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Previously Cloninger's temperament traits have been researched as a risk factor for depression mostly in cross-sectional studies. In these studies, especially high harm avoidance has been associated with an increased risk of depression. The main objective of this study was to investigate how temperament traits affect the risk of the onset of depression in a previously mentally healthy adult population. This study includes a follow-up period of 23 years from the age of 31 until 54 in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 Study. Temperament was measured at the 31-year follow-up using Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). The outcome of the study was depressive disorder diagnosis during the follow-up in both sexes. To be able to take correlations between temperament traits we also did an analysis using temperament clusters. Our sample size was 3999 individuals, out of which 240 were diagnosed with depression. For women an increase in the TCI score for novelty seeking (NS), harm avoidance (HA) or persistence (P) increased the risk of depression during the follow-up. For men only HA was a significant predictor of depression. An increase in reward dependence (RD) was found to reduce the risk of psychotic depression. In the analysis using the temperament clusters, the cluster including shy and pessimistic individuals was associated with risk for depression diagnosis in men. This prospective general population-based cohort study added to previous knowledge of high HA being a risk factor for depression, but it also found new associations such as higher P and NS. • Out of Cloninger's temperament traits, higher harm avoidance is a risk factor for depression. • There are differences between the genders regarding temperament as a risk factor. • Higher reward dependence seems to be a protective factor in men against psychotic depression. • This study included an analysis using temperament clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Early traumas in young adults with familial and clinical risk for psychosis: A follow-up of the Northern Finland birth cohort 1986" by Juha M. Veijola and colleagues is presented.

Antipsychotic medications and psychotic illness related factors may affect both weight and brain structure in people with psychosis. Genetically high-risk individuals offer an opportunity to study the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and brain structure free from these potential confounds. We examined the effect of BMI on white matter (WM) microstructure in subjects with familial risk for psychosis (FR). We used diffusion tensor imaging and tract-based spatial statistics to explore the effect of BMI on whole brain FA in 42 (13 males) participants with FR and 46 (16 males) control participants aged 20–25 years drawn from general population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986. We also measured axial, radial and mean diffusivities. Most of the participants were normal weight rather than obese. In the FR group, decrease in fractional anisotropy and increase in radial diffusivity were associated with an increase in BMI in several brain areas. In controls the opposite pattern was seen in participants with higher BMI. There was a statistically significant interaction between group and BMI on FA and radial and mean diffusivities. Our results suggest that the effect of BMI on WM differs between individuals with FR for psychosis and controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the disconnectivity model, disruptions in neural connectivity play an essential role in the pathology of schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to determine whether these abnormalities are present in young adults with familial risk (FR) for psychosis in the general population based sample. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and tract-based spatial statistics to compare whole-brain fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, and axial and radial diffusion in 47 (17 males) FR subjects to 51 controls (17 males). All the participants were aged between 20 and 25 years and were members of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (Oulu Brain and Mind Study). Region of interest analyses were conducted for 12 tracts. Separately, we analysed whole-brain FA for the subgroup with FR for schizophrenia ( n =13) compared with 13 gender-matched controls. Contrary to our expectations there were no differences in any of the DTI measures between FR and control groups. This suggests that white matter abnormalities may not be a genetic feature for risk of psychosis and preceding the onset of a psychotic disorder. Our findings do not support the theory of disconnectivity as a primary sign of psychosis in young adults with FR for the illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]