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Principal Investigator: kathleen r merikangas
Organization: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $579,583
Funding agency: National Institute of Mental Health
Maintaining our ongoing collaboration with the CMI team in New York, we examined parental perceptions (both positive and negative) of internet use in adolescents via analyses of survey data from 1005 parents of adolescents (Kimball et al, 2023). This analysis revealed significant concerns about youth exposure to harmful internet content and cyberbullying. The study found that 22.4% of parents were worried about internet addiction in their children, with twice as many parents expressing more concern about internet addiction than substance use/addiction. At the same time, many parents acknowledged that internet use improved family connectedness. These findings highlight the risk and benefits of internet use and suggest that family interventions could be designed to enhance open communication and monitoring of potential dangers of internet use in youth. In a separate collaboration with CMI, we conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine the incidence of psychotic disorders across race/ethnicity participants from the Kaiser Permanente's Northern California Community Heath Program. We found that the incidence of nonaffective psychotic disorders slightly decreased from 2009-2019 overall, and that Black and American Indian or Alaskan Native people had a higher risk of nonaffective psychosis compared to White people, Asian and Hispanic people (Chung et al, 2023).
In a systematic review with collaborators from Brazil, we examined the ability of common mental-health assessment health to predict poor life outcomes spanning childhood to young adulthood (Hoffman et al, 2023). Specifically, this study compared the effectiveness of semi-structured diagnostic interviews and symptom checklists in predicting poor life outcomes from childhood to young adulthood, using data from 2,511 participants in Brazil. The data showed that both methods had similar accuracy in predicting composite outcomes like severe self-harm and poor life chances (criminal convictions/school dropout). Although both methods predicted life-threatening outcomes equally well, only the symptom checklist independently predicted poor life chances.
With collaborators from Australia, we explored how social, emotional, and physical health factors interact over time in children and adolescents receiving mental-health care (Iorfino et al, 2023). Using dynamic Bayesian networks, data from 2,663 participants were analyzed and associations between various mental health factors were mapped. It was found that childhood disorders often precede adolescent depression, which follow distinct trajectories involving anxiety, bipolar symptoms, or self-harm. Over time, social and occupational functioning significantly influenced self-harm and suicidality, while substance use and physical health remained independent domains.
With collaborators from Canada and Brazil, we used the 2019 Global Burden of Disease data to estimate the prevalence and disability burden of mental and substance use disorders in age groups 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, and 20-24 years (Kieling et al, 2024). Globally in 2019, the mean prevalence was 11.63% for mental disorders and 1.22% for substance use disorders. Mental disorders accounted for 20.27% of all years lived with disability (YLDs), while substance use disorders accounted for 2.80%. Given the implications of the early onset and lifetime burden of mental disorders, it may be preferable to use age-disaggregated data for targeted prevention and intervention initiatives.
Finally, we examined references to depression and suicide in the song lyrics of rock musician Chris Cornell, who died by suicide at age 52 (Conway et al, 2023). In this mixed methods study, sentiment analysis and thematic coding showed that Cornell’s songs were predominantly (79%) negative and contained more negative (N=3244, 56%) than positive (N=2537, 44%) words. Over time, Cornell’s lyrics increasingly focused on themes on depression, failed relationships, and morbid thoughts. Findings suggest that song lyrics, like personal notes and poems, may reflect depression and suicidal thinking warranting clinical attention, especially in the presence of known risk factors for suicide.
Public Health Impact:
Our research group continues to be at the forefront of coordinating the evidence base on epidemiology including prevalence, correlates and consequences of child and youth mental health through extensive collaborations with leaders in the field. The focus on developmental risk factors in the manifestations of emotional and behavioral conditions, which the NCS-A made possible, are critical for identifying targets for intervention and prevention of psychiatric disorders. Our studies of physical-mental comorbidity and sleep in adolescents and adults complement our family study research on the importance of physiological systems and behavioral rhythms in mental health and contribute to scientific understanding of psychiatric disorder etiology and opportunities for prevention. The CRISIS Consortium and continued collaboration with CMI will further our opportunity to conduct research aimed at reducing the adverse consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and other influences on mental health problems among youth, which may have life-long positive benefit. Our growing collaborations with other research across the world will also facilitate our ability to identify the impact of global influences such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change as well as individual-level susceptibility on youth physical and mental health.
