The Danish High Risk and Resilience Study—VIA 11: Study Protocol for the First Follow-Up of the VIA 7 Cohort −522 Children Born to Parents With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders or Bipolar Disorder and Controls Being Re-examined for the First Time at Age 11

Abstract

Introduction: Offspring of parents with severe mental illness have an increased risk of developing mental illnesses themselves. Familial high risk cohorts give a unique opportunity for studying the development over time, both the illness that the individual is predisposed for and any other diagnoses. These studies can also increase our knowledge of etiology of severe mental illness and provide knowledge about the underlying mechanisms before illness develops. Interventions targeting this group are often proposed due to the potential possibility of prevention, but evidence about timing and content is lacking.Method: A large, representative cohort of 522 7-year old children born to parents with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or controls was established based on Danish registers. A comprehensive baseline assessment including neurocognition, motor functioning, psychopathology, home environment, sociodemographic data, and genetic information was conducted from January 1, 2013 to January 31, 2016. This study is the first follow-up of the cohort, carried out when the children turn 11 years of age. By assessing the cohort at this age, we will evaluate the children twice before puberty. All instruments have been selected with a longitudinal perspective and most of them are identical to those used at inclusion into the study at age 7. A diagnostic interview, motor tests, and a large cognitive battery are conducted along with home visits and information from teachers. This time we examine the children's brains by magnetic resonance scans and electroencephalograms. Measures of physical activity and sleep are captured by a chip placed on the body, while we obtain biological assays by collecting blood samples from the children.Discussion: Findings from the VIA 7 study revealed large variations across domains between children born to parents with schizophrenia, bipolar and controls, respectively. This study will further determine whether the children at familial risk reveal delayed developmental courses, but catch up at age 11, or whether the discrepancies between the groups have grown even larger. We will compare subgroups within each of the familial high risk groups in order to investigate aspects of resilience. Data on brain structure and physical parameters will add a neurobiological dimension to the study.

Patterns and predictors of family environment among adolescents at high and low risk for familial bipolar disorder

“…Extended longitudinal studies of younger offspring of BD parents are needed to examine the premorbid impact of family environment on development of mood disorders, as well as to gain insight into course. It would be especially informative to study evolving parent-child relationships from childhood (see, e.g., Thorup et al, 2018), over the arc of adolescence, and past the peak years for mood disorder onset. In addition to longitudinal study of offspring, it would be salient to track the duration and timing of parental disorders in relation to offspring development, including periods of remission, metrics of severity, and other comorbidities known to affect family environment, such as substance misuse.…”

The Danish High-Risk and Resilience Study—VIA 15 – A Study Protocol for the Third Clinical Assessment of a Cohort of 522 Children Born to Parents Diagnosed With Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder and Population-Based Controls

“…This first assessment is referred to as the VIA 7 study ( 40 ). The second wave of assessments, the VIA 11 study ( 44 ), was carried out when the children were 11 years of age from 2017 to 2020 with an 89% retention rate. See Figure 1 for the flowchart and Figure 2 for image of recruitment folder sent to each family by mail.…”

Development of social responsiveness and theory of mind in children of parents with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

“…The data presented in the present paper constitute as part of The Danish High Risk and Resilience Study – VIA, which is a longitudinal, nationwide familial high-risk study ( Thorup et al, 2018 ; Thorup et al, 2015 ). Baseline data collection took place from January 1st, 2013 to January 31st, 2016 (the VIA 7 study) and follow-up assessment from March 1st, 2016 to June 30th, 2020 (the VIA 11 study).…”