Genetic Distribution of Five Spinocerebellar Ataxia Microsatellite Loci in Mexican Native American Populations and Its Impact on Contemporary Mestizo Populations

Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) conform a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders with autosomal dominant inheritance. Five of the most frequent SCAs are caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the exons of specific genes. The SCAs incidence and the distribution of polymorphic CAG alleles vary among populations and ethnicities. Thus, characterization of the genetic architecture of ethnically diverse populations, which have undergone recent admixture and demographic events, could facilitate the identification of genetic risk factors. Owing to the great ethnic diversity of the Mexican population, this study aimed to analyze the allele frequencies of five SCA microsatellite loci (SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, SCA6, and SCA7) in eleven Mexican Native American (MNA) populations. Data from the literature were used to compare the allelic distribution of SCA loci with worldwide populations. The SCA loci allelic frequencies evidenced a certain genetic homogeneity in the MNA populations, except for Mayans, who exhibited distinctive genetic profiles. Neither pathological nor large normal alleles were found in MNA populations, except for the SCA2 pre-mutated allele in the Zapotec population. Collectively, our findings demonstrated the contribution of the MNA ancestry in shaping the genetic structure of contemporary Mexican Mestizo populations. Our results also suggest that Native American ancestry has no impact on the origin of SCAs in the Mexican population. Instead, the acquisition of pathological SCA alleles could be associated with European migration.

Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: A Cross-Sectional Study on a Mexican Population Using an Online Questionnaire (COV-AHQ)

Mexico has become one of the most highly affected countries by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Latin America. Therefore, efficient vaccination programs are needed to address COVID-19 pandemic. Although recent advances around the world have made it possible to develop vaccines in record time, there has been increasing fear and misinformation around the vaccines. Hence, understanding vaccine hesitancy is imperative for modeling successful vaccination strategies. In this study, we analyzed the attitude and perceptions toward COVID-19 vaccination, in a Mexican population (n = 1,512), using the proposed COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Hesitancy Questionnaire (COV-AHQ) (Cronbach's alpha > 0.8), which evaluates a mild perception of danger and contamination with respect to COVID-19, a moderate perception of xenophobia generated throughout COVID-19 quarantine, fear of adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccination, and hesitancy of parent toward vaccination of children; furthermore, a section including sociodemographic variables was included. According to the results of this study, the statistical correlation analysis of the general vaccination posture seems to correlate significantly (p < 0.05) with a mild perception of danger and contamination with respect to COVID-19, a moderate perception of xenophobia generated throughout COVID-19 quarantine, hesitancy of parent toward vaccination of children, willingness to get COVID-19 vaccine, previous influenza vaccination, perception of the vaccine that could help the economy of country, occupation, gender, age, and participants actively researching COVID-19 vaccine information. An in-depth analysis assisted by binary logistic regression concluded that the young adult population around ages 18–34 years are the most likely to get vaccinated. This posture seems to be highly influenced by a mild perception of danger and contamination with respect to COVID-19, a moderate perception of xenophobia generated throughout COVID-19 quarantine, fear of adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccination, and hesitancy of parents toward vaccination of children. While their own personal religious beliefs and economic status, the level of education does not seem to have an effect on the willingness to get vaccinated neither did having a previous COVID-19 diagnosis or even knowing someone with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. Health authorities and policymakers could use the results of this study to aid in modeling vaccination programs and strategies and identify population groups with high vaccine hesitancy prevalence and assess significant public health issues.

Construction and validation of a mindful eating scale: A first approximation in the Mexican population / Construcción y validación de una escala de alimentación con atención plena: Una primera aproximación en población mexicana

