroticism assessed approximately three decades apart in young adulthood and midlife reported trauma memories accompanied by more intense physiological reactions, more frequent involuntary rehearsal, and greater perceived centrality to identity in older adulthood. These properties of trauma memories were in turn associated with more severe PTSD symptoms. Study 2 replicated these findings using cross-sectional data from individuals with severe trauma histories and three additional measures of neuroticism. CONCLUSIONS:Results suggest that neuroticism leads to PTSD symptoms by magnifying the emotionality, availability, and centrality of trauma memories as proposed in mnemonic models of PTSD.Item Open Access Participant, rater, and computer measures of coherence in posttraumatic stress disorder.(J Abnorm Psychol, 2016-01) Rubin, David C; Deffler, Samantha A; Ogle, Christin M; Dowell, Nia M; Graesser, Arthur C; Beckham, Jean CWe examined the coherence of trauma memories in a trauma-exposed community sample of 30 adults with and 30 without posttraumatic stress disorder. The groups had similar categories of traumas and were matched on multiple factors that could affect the coherence of memories. We compared the transcribed oral trauma memories of participants with their most important and most positive memories. A comprehensive set of 28 measures of coherence including 3 ratings by the participants, 7 ratings by outside raters, and 18 computer-scored measures, provided a variety of approaches to defining and measuring coherence. A multivariate analysis of variance indicated differences in coherence among the trauma, important, and positive memories, but not between the diagnostic groups or their interaction with these memory types. Most differences were small in magnitude; in some cases, the trauma memories were more, rather than less, coherent than the control memories. Where differences existed, the results agreed with the existing literature, suggesting that factors other than the incoherence of trauma memories are most likely to be central to the maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder and thus its treatment.Item Open Access Physical Activity Counseling Promotes Physical and Psychological Resilience in Older Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.(Mental health and physical activity, 2016-10) Hall, Katherine S; Gregg, Jeffrey; Bosworth, Hayden B; Beckham, Jean C; Hoerster, Katherine D; Sloane, Richard; Morey, Miriam CIndividuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have elevated rates of morbidity, and a sedentary lifestyle can cause and aggravate the physical health needs of adults with PTSD. The primary aim of this paper was to explore the impact of physical activity (PA) counseling (vs. usual care) on physical and psychological outcomes among individuals with PTSD. A secondary aim was to compare these arm effects between those with and without PTSD.Methods
Older (>60 years) overweight veterans with impaired glucose tolerance were randomly assigned to an intervention or a usual care control arm. Of the 302 participants who underwent randomization, 67 (22%) had PTSD. Participants in the intervention arm received one in-person activity counseling session followed by regular PA telephone counseling over 12 months. Physical and psychological outcomes were assessed at baseline, 3, and 12 months.Results
Primary Aim (intervention vs. usual care among those with PTSD): PA increased on average from 80 minutes/week to 161 minutes/week among participants in the intervention arm (p=0.01). Large, clinically meaningful improvements in six-minute walk test and psychological health were observed over the course of the intervention (p<0.01). Secondary Aim (PTSD/No PTSD, intervention/usual care): participants with PTSD responded equally well to the intervention compared to participants without PTSD, though we observed significantly greater improvements in vitality and six-minute walk compared to participants without PTSD (p<0.05).Conclusions
