Daniel German Blazer

Journal article Int J Geriatr Psychiatry · June 2012 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to compare symptom expression in primarily middle-aged (<60) and older (60+) patients who were depressed and determine if symptom profiles differed by age. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with major depression (N = 664) were ... Full text Link to item Cite

Trajectory classes of depressive symptoms in a community sample of older adults.

Journal article Acta Psychiatr Scand · June 2012 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: To identify trajectories of depressive symptoms in older community residents. METHOD: Depressive symptomatology, based on a modified Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale, was obtained at years 0, 3, 6, and 10, in the Duke Establis ... Full text Link to item Cite

Alcohol and drug dependence symptom items as brief screeners for substance use disorders: results from the Clinical Trials Network.

Journal article J Psychiatr Res · March 2012 Featured Publication AIM: To address an urgent need for screening of substance use problems in medical settings, we examined substance-specific dependence criteria as potential brief screeners for the detection of patients with a substance use disorder (SUD). METHODS: The samp ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Comparison of outcomes and the use of multimodality therapy in young and elderly people undergoing surgical resection of pancreatic cancer.

Journal article J Am Geriatr Soc · February 2012 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: To compare outcomes and the use of multimodality therapy in young and elderly people with pancreatic cancer undergoing surgical resection. DESIGN: Retrospective, single-institution study. SETTING: National Cancer Institute/National Comprehensiv ... Full text Link to item Cite

Treatment use and barriers among adolescents with prescription opioid use disorders.

Journal article Addict Behav · December 2011 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: This study examined national trends, patterns, correlates, and barriers to substance abuse treatment use by adolescents aged 12-17 years who met at least one of the past-year criteria for prescription opioid abuse or dependence (N=1788). METHOD ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Racial/ethnic variations in substance-related disorders among adolescents in the United States.

Journal article Arch Gen Psychiatry · November 2011 Featured Publication CONTEXT: While young racial/ethnic groups are the fastest growing population in the United States, data about substance-related disorders among adolescents of various racial/ethnic backgrounds are lacking. OBJECTIVE: To examine the magnitude of past-year D ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Use of item response theory and latent class analysis to link poly-substance use disorders with addiction severity, HIV risk, and quality of life among opioid-dependent patients in the Clinical Trials Network.

Journal article Drug Alcohol Depend · November 1, 2011 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: This study applied item response theory (IRT) and latent class analysis (LCA) procedures to examine the dimensionality and heterogeneity of comorbid substance use disorders (SUDs) and explored their utility for standard clinical assessments, in ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

When a chance to cut is not a chance to cure: a future for palliative surgery?

Other Ann Surg Oncol · November 2011 Featured Publication In the context of healthcare reform, Surgery stands at a critical juncture. Attempting to rein in healthcare spending, legislators and payers can be expected to closely examine the legitimacy and necessity of a variety of medical treatments, including surg ... Full text Link to item Cite

Heterogeneity in symptom profiles among older adults diagnosed with major depression.

Journal article Int Psychogeriatr · August 2011 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Late-life depression may be undiagnosed due to symptom expression. These analyses explore the structure of depressive symptoms in older patients diagnosed with major depression by identifying clusters of patients based on their symptom profiles ... Full text Link to item Cite

The epidemiology of alcohol use disorders and subthreshold dependence in a middle-aged and elderly community sample.

Journal article Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · August 2011 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: To estimate 1-year prevalence and correlates of alcohol abuse, dependence, and subthreshold dependence (diagnostic orphans) among middle-aged and elderly persons in the United States. DESIGN: 2005-2007 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. ME ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Differences in onset and abuse/dependence episodes between prescription opioids and heroin: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Journal article Subst Abuse Rehabil · May 2011 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: To examine patterns of onset and abuse/dependence episodes of prescription opioid (PO) and heroin use disorders in a national sample of adults, and to explore differences by gender and substance abuse treatment status. METHODS: Analyses of data ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Recent national trends in Salvia divinorum use and substance-use disorders among recent and former Salvia divinorum users compared with nonusers.

