Texas Health and Human Services Commission

About: Texas Health and Human Services Commission is a other organization based out in Austin, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Mental health. The organization has 28 authors who have published 27 publications receiving 3482 citations.

The enduring effects of abuse and related adverse experiences in childhood: A convergence of evidence from neurobiology and epidemiology

Abstract: Childhood maltreatment has been linked to a variety of changes in brain structure and function and stress–responsive neurobiological systems. Epidemiological studies have documented the impact of childhood maltreatment on health and emotional well–being. After a brief review of the neurobiology of childhood trauma, we use the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study as an epidemiological “case example” of the convergence between epidemiologic and neurobiological evidence of the effects of childhood trauma. The ACE Study included 17,337 adult HMO members and assessed 8 adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) including abuse, witnessing domestic violence, and serious household dysfunction. We used the number of ACEs (ACE score) as a measure of cumulative childhood stress and hypothesized a "doseresponse" relationship of the ACE score to 18 selected outcomes and to the total number of these outcomes (comorbidity). Based upon logistic regression analysis, the risk of every outcome in the affective, somatic, substance abuse, memory, sexual,and aggressionrelated domains increased in a graded fashion as the ACE score increased (P <0.001). The mean number of comorbid outcomes tripled across the range of the ACE score. The graded relationship of the ACE score to 18 different outcomes in multiple domains theoretically parallels the cumulative exposure of the developing brain to the stress response with resulting impairment in multiple brain structures and functions.

Meta-analysis of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale Factor Structure.

Abstract: A meta-analysis (N = 17,620; k = 26) of factor analyses of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was conducted. Analysis of the 12 items from Overall et al.'s (J. E. Overall, L. E. Hollister, & P. Pichot, 1974) 4 subscales found support for his 4 subscales. Analysis of all 18 BPRS items found 4 components similar to those of Overall et al. In a 5-component solution, a 5th activation component emerged but was best supported among samples of schizophrenic patients. The first 4 components appear to form the core of the BPRS factor structure. Results of the meta-analysis suggest 5 subscales (with items in parentheses): Affect (anxiety, guilt, depression, somatic); Positive Symptoms (thought content, conceptual disorganization, hallucinatory behavior, grandiosity); Negative Symptoms (blunted affect, emotional withdrawal, motor retardation); Resistance (hostility, uncooperativeness, suspiciousness); and Activation (excitement, tension, mannerisms-posturing).

Effect of Removal of Planned Parenthood from the Texas Women’s Health Program

Abstract: BackgroundTexas is one of several states that have barred Planned Parenthood affiliates from providing health care services with the use of public funds. After the federal government refused to allow (and courts blocked) the exclusion of Planned Parenthood affiliates from the Texas Medicaid fee-for-service family-planning program, Texas excluded them from a state-funded replacement program, effective January 1, 2013. We assessed rates of contraceptive-method provision, method continuation through the program, and childbirth covered by Medicaid before and after the Planned Parenthood exclusion. MethodsWe used all program claims from 2011 through 2014 to examine changes in the number of claims for contraceptives according to method for 2 years before and 2 years after the exclusion. Among women using injectable contraceptives at baseline, we observed rates of contraceptive continuation through the program and of childbirth covered by Medicaid. We used the difference-in-differences method to compare outcomes...

Diagnoses and Antipsychotic Treatment among Youths in a Public Mental Health System

Abstract: Background:The use of antipsychotics, namely newer atypical agents, has increased significantly in children and adolescents. It is important to examine diagnoses associated with antipsychotic treatment in youths.Objective:To evaluate trends in psychiatric diagnoses of children and adolescents in a public mental health system who were prescribed antipsychotics.Methods:Children and adolescents, up to the age of 19 years, who were prescribed an antipsychotic between January 1998 and December 2001 were identified using the Texas Medicaid Vendor Drug database. Patient identification numbers were then cross-linked to the Client Assignment and Registration database of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation to extract diagnostic data.Results:Disruptive behavioral disorders accounted for the highest percentage (35%) of diagnoses associated with children and adolescents receiving antipsychotic treatment and mental healthcare services. Depressive disorders were the second most common diagnosis ...