Given the epidemic of comorbid psychological illness and lifestyle-related disease among persons with PTSD, our findings support development and implementation of targeted PA interventions in this high-risk population.Item Open Access Pilot Cohorts for Development of Concurrent Mobile Treatment for Alcohol and Tobacco Use Disorders.(Substance abuse : research and treatment, 2021-01) Medenblik, Alyssa M; Calhoun, Patrick S; Maisto, Stephen A; Kivlahan, Daniel R; Moore, Scott D; Beckham, Jean C; Wilson, Sarah M; Blalock, Dan V; Dedert, Eric AAlcohol and tobacco are the 2 most frequently used drugs in the United States and represent the highest co-occurrence of polysubstance use. The objective of this study was to refine an intervention combining mobile contingency management with cognitive-behavioral telephone counseling for concurrent treatment of alcohol and tobacco use disorders. Two cohorts (n = 13 total, n = 5 women) of participants were enrolled, with 10/13 completing treatment and 7/13 completing the 6-month follow-up. At enrollment, participants were drinking a mean of 28.9 drinks per week (SD = 14.1), with a mean of 14.7 heavy drinking days in the past month (SD = 9.9), and a mean of 18.1 cigarettes per day (SD = 11.7). Treatment included a mobile application that participants used to record carbon monoxide and breath alcohol content readings to bioverify abstinence. Participants received up to 4 sessions of phone cognitive-behavioral therapy and monetary reinforcement contingent on abstinence. In cohort 1, 4/6 participants reported abstinent or low-risk drinking post-monitoring. Six weeks post quit-date, 2/6 participants were CO-bioverified abstinent from tobacco use, with 2/6 in dual remission. These results were maintained at 6-months. In cohort 2, 6/7 reported abstinent or low-risk drinking post-monitoring, 5 weeks post quit-date. At the post-monitoring visit, 5/7 were CO-bioverified abstinent from smoking, with 5/7 in dual remission. At 6-months, 3/7 reporting abstinent or low-risk drinking, 1/7 had bioverified abstinence from smoking, with 1/7 in dual remission. Observations suggest that it is possible to develop a concurrent mobile treatment for alcohol and tobacco use disorders.Item Open Access Pilot randomized controlled trial of exercise training for older veterans with PTSD.(Journal of behavioral medicine, 2020-08) Hall, Katherine S; Morey, Miriam C; Bosworth, Hayden B; Beckham, Jean C; Pebole, Michelle M; Sloane, Richard; Pieper, Carl FExercise training positively impacts mental health, yet remains untested in older adults with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We conducted a randomized controlled pilot trial to test the feasibility and acceptability of exercise training in older veterans with PTSD. Fifty-four veterans ≥ 60 years, with a DSM-V diagnosis of PTSD, were randomized to supervised exercise (n = 36) or wait-list (WL; n = 18). Primary outcomes included recruitment rates, attendance, satisfaction, and retention. Secondary outcomes included changes in PTSD symptoms, depression, health-related quality of life, and sleep quality; assessed at baseline and 12 weeks. There were no adverse events. Attrition was minimal (14%), and adherence to the exercise intervention was high (82%). Clinically significant improvements in PTSD and related conditions were observed following exercise (Cohen's d = 0.36-0.81). Exercise training is safe and acceptable in older adults with PTSD, may improve PTSD symptoms, and broadly impacts PTSD-related conditions. Future definitive trials are warranted.Item Open Access Posttraumatic stress disorder, trauma, and accelerated biological aging among post-9/11 veterans.