This study examined the Big Five personality traits as predictors of mortality risk, and smoking as a mediator of that association. Replication was built into the fabric of our design: we used a Coordinated Analysis with 15 international datasets, representing 44,094 participants. We found that high neuroticism and low conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness were consistent predictors of mortality across studies. Smoking had a small mediating effect for neuroticism. Country and baseline age explained variation in effects: studies with older baseline age showed a pattern of protective effects (HR<1.00) for openness, and U.S. studies showed a pattern of protective effects for extraversion. This study demonstrated coordinated analysis as a powerful approach to enhance replicability and reproducibility, especially for aging-related longitudinal research.

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT:There is growing understanding of the detrimental effect of paternal depression on children. The transition to fatherhood is a unique time for men. Identifying which fathers are at-risk and when will inform effective methods to help men and their families.WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: Nonresident fathers have the highest depression symptom scores, peaking before entering fatherhood. Although resident fathers' scores decrease preceding entry into fatherhood, there is a significant increase from 0 to 5 years of their child' s life when key parent-infant attachment occurs. abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Rates of paternal depression range from 5% to 10% with a growing body of literature describing the harm to fathers, children, and families. Changes in depression symptoms over the life course, and the role of social factors, are not well known. This study examines associations with changes in depression symptoms during the transition to fatherhood for young fathers and whether this association differed by key social factors. METHODS:We combined all 4 waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to support a 23-year longitudinal analysis of 10 623 men and then created a "fatherhood-year" data set, regressing ageadjusted standardized depressive symptoms scores on fatherhood status (nonresidence/residence), fatherhood-years, and covariates to determine associations between Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale scores and fatherhood life course intervals. RESULTS:Depressive symptom scores reported at the entry into fatherhood are higher for nonresident fathers than nonfathers, which in turn are higher than those of resident fathers. Resident fathers have a significant decrease in scores during late adolescence (b = -0.035, P = .023), but a significant increase in scores during early fatherhood (b = 0.023, P = .041). From entrance into fatherhood to the end of early fatherhood (+5 years), the depressive symptoms score for resident fathers increases on average by 68%. CONCLUSIONS:In our longitudinal, population-based study, resident fathers show increasing depressive symptom scores during children' s key attachment years of 0-5. Identifying at-risk fathers based on social factors and designing effective interventions may ultimately improve health outcomes for the entire family. Pediatrics 2014;133:836-843 AUTHORS:

ObjectiveTo determine whether parents of Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) transitioning home with the NICU-2-Home smartphone application have greater parenting self-efficacy, are better prepared for discharge and have shorter length of stay (LOS) than control parents.MethodsA four-week pilot randomized controlled trial during the transition home with 90 VLBW parents randomized to usual care (n = 44) or usual care plus NICU-2-Home (n = 46), a smartphone application designed for VLBW parents. Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC) was assessed at baseline, day after discharge, and two weeks post-discharge. Preparedness for discharge and length of stay (LOS) were secondary outcomes. Analyses by usage were also included.ResultsWhile parents of VLBW infants in the intervention group did not show an improvement in PSOC during the transition when compared directly to controls, after accounting for actual mean app usage, PSOC improved 7% (2.71 points/time greater; 95% CI = 1.45, 6.27) for intervention versus controls. Compared to controls, above-average users increased their PSOC score by 14% (6.84 points/time; 95% CL = 5.02, 8.67), average users by 11% (4.58 points/time; 95% CL = 2.89, 6.27) and below-average users by 6% (2.41 points/time; 95% CL = 0.04, 4.79). Moderate evidence showed LOS was shorter for above-average users compared to the control group (β = 12.2. SE = 6.9, p = 0.085).ConclusionA smartphone application used by parents of VLBW infants during the transition home from the NICU can improve parenting self-efficacy, discharge preparedness, and LOS with improved benefits based on usage.

BACKGROUND: Global health measures represent an attractive option for researchers and clinicians seeking a brief snapshot of a patient's overall perspective on his or her health. Because scores on different global health measures are not comparable, comparative effectiveness research (CER) is challenging. OBJECTIVE: To establish a common reporting metric so that the physical and mental health scores on the Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey (VR-12 © ) can be converted into scores on the corresponding Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS ® ) Global Health scores. DESIGN: Following a single-sample linking design, participants from an Internet panel completed items from the PROMIS Global Health and VR-12 Health Survey. A common metric was created using analyses based on item response theory (IRT), producing score cross-walk tables for the mental and physical health components of each measure. The linking relationships were evaluated by calculating the standard deviation of differences between the observed and linked PROMIS scores and estimating confidence intervals by sample size. PARTICIPANTS: Participants (N=2025) were 49 % male and 73 % white; mean age was 46 years. MAIN MEASURES: Mental and physical health subscales of the PROMIS Global Health and the VR-12. The mean VR-12 physical component and mental component scores were 45.2 and 46.6, respectively; the mean PROMIS physical and mental health scores were 48.3 and 48.5, respectively. KEY RESULTS: We found evidence that the combined set of VR-12 and PROMIS items were relatively unidimensional and that we could proceed with linking. Linking worked better between the physical health than mental health scores using VR-12 item responses (vs. linking based on algorithmic scores). For each of the cross-walks, users can minimize the impact of linking error with modest increases in sample sizes.CONCLUSIONS: VR-12 scores can be expressed on the PROMIS Global Health metric to facilitate the evaluation of treatment, including CER. Extending these results to other common measures of global health is encouraged.

Despite a growing understanding that the social determinants of health have an impact on body mass index (BMI), the role of fatherhood on young men’s BMI is understudied. This longitudinal study examines BMI in young men over time as they transition from adolescence into fatherhood in a nationally representative sample. Data from all four waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health supported a 20-year longitudinal analysis of 10,253 men beginning in 1994. A “fatherhood-year” data set was created and changes in BMI were examined based on fatherhood status (nonfather, nonresident father, resident father), fatherhood years, and covariates. Though age is positively associated with BMI over all years for all men, comparing nonresident and resident fathers with nonfathers reveals different trajectories based on fatherhood status. Entrance into fatherhood is associated with an increase in BMI trajectory for both nonresident and resident fathers, while nonfathers exhibit a decrease over the same period. In this longitudinal, population-based study, fatherhood and residence status play a role in men’s BMI. Designing obesity prevention interventions for young men that begin in adolescence and carry through young adulthood should target the distinctive needs of these populations, potentially improving their health outcomes.