OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the 2-year course and outcomes of full and subthreshold avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in youth aged 9 to 23 years at baseline using a prospective longitudinal design to characterize the remission and persistence of ARFID, evaluate diagnostic crossover, and identify predictors of outcome. Greater severity in each ARFID profile-sensory sensitivity, fear of aversive consequences, and lack of interest-was hypothesized to predict greater likelihood of illness persistence, controlling for age, sex, body mass index percentile, ARFID treatment status, and baseline diagnosis.
METHODS: Participants (N = 100; age range, 9-23 years; 49% female; 91% White) were followed over 2 years. The Pica, ARFID, and Rumination Disorder Interview was used across 3 time points (baseline, year 1, year 2) to measure the severity of each ARFID profile and evaluate illness persistence or remission, and the Eating Disorder Assessment for DSM-5 was used to evaluate diagnostic crossover.
RESULTS: Across the 2-year follow-up period, half the participants persisted with their original diagnosis, and 3% of participants experienced a diagnostic shift to anorexia nervosa. Greater severity in the sensory sensitivity and lack of interest profiles was associated with higher likelihood of ARFID persistence at year 1 only; greater severity in the fear of aversive consequences profile was associated with higher likelihood of ARFID remission at year 2 only.
CONCLUSIONS: Findings underscore the distinctiveness of ARFID from other eating disorders and emphasize its persistence over 2 years. Results also highlight the predictive validity and prognostic value of the ARFID profiles (ie, sensory sensitivity, fear of aversive consequences, lack of interest).

Mother-child cohesion, reflecting the emotional connection between mothers and children, is a protective factor for individuals\' mental health. The Modified Operations Triad Model suggests that children and mothers hold either congruent or incongruent views of their perceived cohesion, which reflects family functioning and is an indication of future mental health outcomes for family members. Despite increasing research on the impact of (in)congruence in perceived family functioning on children\'s mental health, few studies concurrently address the mental health of both mothers and children, overlooking their interdependence. This longitudinal study with multi-informant reports explored the long-term and developmental effects of (in)congruence in perceived mother-child cohesion on informants\' depressive symptoms. A total of 577 families participated at the first time point, comprising 577 children (52.34% girls, Mage = 10.11 years) and 577 mothers (Mage = 37.32 years). The Dyadic Response Surface Analysis revealed that mother-child congruence at high levels of cohesion (versus low levels) predicted fewer depressive symptoms in mothers and children after three and nine months, as well as decreased depressive symptoms over nine months. Children who reported higher levels of cohesion than their mothers experienced fewer depressive symptoms after three months. Mothers with higher levels of cohesion than their children reported fewer depressive symptoms after three months. The current findings emphasize the importance of identifying and resolving discrepancies in perceived mother-child cohesion between mothers and children to promote a healthy family environment.

BACKGROUND: Fatigue is a frequent and one of the most debilitating symptoms in post-COVID syndrome (PCS). Recently, we proposed that fatigue is caused by hypoactivity of the brain\'s arousal network and reflected by a reduction of cognitive processing speed. However, it is unclear whether cognitive slowing is revealed by standard neuropsychological tests, represents a selective deficit, and how it develops over time.
OBJECTIVE: This prospective study assesses whether PCS patients show deficits particularly in tests relying on processing speed and provides the first longitudinal assessment focusing on processing speed in PCS patients.
METHODS: Eighty-eight PCS patients with cognitive complaints and 50 matched healthy controls underwent neuropsychological assessment. Seventy-seven patients were subsequently assessed at 6-month follow-up. The Test for Attentional Performance measured tonic alertness as primary study outcome and additional attentional functions. The Neuropsychological Assessment Battery evaluated all key cognitive domains.
RESULTS: Patients showed cognitive slowing indicated by longer reaction times compared to control participants (r = 0.51, p < 0.001) in a simple-response tonic alertness task and in all more complex tasks requiring speeded performance. Reduced alertness correlated with higher fatigue (r =  - 0.408, p < 0.001). Alertness dysfunction remained unchanged at 6-month follow-up (p = 0.240) and the same was true for most attention tasks and cognitive domains.
CONCLUSIONS: Hypoarousal is a core deficit in PCS which becomes evident as a selective decrease of processing speed observed in standard neuropsychological tests. This core deficit persists without any signs of amelioration over a 6-month period of time.