Journal article Subst Abuse Rehabil · April 2011 Featured Publication CONTEXT: Media and scientific reports have indicated an increase in recreational use of Salvia divinorum. Epidemiological data are lacking on the trends, prevalence, and correlates of S. divinorum use in large representative samples, as well as the extent ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Abuse and dependence on prescription opioids in adults: a mixture categorical and dimensional approach to diagnostic classification.

Journal article Psychol Med · March 2011 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: For the emerging DSM-V, it has been recommended that dimensional and categorical methods be used simultaneously in diagnostic classification; however, little is known about this combined approach for abuse and dependence. METHOD: Using data (n= ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

How do prescription opioid users differ from users of heroin or other drugs in psychopathology: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Journal article J Addict Med · March 2011 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: To study substance use and psychiatric disorders among prescription opioid users, heroin users, and non-opioid drug users in a national sample of adults. METHODS: Analyses of data from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Classification of neurocognitive disorders in DSM-5: a work in progress.

Journal article Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · March 2011 Featured Publication Full text Link to item Cite

Depressive symptoms, substance use, and HIV-related high-risk behaviors among opioid-dependent individuals: results from the Clinical Trials Network.

Journal article Subst Use Misuse · 2011 Featured Publication The sample included 343 opioid-dependent adults enrolled in two national multisite studies of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN001-002). Opioid-dependent individuals were recruited from 12 sites across the United States from Ja ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Gender and racial/ethnic differences in addiction severity, HIV risk, and quality of life among adults in opioid detoxification: results from the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network.

Journal article Subst Abuse Rehabil · December 2010 Featured Publication PURPOSE: Detoxification often serves as an initial contact for treatment and represents an opportunity for engaging patients in aftercare to prevent relapse. However, there is limited information concerning clinical profiles of individuals seeking detoxifi ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Subtypes of nonmedical opioid users: results from the national epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions.

Journal article Drug Alcohol Depend · November 1, 2010 Featured Publication AIMS: To identify subtypes of nonmedical opioid users, gender variations in psychiatric disorders, and quality of life in a representative sample of adults. METHODS: Analyses of data from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related C ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Shortness of breath as a predictor of depressive symptoms in a community sample of older adults.

Journal article Int J Geriatr Psychiatry · October 2010 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: Physical symptoms are known to be associated with late life depression both cross-sectionally and over time. We attempted to determine if self-reported shortness of breath (SoB) is associated with depressive symptoms at long-term (3-year) follo ... Full text Link to item Cite

Accuracy of self-reported height and weight in a community-based sample of older African Americans and whites.

Journal article J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci · October 2010 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: To ascertain accuracy of self-reported height, weight (and hence body mass index) in African American and white women and men older than 70 years of age. METHOD: The sample consisted of cognitively intact participants at the third in-person wav ... Full text Link to item Cite

APOE epsilon4 allele carriers: Biological, psychological, and social variables associated with cognitive impairment.

Journal article Aging Ment Health · August 2010 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: The apolipoprotein (APOE) epsilon4 allele genotype is a risk factor for dementia, but not all people with the APOE epsilon4 allele develop cognitive impairment (CI). Among participants with the APOE epsilon4 allele (N = 664), we identified biolo ... Full text Link to item Cite

Allopregnanolone levels are reduced in temporal cortex in patients with Alzheimer's disease compared to cognitively intact control subjects.

Journal article Biochim Biophys Acta · August 2010 Featured Publication The neurosteroid allopregnanolone has pronounced neuroprotective actions, increases myelination, and enhances neurogenesis. Evidence suggests that allopregnanolone dysregulation may play a role in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other n ... Full text Link to item Cite

Using a latent variable approach to inform gender and racial/ethnic differences in cocaine dependence: a National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network study.

Journal article J Subst Abuse Treat · June 2010 Featured Publication This study applies a latent variable approach to examine gender and racial/ethnic differences in cocaine dependence, to determine the presence of differential item functioning (DIF) or item-response bias to diagnostic questions of cocaine dependence, and t ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Problems meeting basic needs moderate the association between the APOE epsilon4 allele and cognitive decline.

