Neurobiology Youth Follow-up Study: protocol to establish a longitudinal and prospective research database using multimodal assessments for current and past mental health treatment-seeking young people within an early intervention service

Introduction Approximately 75% of major mental illness occurs before the age of 25 years. Despite this, our capacity to provide effective, early and personalised interventions is limited by insufficient evidence for characterising early-stage, and less specific, presentations of major mental disorde...

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Main Authors: Daniel F Hermens, Sharon L Naismith, Frank Iorfino, Cathrin Rohleder, Dagmar Koethe, F Markus Leweke, Jacob Crouse, Nicholas Ho, Naomi Wray, Kathleen R Merikangas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2021-06-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e044731.full
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spelling doaj-ed482d67e53941179ad1e73364abcc642021-08-07T17:02:08ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552021-06-0111610.1136/bmjopen-2020-044731Neurobiology Youth Follow-up Study: protocol to establish a longitudinal and prospective research database using multimodal assessments for current and past mental health treatment-seeking young people within an early intervention serviceDaniel F Hermens0Sharon L Naismith1Frank Iorfino2Cathrin Rohleder3Dagmar Koethe4F Markus Leweke5Jacob Crouse6Nicholas Ho7Naomi Wray8Kathleen R Merikangas9Thompson Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland, AustraliaBrain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaBrain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaBrain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaBrain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaBrain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaBrain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaBrain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaInstitute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, AustraliaGenetic Epidemiology Research Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USAIntroduction Approximately 75% of major mental illness occurs before the age of 25 years. Despite this, our capacity to provide effective, early and personalised interventions is limited by insufficient evidence for characterising early-stage, and less specific, presentations of major mental disorders in youth populations. This article describes the protocol for setting up a large-scale database that will collect longitudinal, prospective data that incorporate clinical, social and occupational function, neuropsychological, circadian, metabolic, family history and genetic metrics. By collecting data in a research-purposed, standardised manner, the ‘Neurobiology Youth Follow-up Study’ should improve identification, characterisation and profiling of youth attending mental healthcare, to better inform diagnosis and treatment at critical time points. The overall goal is enhanced long-term clinical and functional outcomes.Methods and analysis This longitudinal clinical cohort study will invite participation from youth (12–30 years) who seek help for mental health-related issues at an early intervention service (headspace Camperdown) and linked services. Participants will be prospectively tracked over 3 years with a series of standardised multimodal assessments at baseline, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months. Evaluations will include: (1) clinician-administered and self-report assessments determining clinical stage, pathophysiological pathways to illness, diagnosis, symptomatology, social and occupational function; (2) neuropsychological profile; (3) sleep–wake patterns and circadian rhythms; (4) metabolic markers and (5) genetics. These data will be used to: (1) model the impact of demographic, phenomenological and treatment variables, on clinical and functional outcomes; (2) map neurobiological profiles and changes onto a transdiagnostic clinical stage and pathophysiological mechanisms framework.Ethics and dissemination This study protocol has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Sydney Local Health District (2020/ETH01272, protocol V.1.3, 14 October 2020). Research findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and presentations at scientific conferences and to user and advocacy groups. Participant data will be de-identified.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e044731.full
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Daniel F Hermens
Sharon L Naismith
Frank Iorfino
Cathrin Rohleder
Dagmar Koethe
F Markus Leweke
Jacob Crouse
Nicholas Ho
Naomi Wray
Kathleen R Merikangas
spellingShingle Daniel F Hermens
Sharon L Naismith
Frank Iorfino
Cathrin Rohleder
Dagmar Koethe
F Markus Leweke
Jacob Crouse
Nicholas Ho
Naomi Wray
Kathleen R Merikangas
Neurobiology Youth Follow-up Study: protocol to establish a longitudinal and prospective research database using multimodal assessments for current and past mental health treatment-seeking young people within an early intervention service
BMJ Open
author_facet Daniel F Hermens
Sharon L Naismith
Frank Iorfino
Cathrin Rohleder
Dagmar Koethe
F Markus Leweke
Jacob Crouse
Nicholas Ho
Naomi Wray
Kathleen R Merikangas
author_sort Daniel F Hermens
title Neurobiology Youth Follow-up Study: protocol to establish a longitudinal and prospective research database using multimodal assessments for current and past mental health treatment-seeking young people within an early intervention service
title_short Neurobiology Youth Follow-up Study: protocol to establish a longitudinal and prospective research database using multimodal assessments for current and past mental health treatment-seeking young people within an early intervention service
title_full Neurobiology Youth Follow-up Study: protocol to establish a longitudinal and prospective research database using multimodal assessments for current and past mental health treatment-seeking young people within an early intervention service
title_fullStr Neurobiology Youth Follow-up Study: protocol to establish a longitudinal and prospective research database using multimodal assessments for current and past mental health treatment-seeking young people within an early intervention service
title_full_unstemmed Neurobiology Youth Follow-up Study: protocol to establish a longitudinal and prospective research database using multimodal assessments for current and past mental health treatment-seeking young people within an early intervention service
title_sort neurobiology youth follow-up study: protocol to establish a longitudinal and prospective research database using multimodal assessments for current and past mental health treatment-seeking young people within an early intervention service
publisher BMJ Publishing Group
series BMJ Open
issn 2044-6055
publishDate 2021-06-01
description Introduction Approximately 75% of major mental illness occurs before the age of 25 years. Despite this, our capacity to provide effective, early and personalised interventions is limited by insufficient evidence for characterising early-stage, and less specific, presentations of major mental disorders in youth populations. This article describes the protocol for setting up a large-scale database that will collect longitudinal, prospective data that incorporate clinical, social and occupational function, neuropsychological, circadian, metabolic, family history and genetic metrics. By collecting data in a research-purposed, standardised manner, the ‘Neurobiology Youth Follow-up Study’ should improve identification, characterisation and profiling of youth attending mental healthcare, to better inform diagnosis and treatment at critical time points. The overall goal is enhanced long-term clinical and functional outcomes.Methods and analysis This longitudinal clinical cohort study will invite participation from youth (12–30 years) who seek help for mental health-related issues at an early intervention service (headspace Camperdown) and linked services. Participants will be prospectively tracked over 3 years with a series of standardised multimodal assessments at baseline, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months. Evaluations will include: (1) clinician-administered and self-report assessments determining clinical stage, pathophysiological pathways to illness, diagnosis, symptomatology, social and occupational function; (2) neuropsychological profile; (3) sleep–wake patterns and circadian rhythms; (4) metabolic markers and (5) genetics. These data will be used to: (1) model the impact of demographic, phenomenological and treatment variables, on clinical and functional outcomes; (2) map neurobiological profiles and changes onto a transdiagnostic clinical stage and pathophysiological mechanisms framework.Ethics and dissemination This study protocol has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Sydney Local Health District (2020/ETH01272, protocol V.1.3, 14 October 2020). Research findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and presentations at scientific conferences and to user and advocacy groups. Participant data will be de-identified.
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/6/e044731.full
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