(Translational psychiatry, 2024-01) Bourassa, Kyle J; Garrett, Melanie E; Caspi, Avshalom; Dennis, Michelle; Hall, Katherine S; Moffitt, Terrie E; Taylor, Gregory A; VA Mid Atlantic MIRECC Workgroup; Ashley-Koch, Allison E; Beckham, Jean C; Kimbrel, Nathan APeople who experience trauma and develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at increased risk for poor health. One mechanism that could explain this risk is accelerated biological aging, which is associated with the accumulation of chronic diseases, disability, and premature mortality. Using data from 2309 post-9/11 United States military veterans who participated in the VISN 6 MIRECC's Post-Deployment Mental Health Study, we tested whether PTSD and trauma exposure were associated with accelerated rate of biological aging, assessed using a validated DNA methylation (DNAm) measure of epigenetic aging-DunedinPACE. Veterans with current PTSD were aging faster than those who did not have current PTSD, β = 0.18, 95% CI [0.11, 0.27], p < .001. This effect represented an additional 0.4 months of biological aging each year. Veterans were also aging faster if they reported more PTSD symptoms, β = 0.13, 95% CI [0.09, 0.16], p < 0.001, or higher levels of trauma exposure, β = 0.09, 95% CI [0.05, 0.13], p < 0.001. Notably, veterans with past PTSD were aging more slowly than those with current PTSD, β = -0.21, 95% CI [-0.35, -0.07], p = .003. All reported results accounted for age, gender, self-reported race/ethnicity, and education, and remained when controlling for smoking. Our findings suggest that an accelerated rate of biological aging could help explain how PTSD contributes to poor health and highlights the potential benefits of providing efficacious treatment to populations at increased risk of trauma and PTSD.Item Open Access Provider-supported self-management cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (Tele-Self CBTi): Protocol for a randomized controlled trial.(Contemporary clinical trials, 2023-02) Ulmer, Christi S; Bosworth, Hayden B; Zervakis, Jennifer; Goodwin, Kaitlyn; Gentry, Pamela; Rose, Cynthia; Jeffreys, Amy S; Olsen, Maren K; Weidenbacher, Hollis J; Beckham, Jean C; Voils, Corrine IBackground
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) is recommended as first-line treatment for insomnia, yet patient access to CBTi is limited. Self-help CBTi could increase patient access. Self-help CBTI with provider sup]port is more effective and is preferred by patients. Self-help CBTi has not been evaluated in veterans; a population with greater medical and mental health morbidity and more severe sleep difficulties than non-veterans. Moreover, those with mental health conditions have been largely excluded from prior CBTi self-help trials. Stablishing the efficacy of provider-supported Self-help CBTi is an important first step for expanding veteran access to CBTi.Methods
In a 2-armed randomized controlled trial, a provider-supported self-help CBTi (Tele-Self CBTi) is compared to Health Education for improving insomnia severity (primary outcome) among treatment-seeking veterans with insomnia disorder. Tele-Self CBTi is comprised of two treatment components: self-help CBTi via a professionally designed manual developed using an iterative process of expert review and patient input; and 6 telephone-based support sessions lasting >20 min. Outcomes are assessed at baseline, 8 weeks, and 6 months after baseline. The primary outcome, insomnia severity, is measured using the Insomnia Severity Index. Secondary outcomes include self-reported and actigraphy-assessed sleep, fatigue, depression symptoms, and sleep-related quality of life.Conclusion
Innovative approaches are essential to improving overall health among veterans; a population with highly prevalent insomnia disorder. If effective, Tele-Self CBTi may bridge the gap between unavailable resources and high demand for CBTi and serve as the entry level intervention in a stepped model of care.Clinical trials
Gov identifier