Future Plans:
We plan to continue our activity initiated in CRISIS Consortium that is now extending to broader efforts to track youth mental health through our collaborations with CMI and HBN, and parallel Brazilian, Canadian, and Swiss studies with intensive analysis of collected data on clinical features, risk factors, and impairment. We are also helping to design and implement a prospective follow-up of select HBN participants that will provide longitudinal information on patterns of symptoms, behaviors, and risk across time during development. Our team is also collaborating with the leaders of a recent nationwide study of youth in Canada, the CHSCY Canadian Health Survey of Children and Youth of more than 40,000 youth ages 7-21 across Canada. Now the data have been collected, we will consult on the priorities, analyses and interpretations of the findings. We also plan to interrogate data from the PATH Study for associations between tobacco-product use (including e-cigarettes) and mental health problems. Across these rich data resources, we expect to continue publishing studies related to: 1) the intersection between physical and mental health; 2) the relationship between health behaviors such as sleep and activity and psychiatric disorders; 3) the influence of environmental and social exposures among children and youth; 4) associations between sleep, physical activity and mood disorders; and 5) subtypes of depression, mania and their core components. More broadly, our epidemiology team is becoming increasingly involved in secondary data analysis of several large studies of youth including the ABCD study, PNC, Brazilian Cohort Study and several smaller studies on youth with mood disorders. With our unique research team and resources, we are making important contributions to the harmonization of epidemiologic data on youth mental health not only in the US but across the world.
Terms: <0-11 years old><21+ years old><Active Follow-up><Adolescent><Adolescent Youth><Adult><Adult Human><Affective Disorders><Age><Alaska Indian><Alaska Native><Alaskan American><Alaskan Indian><Alaskan Native><Alaskan Native American><Alcohol Chemical Class><Alcohols><American Indian><American Indians><Anxiety><Asian group><Asian individual><Asian people><Asian population><Asians><Attention><Australia><Bayesian Network><Behavior><Behavioral><Benefits and Risks><Biochemical><Black><Black race><Brain><Brain Nervous System><Brazil><COVID crisis><COVID epidemic><COVID pandemic><COVID-19 crisis><COVID-19 epidemic><COVID-19 era><COVID-19 global health crisis><COVID-19 global pandemic><COVID-19 health crisis><COVID-19 pandemic><COVID-19 pandemic affected><COVID-19 pandemic consequence><COVID-19 pandemic effects><COVID-19 pandemic impact><COVID-19 pandemic impacted><COVID-19 period><COVID-19 public health crisis><COVID-19 years><California><Canada><Cardiovascular Diseases><Causality><Child><Child Youth><Childhood><Children (0-21)><Clinical><Code><Coding System><Cohort Studies><Collaborations><Communication><Community Health><Complement><Complement Proteins><Concurrent Studies><Consult><Data><Data Analyses><Data Analysis><Data Sources><Deliberate Self-Harm><Development><Diagnostic><Disease><Disorder><Electronic cigarette><Emotional><Encephalon><Epidemiologic Research><Epidemiologic Studies><Epidemiological Studies><Epidemiological data><Epidemiology><Epidemiology Research><Epidemiology data><Ethnic Origin><Ethnicity><Etiology><Exposure to><Family><Family Study><Feeling suicidal><Future><Genetic><Goals><Health><Health Surveys><Health behavior><Hispanic Populations><Hispanic group><Hispanic individual><Hispanic people><Hispanics><Impairment><Incidence><Indigenous Population><Individual><Internet><Intervention><Intervention Strategies><Interview><Investigation><Investigators><Life><Longitudinal Studies><Manias><Manic><Manic State><Maps><Mental Depression><Mental Health><Mental Health Services><Mental Hygiene><Mental Hygiene Services><Mental disorders><Mental health disorders><Methods><Mind><Monitor><Mood Disorders><Moods><Music><NIMH><National Institute of Mental Health><Native People><Native-Born><New York><Occupational><Outcome><Parents><Participant><Pattern><Pennsylvania><Perception><Persons><Philadelphia><Physical activity><Physiologic><Physiological><Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health><Population Heterogeneity><Population Research><Population Study><Population-based research><Population-level