BACKGROUND: Shortening of the long finger flexors (Flexor Digitorum Profundus, FDPs) in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) causes reduced hand function. Until now, longitudinal studies on the natural course of the shortening of the FDPs are lacking, which impedes recommendations on timing and evaluation of preventive measures.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the longitudinal course of the FDP length during different disease stages focusing on symmetry, timing, and decline of the FDP length.
METHODS: A retrospective, longitudinal multicenter study was conducted in the Radboud university medical center and the Leiden university medical center. The FDP outcome was measured using goniometry and gross motor function was assessed using the Brooke score. Longitudinal mixed model analyses were used to describe the course of the FDP outcome, and to investigate symmetry in both hands.
RESULTS: Data on 534 visits of 197 males (age ranged 4-48 years) showed that in the ambulatory stages the FDP outcome was within a normal range. The mean decline in FDP outcome is 3.5 degrees per year, the biggest decline was seen in Brooke 5 (>15 degrees per year). In Brooke 4, 41% of the FDP outcome was < 40 degrees. No significant differences were found between right and left.
CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the consideration of preventive measures to delay shortening of the FDPs in DMD patients transitioning to a Brooke scale of 4 or higher. Besides, natural history of FDP outcome has been established, which provides a base to evaluate (preventive) interventions.

Aortic root dilation (ARD) has been described in 22q11.2DS, even without congenital heart disease (CHD). However, the clinical implications and longitudinal course are unclear. In this study, we evaluated aortic root (AR) dimensions in 22q112.DS adolescents/adults without major intracardiac CHDs, analyzed the progression over time and investigated correlations with extracardiac comorbidities.
AR dimensions were evaluated in 74 patients, measuring the sinus of Valsalva (VS) and proximal ascending aorta (AA), using Z-score to define mild, moderate and severe degrees. Changes in AR dimensions during longitudinal echocardiographic follow-up were investigated. Phenotypic characteristics have been collected.
Twenty-four patients (32.4%) showed ARD in terms of VS Z-score (2.43; IQR 2.08-3.01), eight (33.3%) of a moderate/severe degree. Thirteen (54.2%) had concomitant AAD (Z-score 2.34; IQR 1.60-2.85). The risk of ARD was significantly directly related to skeletal/connective tissue disorders (OR 12.82, 95% CI 1.43-115.31; p = 0.023) and inversely related to BMI (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.77-0.97; p = 0.011). A significant increase in AR diameter\'s absolute value (p = 0.001) over time has been detected.
Isolated ARD is common in 22q11.2DS. Although some clinical risk factors have been identified, pathogenetic mechanisms and risk of complications are undefined. Regular cardiac evaluations should be part of the 22q11.2DS follow-up, and also in non-CHDs patients, to improve long-term outcome.

Estimate the prevalence of anxiety disorders, depressive disorders and apathy two years after stroke, examine their longitudinal course, describe the course of psychological distress through two years after stroke, and evaluate Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale HADS-A and HADS-D cut-off scores of ≥4 and ≥ 8 for detection of anxiety and depressive disorders two years after stroke.
In a longitudinal cohort study of 150 consecutive stroke patients in a stroke unit, 103 were assessed four months and 75 two years after stroke. Anxiety and depression disorders and symptoms were assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and HADS, apathy by the Apathy Evaluation Scale.
Prevalence of at least one anxiety disorder or one depressive disorder decreased from four months to two years (23% vs 9%, P = 0.026, 19% vs 10%, P = 0.17). Apathy remained stable at 48% vs 50%. After two years, 80%, 79% and 19% of those with anxiety, depression or apathy at four months had recovered. Recovery-rates among patients with anxiety were 83% for panic disorder, 60% for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and 50% for social phobia.
In contrast to apathy, recovery from anxiety and depression was high. About half of the patients with GAD, social phobia or agoraphobia did not recover. Co-morbid depression and apathy at four months implied a high risk for not recovering at two years. HADS-A and HADS-D cut-off scores of ≥8 were feasible for detection of anxiety and depression disorders two years after stroke.

Trials of psychological interventions targeting distressing voices have used a range of variables to measure outcomes. This has complicated attempts to compare outcomes across trials and to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions. Therefore, this review aimed to identify the variables that have been used to measure the longitudinal course and impact of voice hearing under these interventions and to evaluate how these variables change over time. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, resulting in a total of 66 articles. Of these, 60 studies (28 RCTs, 23 uncontrolled, 9 non-randomised) were published in peer-reviewed journals, whilst 6 were recently completed or currently ongoing. The findings of this review suggest that a range of variables that are not directly relevant to psychological interventions have been used (e.g., depression, characteristics of voice hearing experience), whilst those directly impacted by psychological interventions (e.g., voice-related distress), broader concepts of outcome (e.g., functioning) and specific associated processes (e.g., self-schema) have received less attention. Findings also showed that the majority of variables demonstrated improvements, but effect sizes varied considerably across trials. This may be attributed to methodological differences such as statistical power, blinding, control groups and different methods of measurement. Our review highlights the importance of determining a set of outcomes that are directly targeted and should change under psychological interventions. Recommendations include the use of voice-related distress as a primary outcome. This can ultimately facilitate comparisons across studies and inform the development of psychological interventions.

