Epidemiological Study on the Early Detection of Mental Disorders in Young Children in Russia

BACKGROUND: Assessing the risk of children developing mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders (MBDDs), including autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), as well as achieving early detection of such disorders, has become one of the most important undertakings for public mental health professionals worldwide. AIM: This study aims to evaluate the risk of developing MBDDs and the prevalence of MBDDs among young children (1848 months old) in Russia. METHODS: A two-level epidemiological screening approach was developed and adopted for the purposes of this study. At the first level, the parents of all children between 18 and 48 months old were questioned using Russian national validated Screening Checklist for Parents for Identification of the Risk of Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders in Early Childhood in nine regions of Russia (Volgograd, Kirov, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Orenburg, Tver, Chelyabinsk, Yaroslavl, and Stavropol). At the second level, children identified at the first level of screening as being at risk of developing MBDDs were assessed by a child psychiatrist on a voluntary basis and diagnosed according to the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision criteria. RESULTS: The present study revealed that the risk of developing MBDDs stands at 13.07% or 1,307 cases per 10,000 child population aged 1848 months, whereas the prevalence of confirmed MBDDs is 1.51% or 151 cases per 10,000 among a Russian child population aged 1848 months. CONCLUSION: Screening for the risk of developing MBDDs, including ASDs, in Russia among very young children is a promising area of preventive medicine. This initiative allows us to develop optimal algorithms for specialized care measures that could help prevent the development and aggravation of children mental health issues

Cortical thickness across the lifespan: Data from 17,075 healthy individuals aged 3-90 years

Delineating the association of age and cortical thickness in healthy individuals is critical given the association of cortical thickness with cognition and behavior. Previous research has shown that robust estimates of the association between age and brain morphometry require large‐scale studies. In response, we used cross‐sectional data from 17,075 individuals aged 3–90 years from the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta‐Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium to infer age‐related changes in cortical thickness. We used fractional polynomial (FP) regression to quantify the association between age and cortical thickness, and we computed normalized growth centiles using the parametric Lambda, Mu, and Sigma method. Interindividual variability was estimated using meta‐analysis and one‐way analysis of variance. For most regions, their highest cortical thickness value was observed in childhood. Age and cortical thickness showed a negative association; the slope was steeper up to the third decade of life and more gradual thereafter; notable exceptions to this general pattern were entorhinal, temporopolar, and anterior cingulate cortices. Interindividual variability was largest in temporal and frontal regions across the lifespan. Age and its FP combinations explained up to 59% variance in cortical thickness. These results may form the basis of further investigation on normative deviation in cortical thickness and its significance for behavioral and cognitive outcomes

Subcortical volumes across the lifespan: Data from 18,605 healthy individuals aged 3–90 years

Age has a major effect on brain volume. However, the normative studies available are constrained by small sample sizes, restricted age coverage and significant methodological variability. These limitations introduce inconsistencies and may obscure or distort the lifespan trajectories of brain morphometry. In response, we capitalized on the resources of the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta‐Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium to examine age‐related trajectories inferred from cross‐sectional measures of the ventricles, the basal ganglia (caudate, putamen, pallidum, and nucleus accumbens), the thalamus, hippocampus and amygdala using magnetic resonance imaging data obtained from 18,605 individuals aged 3–90 years. All subcortical structure volumes were at their maximum value early in life. The volume of the basal ganglia showed a monotonic negative association with age thereafter; there was no significant association between age and the volumes of the thalamus, amygdala and the hippocampus (with some degree of decline in thalamus) until the sixth decade of life after which they also showed a steep negative association with age. The lateral ventricles showed continuous enlargement throughout the lifespan. Age was positively associated with inter‐individual variability in the hippocampus and amygdala and the lateral ventricles. These results were robust to potential confounders and could be used to examine the functional significance of deviations from typical age‐related morphometric patterns