NCT03727438.Item Open Access PTSD is negatively associated with physical performance and physical function in older overweight military Veterans.(Journal of rehabilitation research and development, 2014-01) Hall, Katherine S; Beckham, Jean C; Bosworth, Hayden B; Sloane, Richard; Pieper, Carl F; Morey, Miriam CThis study examines the effect of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on function and physical performance in older overweight military Veterans with comorbid conditions. This is a secondary data analysis of older Veterans (mean age = 62.9 yr) participating in a physical activity counseling trial. Study participants with PTSD (n = 67) and without PTSD (n = 235) were identified. Self-reported physical function (36-item Short Form Health Survey) and directly measured physical performance (mobility, aerobic endurance, strength) were assessed. Multivariate analyses of variance controlling for demographic factors and psychiatric disorders demonstrated significant physical impairment among those with PTSD. PTSD was negatively associated with self-reported physical function, functioning in daily activities, and general health (p < 0.01). Those with PTSD also performed significantly worse on tests of lower-limb function (p < 0.05). Despite being significantly younger, Veterans with PTSD had comparable scores on gait speed, aerobic endurance, grip strength, and bodily pain compared with Veterans without PTSD. This study provides preliminary data for the negative association between PTSD and physical function in older military Veterans. These data highlight the importance of ongoing monitoring of physical performance among returning Veterans with PTSD and intervening in older overweight Veterans with PTSD, whose physical performance scores are indicative of accelerated risk of premature functional aging.Item Open Access Scientific evidence versus outdated beliefs: A response to Brewin (2016).(Journal of abnormal psychology, 2016-10) Rubin, David C; Berntsen, Dorthe; Ogle, Christin M; Deffler, Samantha A; Beckham, Jean CWe find Brewin's (2016) critiques of the narratives, power, and coherence measures in Rubin et al. (2016) without merit; his suggestions for a "revised formulation" (p. 1015) of coherence are contradicted by data readily available in the target article but ignored. We place Brewin's commentary in a historical context and show that it reiterates views of trauma memory fragmentation that are unsupported by data. We evaluate an earlier review of fragmentation of trauma memories (Brewin, 2014), which Brewin uses to support his position in the commentary. We show that it is contradicted by more comprehensive reviews and fails to include several studies that met Brewin's inclusion criteria but provided no support for his position, including 3 studies by the present authors (Rubin, 2011; Rubin, Boals, & Berntsen, 2008; Rubin, Dennis, & Beckham, 2011). In short, the commentary's position does not stand against scientific evidence; attempts to rescue it through arguments unsupported by data advance neither science nor clinical practice. (PsycINFO Database RecordItem Open Access The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex.(Science (New York, N.Y.), 2020-03) Grasby, Katrina L; Jahanshad, Neda; Painter, Jodie N; Colodro-Conde, Lucía; Bralten, Janita; Hibar, Derrek P; Lind, Penelope A; Pizzagalli, Fabrizio; Ching, Christopher RK; McMahon, Mary Agnes B; Shatokhina, Natalia; Zsembik, Leo CP; Thomopoulos, Sophia I; Zhu, Alyssa H; Strike, Lachlan T; Agartz, Ingrid; Alhusaini, Saud; Almeida, Marcio AA; Alnæs, Dag; Amlien, Inge K; Andersson, Micael; Ard, Tyler; Armstrong, Nicola J; Ashley-Koch, Allison; Atkins, Joshua R; Bernard, Manon; Brouwer, Rachel M; Buimer, Elizabeth EL; Bülow, Robin; Bürger, Christian; Cannon, Dara M; Chakravarty, Mallar; Chen, Qiang; Cheung, Joshua W; Couvy-Duchesne, Baptiste; Dale, Anders M; Dalvie, Shareefa; de Araujo, Tânia K; de Zubicaray, Greig I; de Zwarte, Sonja MC; den Braber, Anouk; Doan, Nhat Trung; Dohm, Katharina; Ehrlich, Stefan; Engelbrecht, Hannah-Ruth; Erk, Susanne; Fan, Chun Chieh; Fedko, Iryna O; Foley, Sonya F; Ford, Judith M; Fukunaga, Masaki; Garrett, Melanie E; Ge, Tian; Giddaluru, Sudheer; Goldman, Aaron