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The iBerry study is a population-based cohort study designed to investigate the transition from subclinical symptoms to a psychiatric disorder. Adolescents were selected based on their self-reported emotional and/or behavioral problems assessed by completing the strengths and difficulties questionnaire-youth (SDQ-Y) in their first year of high school. A total of 16,736 SDQ-Y questionnaires completed in the academic years 2014–2015 and 2015–2016 by students in the greater Rotterdam area in the Netherlands were screened. A high-risk group of adolescents was then selected based on the 15% highest-scoring adolescents, and a low-risk group was randomly selected from the 85% lowest-scoring adolescents, with a 2.5:1 ratio between the number of high-risk and low-risk adolescents. These adolescents were invited to come with one parent for a baseline visit consisting of interviews, questionnaires, neuropsychological tests, and biological measurements to assess determinants of psychopathology. A total of 1022 high-risk and low-risk adolescents (mean age at the first visit: 15.0 years) enrolled in the study. The goal of the iBerry study is to follow these adolescents for a 10-year period in order to monitor any changes in their symptoms. Here, we present the study design, response rate, inclusion criteria, and the characteristics of the cohort; in addition, we discuss possible selection effects. We report that the oversampling procedure was successful at selecting a cohort of adolescents with a high rate of psychiatric problems based on comprehensive multi-informant measurements. The future results obtained from the iBerry Study will provide new insights into the way in which the mental health of high-risk adolescents changes as they transition to adulthood. These findings will therefore facilitate the development of strategies designed to optimize mental healthcare and prevent psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: According to the vascular depression hypothesis, subclinical cerebrovascular disease can cause depression in older adults. To test this hypothesis, several cross-sectional studies have assessed structural brain parameters, but few have examined hemodynamic alterations in the brain. Methods: From the Rotterdam Study, we studied a cohort of 1494 participants (65+ years of age) free of depression, dementia, and stroke at baseline. In the middle cerebral artery blood flow velocities and vasomotor reactivity were measured with transcranial Doppler ultrasonography. All participants were repeatedly assessed for depressive symptoms with Centre for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale (CES-D). Participants with depressive symptoms (CES-D ≥16) had a semi-structured interview, to classify the depression according to DSM-IV criteria. All analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic data, vascular risk factors, and incident stroke. Results: Lower peak-systolic, end-diastolic, and mean blood flow velocities at baseline were associated with higher CES-D scale scores at follow-up. Mean blood flow velocity predicted incident depressive symptoms (odds ratio [OR]: .74, 95% confidence interval [CI]: .60–.91, p = .004) and depressive disorders (OR: .83, 95% CI: .69–.98, p = .032), whereas decreased baseline vasomotor reactivity predicted incident depressive disorders only (OR: .66, 95% CI: .53–.83, p < .001). Conclusions: Lower blood flow velocity, indicating reduced cerebral metabolism, predicted depressive symptoms and depressive disorders. Reduced vasomotor reactivity, which might indicate cerebral microangiopathy, predicted depressive disorders only, in healthy older adults. These findings provide prospective evidence for vascular depression hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]