Journal article Aging Ment Health · March 2010 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: The ApolipoproteinE epsilon4 (APOE epsilon4) allele influences cognitive decline (CD) in some but not in all individuals. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether problems meeting basic needs (BN) (e.g., having enough money to meet ... Full text Link to item Cite

An item response theory analysis of DSM-IV criteria for hallucinogen abuse and dependence in adolescents.

Journal article Addict Behav · March 2010 Featured Publication AIM: This study applied both item response theory (IRT) and multiple indicators-multiple causes (MIMIC) methods to evaluate item-level psychometric properties of diagnostic questions for hallucinogen use disorders (HUDs), differential item functioning (DIF ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Depressive symptoms in middle age and the development of later-life functional limitations: the long-term effect of depressive symptoms.

Journal article J Am Geriatr Soc · March 2010 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: To determine whether middle-aged persons with depressive symptoms are at higher risk for developing activity of daily living (ADL) and mobility limitations as they advance into older age than those without. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SET ... Full text Link to item Cite

Protection from late life depression.

Journal article Int Psychogeriatr · March 2010 Featured Publication Full text Link to item Cite

Genetic testing for Alzheimer's and long-term care insurance.

Journal article Health Aff (Millwood) · 2010 Featured Publication A genetic marker known as apolipoprotein E provides a clear signal of a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and thus that person's future need for long-term care. People who find that they have the variant of the trait that increases Alzheimer' ... Full text Link to item Cite

Trajectories of mobility and IADL function in older patients diagnosed with major depression.

Journal article Int J Geriatr Psychiatry · January 2010 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: Research has shown an association between depression and functional limitations in older adults. Our aim was to explore the latent traits of trajectories of limitations in mobility and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) tasks in a sa ... Full text Link to item Cite

Religious attendance reduces cognitive decline among older women with high levels of depressive symptoms.

Journal article J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci · December 2009 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence that regular attendance at religious functions is associated with less cognitive decline (CD). However, little research has investigated factors that may moderate the religious attendance-CD relationship. The present s ... Full text Link to item Cite

The complex relationship between depressive symptoms and functional limitations in community-dwelling older adults: the impact of subthreshold depression.

Journal article Psychol Med · October 2009 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Depressive symptoms above screening thresholds have been shown to predict functional decline in older adults. Less is known about the impact of subthreshold depression, and whether more symptoms confer significantly greater risk compared to few ... Full text Link to item Cite

The epidemiology of at-risk and binge drinking among middle-aged and elderly community adults: National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Journal article Am J Psychiatry · October 2009 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article was to estimate the prevalence, distribution, and correlates of at-risk alcohol use (especially binge drinking) among middle-aged and elderly persons in the United States and to compare at-risk alcohol use between wom ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Identifying a national death index match.

Journal article Am J Epidemiol · August 15, 2009 Featured Publication Data from the National Death Index (NDI) are frequently used to determine survival status in epidemiologic or clinical studies. On the basis of selected information submitted by the investigator, NDI returns a file containing a set of candidate matches. Al ... Full text Link to item Cite

The construct and measurement equivalence of cocaine and opioid dependences: a National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) study.

Journal article Drug Alcohol Depend · August 1, 2009 Featured Publication INTRODUCTION: Although DSM-IV criteria are widely used in making diagnoses of substance use disorders, gaps exist regarding diagnosis classification, use of dependence criteria, and effects of measurement bias on diagnosis assessment. We examined the const ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

The high prevalence of substance use disorders among recent MDMA users compared with other drug users: Implications for intervention.

Journal article Addict Behav · August 2009 Featured Publication AIM: In light of the resurgence in MDMA use and its association with polysubstance use, we investigated the 12-month prevalence of substance use disorders (SUDs) among adult MDMA users to determine whether they are at risk of other drug-related problems th ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Association of MDMA/ecstasy and other substance use with self-reported sexually transmitted diseases among college-aged adults: a national study.

