Measures of Early-life Behavior and Later Psychopathology in the LifeCycle Project - EU Child Cohort Network: A Cohort Description

Abstract

Background: The EU LifeCycle Project was launched in 2017 to combine, harmonize, and analyze data from more than 250,000 participants across Europe and Australia, involving cohorts participating in the EU-funded LifeCycle Project. The purpose of this cohort description is to provide a detailed overview of the major measures within mental health domains that are available in 17 European and Australian cohorts participating in the LifeCycle Project.

Methods: Data on cognitive, behavioral, and psychological development has been collected on participants from birth until adulthood through questionnaire and medical data. We developed an inventory of the available data by mapping individual instruments, domain types, and age groups, providing the basis for statistical harmonization across mental health measures.

Results: The mental health data in LifeCycle contain longitudinal and cross-sectional data from birth throughout the life course, covering domains across a wide range of behavioral and psychopathology indicators and outcomes, including executive function, depression, ADHD, and cognition. These data span a unique combination of qualitative data collected through behavioral/cognitive/mental health questionnaires and examination, as well as data from biological samples and indices in the form of imaging (MRI, fetal ultrasound) and DNA methylation data. Harmonized variables on a subset of mental health domains have been developed, providing statistical equivalence of measures required for longitudinal meta-analyses across instruments and cohorts.

Conclusion: Mental health data harmonized through the LifeCycle project can be used to study life-course trajectories and exposure-outcome models that examine early life risk factors for mental illness and develop predictive markers for later-life disease.

Keywords: DataSHIELD; birth and pregnancy cohorts; child behavior and mental health; child development; population epidemiology.

Figure 1.. Available mental health outcomes from prenatal to adulthood in the LifeCycle mental health and cognitive data. ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; ASD, autism spectrum disorders; CD, cognitive disorders; PD, psychiatric disorders.

Figure 2.. Geographic distribution and sample sizes of cohorts in LifeCycle contributing mental health data.

ALSPAC, Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children; BiB, Born in Bradford; CHOP, EU Childhood Obesity Programme; DNBC, Danish National Birth Cohort; EDEN, Etude des Déterminants du développement et de la santé de l’Enfant; ELFE, Etude Longitudinale Française depuis l’Enfance; GECKO, Groningen Expert Center for Kids with Obesity Drenthe cohort; Generation R, the Generation R Study; HBCS, Helsinki Birth Cohort Study; INMA, Infancia y Medio Ambiente; MoBa, The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study; NFBC1966/1986, Northern Finland Birth Cohorts; NINFEA, Nascita e INFanzia: gli Effetti dell’Ambiente; RHEA, Rhea Mother & Child Cohort Study; SWS, and the Southampton Women’s Survey.

Figure 3.. Overview of overlap in LifeCycle mental health, behavioral, and cognitive domains across age

Figure 4.. Overview of overlap in mental health and cognitive measures in the LifeCycle cohorts providing mental health data. Summary of overlapping measures and age ranges in participating cohorts. The full list of available measures (including non-overlapping) are described in eTable 1. ANT, Attention Network Task; ASQ, Ages and Stages Questionnaire; BAS, Behavioral Approach System; BDI, Becks Depression Inventory; BRIEF, Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function; BSID, Bayley Scales of Infant Development; CAST, Childhood Asperger Syndrome Test; CBB, CogState Brief Battery; CBCL, Child Behavior Checklist; CPRS-R, Revised Conners’ Parent Rating Scale; DAWBA, Development and Well-Being Assessment; DDST, Denver Developmental Screening Test; DISC-IV, Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children; DST, Digit Span Test; FTT, Finger Tapping Test; GMDS, Griffiths Mental Development scales; GPT, Grooved Pegboard Test; M-CHAT, Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers; MB-CDI, MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories; N-Back, Working Memory Test; NEPSY-II, Developmental NEuroPSYchological Assessment, Second Edition; PLIKS, Psychosis-like symptoms measure; RPM, Raven’s Progressive Matrices; SDMT, Symbol Digit Modalities Test; SDQ, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; TEA-ch, Test of Everyday Attention for Children; TMT, Trail Making Test; TRF, Teacher Report Form; WASI, Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence; WPPSI, Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence; YRBSS, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System; YSR, Youth Self-Report.

Figure 5.. Overview of sample sizes for DNA methylation data in the offspring from birth to adulthood. Circle sizes are proportionate to the DNA methylation sample sizes as indicated in the scale at the bottom of the figure. ^*Numbers relevant as of June, 2021 (sample processing and data collection is ongoing in several LifeCycle cohorts)