research><Predisposition><Prevalence><Prevention><Primary Care><Prospective Studies><Psyche structure><Psychiatric Disease><Psychiatric Disorder><Psychological Health><Psychotic Disorders><Public Health><Publications><Publishing><Race><Races><Research><Research Personnel><Research Resources><Researchers><Resources><Retrospective cohort study><Risk><Risk Factors><SARS-CoV-2 epidemic><SARS-CoV-2 global health crisis><SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic><SARS-CoV-2 pandemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 epidemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 pandemic><Sampling><School Drop-Outs><School Dropouts><Scientific Publication><Self-Injurious Behavior><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 epidemic><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 pandemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 epidemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic><Sleep><Source><Structure><Student Dropouts><Substance Addiction><Substance Dependence><Substance Use Disorder><Suicidal thoughts><Suicide><Survey Instrument><Surveys><Susceptibility><Switzerland><Symptoms><System><Thinking><Time><Tobacco Consumption><Tobacco use><Universities><WWW><Work><Youth><Youth 10-21><active followup><addiction><addictive disorder><adolescent depression><adolescents with depression><adult youth><adulthood><adverse consequence><adverse outcome><age group><ages><burden of disease><burden of illness><cardiovascular disorder><cardiovascular risk><cardiovascular risk factor><causation><child depression><childhood depression><childhood onset depression><climate change><climatic changes><co-morbid><co-morbidity><community-based health><comorbidity><compare effectiveness><complementation><consults><convict><coronavirus disease 2019 crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic><coronavirus disease 2019 global health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 global pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic consequence><coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic impact><coronavirus disease 2019 public health crisis><coronavirus disease crisis><coronavirus disease epidemic><coronavirus disease pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 global pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 pandemic><cyber bullying><cyberbullying><data interpretation><data resource><deliberate self harm><depressed adolescents><depression><depression in adolescence><design><designing><developmental><developmental genetics><disability burden><disease burden><disease causation><disease classification><disorder classification><diverse populations><e-cig><e-cigarette><early onset><ecig><ecigarette><effects following the COVID-19 pandemic><electronic aggression><epidemiologic><epidemiologic data><epidemiologic investigation><epidemiological><epidemiology study><evidence base><fatal attempt><fatal suicide><follow up><follow-up><followed up><followup><genetic epidemiologic study><genetic epidemiology><global climate change><health assessment><health related behavior><heterogeneous population><high risk><impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic><improved><intent to die><intentional self harm><intentional self injury><interventional strategy><juvenile><juvenile human><kids><long-term study><longitudinal outcome studies><longterm study><mental><mental health care><mental healthcare><mental illness><musician><non-affective psychoses><nonaffective psychoses><nosology><novel><parent><pediatric><pediatric department><pediatric depression><physical conditioning><physical health><population based><population diversity><population-based study><population-level study><programs><prospective><psychiatric co-morbidity><psychiatric comorbidity><psychiatric illness><psychological disorder><psychotic illness><racial><racial background><racial origin><research study><self harm><self injury><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global health crisis><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global pandemic><social><studies of populations><study of the population><substance use><substance use and disorder><substance using><suicidal><suicidal ideation><suicidal thinking><suicidality><suicide ideation><suicides><systematic review><thoughts><thoughts about suicide><tobacco product use><web><world wide web><years lived with disability><young adult><young adulthood><youngster><youth depression>