L; Green, Melissa J; Groenewold, Nynke A; Grotegerd, Dominik; Gurholt, Tiril P; Gutman, Boris A; Hansell, Narelle K; Harris, Mathew A; Harrison, Marc B; Haswell, Courtney C; Hauser, Michael; Herms, Stefan; Heslenfeld, Dirk J; Ho, New Fei; Hoehn, David; Hoffmann, Per; Holleran, Laurena; Hoogman, Martine; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Ikeda, Masashi; Janowitz, Deborah; Jansen, Iris E; Jia, Tianye; Jockwitz, Christiane; Kanai, Ryota; Karama, Sherif; Kasperaviciute, Dalia; Kaufmann, Tobias; Kelly, Sinead; Kikuchi, Masataka; Klein, Marieke; Knapp, Michael; Knodt, Annchen R; Krämer, Bernd; Lam, Max; Lancaster, Thomas M; Lee, Phil H; Lett, Tristram A; Lewis, Lindsay B; Lopes-Cendes, Iscia; Luciano, Michelle; Macciardi, Fabio; Marquand, Andre F; Mathias, Samuel R; Melzer, Tracy R; Milaneschi, Yuri; Mirza-Schreiber, Nazanin; Moreira, Jose CV; Mühleisen, Thomas W; Müller-Myhsok, Bertram; Najt, Pablo; Nakahara, Soichiro; Nho, Kwangsik; Olde Loohuis, Loes M; Orfanos, Dimitri Papadopoulos; Pearson, John F; Pitcher, Toni L; Pütz, Benno; Quidé, Yann; Ragothaman, Anjanibhargavi; Rashid, Faisal M; Reay, William R; Redlich, Ronny; Reinbold, Céline S; Repple, Jonathan; Richard, Geneviève; Riedel, Brandalyn C; Risacher, Shannon L; Rocha, Cristiane S; Mota, Nina Roth; Salminen, Lauren; Saremi, Arvin; Saykin, Andrew J; Schlag, Fenja; Schmaal, Lianne; Schofield, Peter R; Secolin, Rodrigo; Shapland, Chin Yang; Shen, Li; Shin, Jean; Shumskaya, Elena; Sønderby, Ida E; Sprooten, Emma; Tansey, Katherine E; Teumer, Alexander; Thalamuthu, Anbupalam; Tordesillas-Gutiérrez, Diana; Turner, Jessica A; Uhlmann, Anne; Vallerga, Costanza Ludovica; van der Meer, Dennis; van Donkelaar, Marjolein MJ; van Eijk, Liza; van Erp, Theo GM; van Haren, Neeltje EM; van Rooij, Daan; van Tol, Marie-José; Veldink, Jan H; Verhoef, Ellen; Walton, Esther; Wang, Mingyuan; Wang, Yunpeng; Wardlaw, Joanna M; Wen, Wei; Westlye, Lars T; Whelan, Christopher D; Witt, Stephanie H; Wittfeld, Katharina; Wolf, Christiane; Wolfers, Thomas; Wu, Jing Qin; Yasuda, Clarissa L; Zaremba, Dario; Zhang, Zuo; Zwiers, Marcel P; Artiges, Eric; Assareh, Amelia A; Ayesa-Arriola, Rosa; Belger, Aysenil; Brandt, Christine L; Brown, Gregory G; Cichon, Sven; Curran, Joanne E; Davies, Gareth E; Degenhardt, Franziska; Dennis, Michelle F; Dietsche, Bruno; Djurovic, Srdjan; Doherty, Colin P; Espiritu, Ryan; Garijo, Daniel; Gil, Yolanda; Gowland, Penny A; Green, Robert C; Häusler, Alexander N; Heindel, Walter; Ho, Beng-Choon; Hoffmann, Wolfgang U; Holsboer, Florian; Homuth, Georg; Hosten, Norbert; Jack, Clifford R; Jang, MiHyun; Jansen, Andreas; Kimbrel, Nathan A; Kolskår, Knut; Koops, Sanne; Krug, Axel; Lim, Kelvin O; Luykx, Jurjen J; Mathalon, Daniel H; Mather, Karen A; Mattay, Venkata S; Matthews, Sarah; Mayoral Van Son, Jaqueline; McEwen, Sarah C; Melle, Ingrid; Morris, Derek W; Mueller, Bryon A; Nauck, Matthias; Nordvik, Jan E; Nöthen, Markus M; O'Leary, Daniel S; Opel, Nils; Martinot, Marie-Laure Paillère; Pike, G Bruce; Preda, Adrian; Quinlan, Erin B; Rasser, Paul E; Ratnakar, Varun; Reppermund, Simone; Steen, Vidar M; Tooney, Paul A; Torres, Fábio R; Veltman, Dick J; Voyvodic, James T; Whelan, Robert; White, Tonya; Yamamori, Hidenaga; Adams, Hieab HH; Bis, Joshua C; Debette, Stephanie; Decarli, Charles; Fornage, Myriam; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Hofer, Edith; Ikram, M Arfan; Launer, Lenore; Longstreth, WT; Lopez, Oscar L; Mazoyer, Bernard; Mosley, Thomas H; Roshchupkin, Gennady V; Satizabal, Claudia L; Schmidt, Reinhold; Seshadri, Sudha; Yang, Qiong; Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative; CHARGE Consortium; EPIGEN Consortium; IMAGEN Consortium; SYS Consortium; Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative; Alvim, Marina KM; Ames, David; Anderson, Tim J; Andreassen, Ole A; Arias-Vasquez, Alejandro; Bastin, Mark E; Baune, Bernhard T; Beckham, Jean C; Blangero, John; Boomsma, Dorret I; Brodaty, Henry; Brunner, Han G; Buckner, Randy