Worldwide, mindful-eating (ME) research has gained high relevance on health psychology because of its relationship with psychological dysfunction and eating disorders. However, ME has been scarcely studied in Mexico. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a scale to assess this construct in its positive (ME) and negative connotation (mindless-eating), as well as to examine its psychometric properties in a Mexican population. After designed, the scale was completed by 527 undergraduate students (Mage = 20.8, SD = 2.0), the data with which the exploratory factor analysis yielded two factors that explained 59% of variance: Mindless eating (α = .84) and Emotional eating (α = .68). Subsequently, with 227 undergraduate students (Mage = 20.71 SD = 1.76), the confirmatory factor analysis yielded one-dimensional model with adequate fit indices (X2 = 10.15, p = .33; X2/df = 1.12; CFI = .99; TLI = .98; RMSEA y SRMR = .02) to assess mindless eating. This study represents a first approximation to ME assessment in Mexican population, so it is expected that future research can strengthen the results obtained here.ResumenEn el mundo, el estudio de la alimentación con atención plena (ACAP) ha cobrado gran relevancia en el área de la psicología de la salud, dada su relación con la disfunción psicológica y la patología alimentaria. No obstante, en México la ACAP ha sido escasamente investigada. Por tanto, el objetivo de este estudio fue desarrollar una escala dirigida a evaluar el constructo tanto en su sentido positivo (ACAP) como negativo (alimentación sin atención plena [ASAP]), así como examinar sus propiedades psicométricas en población mexicana. Tras diseñarla, la escala fue completada por 527 estudiantes universitarios (Medad = 20.8, DE = 2.0), datos con los que el análisis factorial exploratorio arrojó dos factores que explicaron 59% de la varianza: Alimentación sin consciencia (α = .84) y Alimentación emocional (α = .68). Posteriormente, en 227 estudiantes universitarios (Medad = 20.71 DE = 1.76), el análisis factorial confirmatorio arrojó un modelo unidimensional, con ajuste adecuado (X2 = 10.15, p = .33; X2/gl = 1.12; CFI = .99; TLI = .98; RMSEA y SRMR = .02), dirigido a evaluar la ASAP. Este estudio representa una primera aproximación a la medición del constructo ACAP en población mexicana, de modo que se espera que futuras investigaciones puedan robustecer los resultados aquí obtenidos.

Distribution of confirmed with COVID-19 by age and gender in Mexico

Social, economic, and cultural factors can influence the likelihood of exposure to the virus of each person in sanitary emergencies like those of COVID-19. In this sense, parallel to the biological vulnerability to infection with SARS-CoV-2, said factors determine a complementary vulnerability to infection. Hence, they can influence in gender and age distributions of those confirmed, which is not entirely comprehended yet. The effect that age and gender can have on total vulnerability in Mexico thus far is not understood. A better understanding of such dependence can help policy optimization and decision-making to future similar emergencies. We aim to study the age and gender distributions of those confirmed with COVID-19 in Mexico. We also investigate the vulnerability to the infection with SARS-CoV-2 depending on such features. Two different samples of the Mexican population are analyzed in this non-experimental study to compare each other and evaluate the association of the result of the COVID-19 test with gender and age. Data up until the beginning of the vaccination are considered. The percentage of confirmed males is higher than females in both samples, and most tested and confirmed are working-age. Age distributions are positively skewed, with the peak in [30,39] years, which disagrees with the distribution of the Mexican population. The data suggest that the vulnerability to infection weakly depends on gender and age. Males were identified as the most vulnerable gender, and the age group [70,79] showed a higher vulnerability to infection.

Mental Health Problems Due to Social Isolation During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Mexican Population

Introduction: Social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been identified as a risk factor of several mental disorders. Therefore, the present work aimed to evaluate the effect of social isolation experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of a Mexican population.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in individuals of 18 years of age and over. The questioner was structured to identify onset or worsening of psychiatric symptoms due to social isolation by COVID-19. The survey included changes in eating habits, changes in personal hygiene habits, the starting the use or increased the use of psychoactive substances, symptoms of depression or post-traumatic stress.Results: A total of 1,011 individuals were included in the analysis. The majority were women (68.84%). Changes in eating habits were reported in 38.51% of the participants, 67.80% reported having their physical self-perception distorted or having started a low-calorie diet. Regarding symptoms of depression, 46.10% participants indicated to have at least one depressive symptom, and 4.46% reported suicidal ideation during social isolation. Interestingly, 6.09% of individuals reported that they used to have depressive symptoms prior the COVID-19 pandemic and those symptoms decreased due to social isolation. Additionally, 2.27% of individuals presented symptoms of post-traumatic stress due to the possibility of getting COVID-19.Conclusions: In this work we identified how social isolation has impacted the mental health of the Mexican population. We observed that practically all the symptoms evaluated were affected during isolation, such as personal hygiene and eating habits. Depression and suicidal ideation were the ones that increased the most in the general population, while in individuals who had symptoms of depression before isolation, these symptoms decreased during social isolation.