BACKGROUND: Perinatal Depression (PND) is one of the most common complications (10-20 %) during the perinatal period and its clinical course and phenotypes are still an area of research. It is becoming increasingly clear that pregnant women and mothers with depression are not a homogeneous clinical group.
METHODS: A systematic literature search in 4 databases revealed 359 studies, 33 relevant studies met the inclusion criteria. We only included studies with at least three assessment points in total.
RESULTS: Two to six trajectory classes were identified. A three trajectories solution was most observed. All the included studies reported a low symptom trajectory but ranged from 6.5 % to 92 %. The high-symptom group was in most of the studies the smallest subgroup (1.1 % - 14.6 %). Most of the studies described episodic trajectories of depressive symptoms during the peripartum. The most common risk factor associated with a high-symptom trajectory of depressive symptoms in our study was a history of depression. Important socio-demographic predictors were: young age, ethnicity, low maternal education, low income, single relationship status or relationship problems, unplanned or unintended pregnancy and experiencing high stress levels.
CONCLUSIONS: The methodology and the observed PND trajectories of the included studies differed, which makes generalizability difficult in this review.
CONCLUSIONS: PND is a frequent but heterogeneous disorder. Globally, four major groups could be distinguished: low, medium, high and episodic trajectories. There is a need for consensus regarding which assessment instruments to use, validated cutoff scores and similar time points of assessment.

Temper tantrums are sudden, overt negative emotional displays that are disproportionate to the eliciting event. Research supports that severe temper tantrums during the preschool period are associated with preschool psychopathology, but few studies have identified which characteristics of preschool tantrums are predictive of distal psychopathological outcomes in later childhood and adolescence. To examine this question, we used a prospective, longitudinal dataset enriched for early psychopathology. Participants (N = 299) included 3-to 6-year-old children (47.8% female) assessed for tantrums and early childhood psychopathology using diagnostic interviews and then continually assessed using diagnostic interviews over 10 subsequent time points throughout childhood and adolescence. We identified two unique groupings of tantrum behaviors: aggression towards others/objects (e.g., hitting others) and aggression towards self (e.g., hitting self). While both types of tantrum behaviors were associated with early childhood psychopathology severity, tantrum behaviors characterized by aggression towards self were more predictive of later psychopathology. Children displaying high levels of both types of tantrum behaviors had more severe externalizing problems during early childhood and more severe depression and oppositional defiant disorder across childhood and adolescence. Findings suggest that tantrum behaviors characterized by aggression towards self are particularly predictive of later psychopathology.

BACKGROUND: Case-only longitudinal studies are common in psychiatry. Further, it is assumed that psychiatric ratings and questionnaire results of healthy controls stay stable over foreseeable time ranges. For cognitive tests, improvements over time are expected, but data for more than two administrations are scarce.
OBJECTIVE: We comprehensively investigated the longitudinal course for trends over time in cognitive and symptom measurements for severe mental disorders. Assessments included the Trail Making Tests, verbal Digit Span tests, Global Assessment of Functioning, Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, and the Young Mania Rating Scale, among others.
METHODS: Using the data of control individuals (n = 326) from the PsyCourse study who had up to four assessments over 18 months, we modelled the course using linear mixed models or logistic regression. The slopes or odds ratios were estimated and adjusted for age and gender. We also assessed the robustness of these results using a longitudinal non-parametric test in a sensitivity analysis.
RESULTS: Small effects were detected for most cognitive tests, indicating a performance improvement over time (P < 0.05). However, for most of the symptom rating scales and questionnaires, no effects were detected, in line with our initial hypothesis.
CONCLUSIONS: The slightly but consistently improved performance in the cognitive tests speaks of a test-unspecific positive trend, while psychiatric ratings and questionnaire results remain stable over the observed period. These detectable improvements need to be considered when interpreting longitudinal courses. We therefore recommend recruiting control participants if cognitive tests are administered.