L; Buitelaar, Jan K; Bustillo, Juan R; Cahn, Wiepke; Cairns, Murray J; Calhoun, Vince; Carr, Vaughan J; Caseras, Xavier; Caspers, Svenja; Cavalleri, Gianpiero L; Cendes, Fernando; Corvin, Aiden; Crespo-Facorro, Benedicto; Dalrymple-Alford, John C; Dannlowski, Udo; de Geus, Eco JC; Deary, Ian J; Delanty, Norman; Depondt, Chantal; Desrivières, Sylvane; Donohoe, Gary; Espeseth, Thomas; Fernández, Guillén; Fisher, Simon E; Flor, Herta; Forstner, Andreas J; Francks, Clyde; Franke, Barbara; Glahn, David C; Gollub, Randy L; Grabe, Hans J; Gruber, Oliver; Håberg, Asta K; Hariri, Ahmad R; Hartman, Catharina A; Hashimoto, Ryota; Heinz, Andreas; Henskens, Frans A; Hillegers, Manon HJ; Hoekstra, Pieter J; Holmes, Avram J; Hong, L Elliot; Hopkins, William D; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E; Jernigan, Terry L; Jönsson, Erik G; Kahn, René S; Kennedy, Martin A; Kircher, Tilo TJ; Kochunov, Peter; Kwok, John BJ; Le Hellard, Stephanie; Loughland, Carmel M; Martin, Nicholas G; Martinot, Jean-Luc; McDonald, Colm; McMahon, Katie L; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas; Michie, Patricia T; Morey, Rajendra A; Mowry, Bryan; Nyberg, Lars; Oosterlaan, Jaap; Ophoff, Roel A; Pantelis, Christos; Paus, Tomas; Pausova, Zdenka; Penninx, Brenda WJH; Polderman, Tinca JC; Posthuma, Danielle; Rietschel, Marcella; Roffman, Joshua L; Rowland, Laura M; Sachdev, Perminder S; Sämann, Philipp G; Schall, Ulrich; Schumann, Gunter; Scott, Rodney J; Sim, Kang; Sisodiya, Sanjay M; Smoller, Jordan W; Sommer, Iris E; St Pourcain, Beate; Stein, Dan J; Toga, Arthur W; Trollor, Julian N; Van der Wee, Nic JA; van 't Ent, Dennis; Völzke, Henry; Walter, Henrik; Weber, Bernd; Weinberger, Daniel R; Wright, Margaret J; Zhou, Juan; Stein, Jason L; Thompson, Paul M; Medland, Sarah E; Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis Consortium (ENIGMA)—Genetics working groupThe cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Item Open Access The Warrior Wellness Study: A Randomized Controlled Exercise Trial for Older Veterans with PTSD.(Translational journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, 2018-03) Hall, Katherine S; Morey, Miriam C; Beckham, Jean C; Bosworth, Hayden B; Pebole, Michelle M; Pieper, Carl F; Sloane, RichardPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects up to 30% of military veterans. Older veterans, many of whom have lived with PTSD symptoms for several decades, report a number of negative health outcomes. Despite the demonstrated benefits of regular exercise on physical and psychological health, no studies have explored the impact of exercise in older veterans with PTSD. This paper describes the development, design, and implementation of the Warrior Wellness exercise pilot study for older veterans with PTSD. Veterans aged ≥60 with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) diagnosis of PTSD will be recruited and randomized to (a) Warrior Wellness, a 12-week supervised, facility-based exercise intervention, or (b) usual care for 12 weeks. Warrior Wellness is a theory- and evidence-based behavioral intervention that involves 3 sessions per week of multi-component exercise training that targets strength, endurance, balance, and flexibility. Warrior Wellness focuses on satisfaction with outcomes, self-efficacy, self-monitoring, and autonomy. Factors associated with program adherence, defined as the number of sessions attended during the 12 weeks, will be explored. Primary outcomes include PTSD symptoms and cardiovascular endurance, assessed at baseline and 12 weeks. Compared to those in usual care, it is hypothesized that those in the Warrior Wellness condition will improve on these efficacy outcomes. The Warrior Wellness study will provide evidence on whether a short-term exercise intervention is feasible, acceptable, and effective among older veterans with PTSD, and explore factors associated with program adherence. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02295995.