Journal article Public Health · August 2009 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: MDMA/ecstasy use among college students has increased and reportedly leads to risky sexual behaviours. However, little is known about its association with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). To evaluate this public health concern, this study ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Nonprescription use of pain relievers by middle-aged and elderly community-living adults: National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Journal article J Am Geriatr Soc · July 2009 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: To estimate the frequency, distribution, and correlates of nonprescription use of pain relievers by middle-aged and elderly persons in the United States. DESIGN: Cross-sectional data analysis of a national community survey. SETTING: The 2005 an ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Clinical outcomes of molecularly confirmed clear cell sarcoma from a single institution and in comparison with data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry.

Journal article Cancer · July 1, 2009 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: The authors compared disease-specific survival (DSS) in stage-specific subgroups of patients with clear cell sarcoma, including those with lymph node metastases (N1M0) and those with distant metastases (N0M1). METHODS: Clinical data regarding s ... Full text Link to item Cite

Construct and differential item functioning in the assessment of prescription opioid use disorders among American adolescents.

Journal article J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry · May 2009 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: To examine the psychometric properties of diagnostic criteria for prescription analgesic opioid use disorders (OUDs) and to identify background predictors of a latent continuum for OUD liability. METHOD: Data were drawn from the adolescent sampl ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Profiles of depressive symptoms in older adults diagnosed with major depression: latent cluster analysis.

Journal article Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · May 2009 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: To explore the underlying structure of symptom presentation in older adults with major depression by identifying homogeneous clusters of individuals based on symptom profiles. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis using latent class cluster analysis. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Religion, spirituality, and mental health: what we know and why this is a tough topic to research.

Journal article Can J Psychiatry · May 2009 Featured Publication Full text Link to item Cite

An item response theory modeling of alcohol and marijuana dependences: a National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network study.

Journal article J Stud Alcohol Drugs · May 2009 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine psychometric properties of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), diagnostics criteria for alcohol and marijuana dependences among 462 alcohol users and 311 mariju ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Smoking cessation behavior in older adults by race and gender: the role of health problems and psychological distress.

Journal article Nicotine Tob Res · April 2009 Featured Publication INTRODUCTION: Initial research on older smokers suggests that a subgroup of smokers with higher levels of psychological distress and health problems may be more likely to quit smoking than older smokers with fewer such problems. The present study, based on ... Full text Link to item Cite

The epidemiology of substance use and disorders among middle aged and elderly community adults: national survey on drug use and health.

Journal article Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · March 2009 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence, distribution, and correlates of drug use among middle aged and elderly persons in the United States and to compare with alcohol use in this age group. SETTING: The 2005 and 2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Depressive symptoms moderate the influence of the apolipoproteine epsilon4 allele on cognitive decline in a sample of community dwelling older adults.

Journal article Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · February 2009 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: The apolipoproteinE epsilon4 (APOE epsilon4) allele and a history of depression are each separate risk factors for cognitive decline (CD). However, little research has investigated whether a history of depression influences the relationship bet ... Full text Link to item Cite

The variety of ecstasy/MDMA users: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on alcohol and related conditions.

Journal article Am J Addict · 2009 Featured Publication This study investigates the potential heterogeneity of ecstasy or MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine) users. Data came from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Latent class analysis (LCA) and mu ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Heterogeneity of stimulant dependence: a national drug abuse treatment clinical trials network study.

Journal article Am J Addict · 2009 Featured Publication We investigated the presence of DSM-IV subtyping for dependence on cocaine and amphetamines (with versus without physical dependence) among outpatient stimulant users enrolled in a multisite study of the Clinical Trials Network (CTN). Three mutually exclus ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Racial differences in the influence of the APOE epsilon 4 allele on cognitive decline in a sample of community-dwelling older adults.

Journal article Gerontology · 2009 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Most, but not all, past studies have suggested that the APOE genotype is a risk factor for dementia in whites but not African Americans. This paper first describes explanations as to why some studies may have failed to detect the effect of APOE ... Full text Link to item Cite

Self-efficacy and depression in late life: a primary prevention proposal.

Journal article Aging Ment Health · November 2002 Featured Publication Feelings of sadness and loneliness are ubiquitous in late life and a risk factor for depression and perhaps other mental illnesses in late life. Targeting sadness and loneliness for an intervention addresses both primary risk reduction for depressive disor ... Full text Link to item Cite

Depression in diabetes and obesity: racial/ethnic/gender issues in older adults.

