title: A longitudinal study of associations between psychiatric symptoms and disorders and cerebral gray matter volumes in adolescents born very preterm.
abstract: Being born preterm with very low birthweight (VLBW ≤ 1500 g) poses a risk for cortical and subcortical gray matter (GM) abnormalities, as well as for having more psychiatric problems during childhood and adolescence than term-born individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between cortical and subcortical GM volumes and the course of psychiatric disorders during adolescence in VLBW individuals.
  
  
  
  We followed VLBW individuals and term-born controls (birth weight ≥10th percentile) from 15 (VLBW;controls n = 40;56) to 19 (n = 44;60) years of age. Of these, 30;37 individuals were examined longitudinally. Cortical and subcortical GM volumes were extracted from MRPRAGE images obtained with the same 1.5 T MRI scanner at both time points and analyzed at each time point with the longitudinal stream of the FreeSurfer software package 5.3.0. All participants underwent clinical interviews and were assessed for psychiatric symptoms and diagnosis (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-age Children, Children's Global Assessment Scale, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale-IV). VLBW adolescents were divided into two groups according to diagnostic status from 15 to 19 years of age: persisting/developing psychiatric diagnosis or healthy/becoming healthy.
  
  
  
  Reduction in subcortical GM volume at 15 and 19 years, not including the thalamus, was limited to VLBW adolescents with persisting/developing diagnosis during adolescence, whereas VLBW adolescents in the healthy/becoming healthy group had similar subcortical GM volumes to controls. Moreover, across the entire VLBW group, poorer psychosocial functioning was predicted by smaller subcortical GM volumes at both time points and with reduced GM volume in the thalamus and the parietal and occipital cortex at 15 years. Inattention problems were predicted by smaller GM volumes in the parietal and occipital cortex.
  
  
  
  GM volume reductions in the parietal and occipital cortex as well as smaller thalamic and subcortical GM volumes were associated with the higher rates of psychiatric symptoms found across the entire VLBW group. Significantly smaller subcortical GM volumes in VLBW individuals compared with term-born peers might pose a risk for developing and maintaining psychiatric diagnoses during adolescence. Future research should explore the possible role of reduced cortical and subcortical GM volumes in the pathogenesis of psychiatric illness in VLBW adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Medical Technology Research Center, P.O. Box 8905, NO-7491, Trondheim, Norway. violeta.lozano@ntnu.no.
authors.forename: Violeta L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Botellero
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Medical Technology Research Center, P.O. Box 8905, NO-7491, Trondheim, Norway.|Department of Pediatrics, Sørlandet Hospital, Arendal, Norway.
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Skranes
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Medical Technology Research Center, P.O. Box 8905, NO-7491, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Knut Jørgen
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Bjuland
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.|Department of Medical Imaging, St. Olav's Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Asta Kristine
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Håberg
authors.affiliation: Regional Center for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Stian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lydersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Medical Technology Research Center, P.O. Box 8905, NO-7491, Trondheim, Norway.|Department of Pediatrics, St. Olav's Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Ann-Mari
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Brubakk
authors.affiliation: Regional Center for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.|Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, St. Olav's Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Marit S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Indredavik
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Medical Technology Research Center, P.O. Box 8905, NO-7491, Trondheim, Norway.|Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, St. Olav's Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Marit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinussen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D062071:Infant, Extremely Premature / Q000254:growth & development*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000254:growth & development*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D009929:Organ Size; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Mental health; Thalamo-cortical system; Very preterm