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The Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D; L. S. Radloff, 1977) assesses the presence and severity of depressive symptoms occurring over the past week. Although it contains only 20 items, its length may preclude its use in a variety of clinical populations. This study evaluated psychometric properties of 2 shorter forms of the CES-D developed by F. J. Kohout, L. F. Berkman, D. A. Evans, and J. Cornoni-Huntley (1993): the Iowa form and the Boston form. Data were pooled from 832 women representing 6 populations. Internal consistency estimates, correlations with the original version of the CES-D, and omitted-included item correlations supported use of the Iowa form over the Boston form when a shortened version of the scale is desired. Regression statistics are provided for use in estimating scores on the original CES-D when either shortened form is used. Factor analytic results from two populations support a single-factor structure for the original CES-D as well as the short forms.

Biologically active forms of vitamin D are important analytical targets in both research and clinical practice. The current technology is such that each of the vitamin D metabolites is usually analyzed by individual assay. However, current LC-MS technologies allow the simultaneous metabolic profiling of entire biochemical pathways. The impediment to the metabolic profiling of vitamin D metabolites is the low level of 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) in human serum (15-60 pg/mL). Here, we demonstrate that liquid-liquid or solid-phase extraction of vitamin D metabolites in combination with Diels-Alder derivatization with the commercially available reagent 4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (PTAD) followed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)-electrospray/tandem mass spectrometry analysis provides rapid and simultaneous quantification of 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3), 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(2), 24R,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3), 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D(2) in 0.5 mL human serum at a lower limit of quantification of 25 pg/mL. Precision ranged from 1.6-4.8 % and 5-16 % for 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) and 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3), respectively, using solid-phase extraction.

We investigated the association of social supports and stresses with depressive symptoms in a sample of Ill predominately low-income mothers of young children. The prevalence of high depressive symptoms, as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), was 48 per cent. Among unmarried women, everyday stressors were strongly associated with depressive symptoms, while life events were weakly related.Associations between these variables were not found for married

Cutaneous cholecalciferol synthesis has not been considered in making recommendations for vitamin D intake. Our objective was to model the effects of sun exposure, vitamin D intake, and skin reflectance (pigmentation) on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) in young adults with a wide range of skin reflectance and sun exposure. Four cohorts of participants (n = 72 total) were studied for 7-8 wk in the fall, winter, spring, and summer in Davis, CA [38.5 degrees N, 121.7 degrees W, Elev. 49 ft (15 m)]. Skin reflectance was measured using a spectrophotometer, vitamin D intake using food records, and sun exposure using polysulfone dosimeter badges. A multiple regression model (R(2) = 0.55; P < 0.0001) was developed and used to predict the serum 25(OH)D concentration for participants with low [median for African ancestry (AA)] and high [median for European ancestry (EA)] skin reflectance and with low [20th percentile, approximately 20 min/d, approximately 18% body surface area (BSA) exposed] and high (80th percentile, approximately 90 min/d, approximately 35% BSA exposed) sun exposure, assuming an intake of 200 iu/d (5 ug/d). Predicted serum 25(OH)D concentrations for AA individuals with low and high sun exposure in the winter were 24 and 42 nmol/L and in the summer were 40 and 60 nmol/L. Corresponding values for EA individuals were 35 and 60 nmol/L in the winter and in the summer were 58 and 85 nmol/L. To achieve 25(OH)D > or =75 nmol/L, we estimate that EA individuals with high sun exposure need 1300 iu/d vitamin D intake in the winter and AA individuals with low sun exposure need 2100-3100 iu/d year-round.

The initial results provided additional support for the reliability and substantial evidence for the validity of the LHFQ. However, the results of item and factor analyses did not fully support the psychometric soundness of several items. The psychometric properties of the LHFQ after deleting these items were improved. These results could provide researchers and clinicians a more useful measure of HRQOL.

Plasma levels of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis hormones beta-endorphin (BE), adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH), and cortisol were measured in autistic (N = 48), mentally retarded/cognitively impaired (MR/CI, N = 16), and normal control (N = 26) individuals. Comparison of log transformed data from the three groups revealed that levels of BE and ACTH were significantly higher (p < .05) in the autistic individuals than in normal controls. The higher means in the autistic group were due to significantly higher plasma levels of BE and ACTH, indices of acute stress response, in the more severely affected individuals. The data support the idea that individuals with severe autism have a heightened response to acute stressors rather than chronic hyperarousal or elevated basal stress response system functioning.

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