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Cohort profile: BioMD-Y (biopsychosocial factors of major depression in youth) - a biobank study on the molecular genetics and environmental factors of depression in children and adolescents in Munich.

BMJ open

Authors: Aline Doreen Scherff, Lisa Feldmann, Charlotte Piechaczek, Verena Pehl, Petra Wagenbüchler, Inga Wermuth, Neda Ghotbi, Antje-Kathrin Allgaier, Franz Joseph Freisleder, Eva C Beins, Andreas J Forstner, Markus M Nöthen, Darina Czamara, Monika Rex-Haffner, Marcus Ising, Elisabeth Binder, Ellen Greimel, Gerd Schulte-Körne

PURPOSE: BioMD-Y is a comprehensive biobank study of children and adolescents with major depression (MD) and their healthy peers in Germany, collecting a host of both biological and psychosocial information from the participants and their parents with the aim of exploring genetic and environmental risk and protective factors for MD in children and adolescents.

PARTICIPANTS: Children and adolescents aged 8-18 years are recruited to either the clinical case group (MD, diagnosis of MD disorder) or the typically developing control group (absence of any psychiatric condition).

FINDINGS TO DATE: To date, four publications on both genetic and environmental risk and resilience factors (including , glucocorticoid receptor activation, polygenic risk scores, psychosocial and sociodemographic risk and resilience factors) have been published based on the BioMD-Y sample.

FUTURE PLANS: Data collection is currently scheduled to continue into 2026. Research questions will be further addressed using available measures.

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

PMID: 38485175

Participating cluster members