Journal article J Psychosom Res · October 2002 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: This study focuses on the comorbidity between depression and diabetes, as well as depression and obesity, in a biracial community sample of older adults. METHODS: The data are drawn from a cross-sectional survey of five counties in North Caroli ... Full text Link to item Cite

Apolipoprotein E epsilon4 and risk of mortality in African American and white older community residents.

Journal article Gerontologist · June 2002 Featured Publication PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to determine whether the epsilon4 allele of apolipoprotein E is predictive of mortality in a community-based sample. DESIGN AND METHODS: Of the stratified random household sample of 4,162 participants age 65 years and ol ... Full text Link to item Cite

Relationship of race/ethnicity and blood pressure to change in cognitive function.

Journal article J Am Geriatr Soc · March 2002 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: To determine whether there are racial/ethnic differences regarding the relationship of level of blood pressure to change in cognitive function in older people. DESIGN: Longitudinal data 1986 to 1989 on representative, older, community-residing ... Full text Link to item Cite

Abstinence versus alcohol use among elderly rural Baptists: a test of reference group theory and health outcomes.

Journal article Aging Ment Health · February 2002 Featured Publication Reference groups, such as religious groups, are thought to provide individuals with normative frameworks which set and maintain standards for them. Persons who belong to a reference group, yet do not comply with the standards of that group, i.e. non-confor ... Full text Link to item Cite

Sex differences in the relationship between subthreshold depression and mortality in a community sample of older adults.

Journal article Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · 2002 Featured Publication The authors investigated the increased risk of mortality from subthreshold depression and examined differences in risk by gender. Data from the Duke University Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) longitudinal study of 4 ... Link to item Cite

The impact of borderline personality disorder on post-traumatic stress in the community: a study of health status, health utilization, and functioning.

Journal article Compr Psychiatry · 2002 Featured Publication This study examines impairment and health status and resource utilization among individuals with and without borderline personality disorder (BPD), all of whom had post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Using data from the community-based Piedmont Health S ... Full text Link to item Cite

APOE epsilon4 and low cholesterol as risks for depression in a biracial elderly community sample.

Journal article Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · 2002 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: The epsilon4 allele of apolipoprotein (APOE) is known to be associated with a number of adverse health outcomes, yet the association of the allele with depression has not been conclusively determined. The authors explored the hypothesis that the ... Link to item Cite

The APOE-E4 allele and the risk of functional decline in a community sample of African American and white older adults.

Journal article J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci · December 2001 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Given previous findings of adverse health outcomes associated with the E4 allele, data from a biracial community sample of older adults were used to determine whether functional decline is associated with the apolipoprotein E (APOE) E4 allele. ... Full text Link to item Cite

The relationship of APOE genotype to cognitive functioning in older African-American and Caucasian community residents.

Journal article J Am Geriatr Soc · September 2001 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: To determine whether cognitive decline associated with the apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon4 allele is different in older African Americans than it is in Caucasians. DESIGN: Performance on a brief screen of cognitive functioning was examined at ... Full text Link to item Cite

The association of depression and mortality in elderly persons: a case for multiple, independent pathways.

Journal article J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci · August 2001 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: The evidence for an association between depression and mortality among community-dwelling elderly persons remains inconclusive, although it is well established for younger individuals. Extant studies suggest that this association weakens when a ... Full text Link to item Cite

Accuracy of self-reported stroke among elderly veterans.

Journal article Aging Ment Health · August 2001 Featured Publication The objective was to use secondary analysis of prevalence data from a prospective cohort study to ascertain the accuracy of self-reported stroke among veterans. The study comprised a community-dwelling population of 88 elderly veterans (from five counties ... Full text Link to item Cite

Blood pressure and mortality risk in older people: comparison between African Americans and whites.

Journal article J Am Geriatr Soc · April 2001 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: To determine the risk from hypertension for all-cause mortality in a racially mixed sample of community-dwelling older adults. DESIGN: Baseline blood pressure was assessed between 1985 and 1986 in a sample of persons 65 years of age and older f ... Full text Link to item Cite