Johan Ormel

University of Groningen | RUG · University Center for Psychiatry

Samenvatting De last van mentale problemen is enorm. Omdat zowel behandeling als preventie er tot nu toe niet in geslaagd is hun prevalentie te reduceren, benadrukken recente beleidstukken het belang van mentale gezondheid en gezonde omgevingen, en de noodzaak van een andere, bredere en integrale preventieaanpak. In dit artikel schets ik de randvoo...

Resting heart rate is associated with cardiovascular diseases and mortality in observational and Mendelian randomization studies. The aims of this study are to extend the number of resting heart rate associated genetic variants and to obtain further insights in resting heart rate biology and its clinical consequences. A genome-wide meta-analysis of...

The social defeat hypothesis of schizophrenia, which proposes that the chronic experience of outsider status or subordinate position leads to increased striatal dopamine activity and thereby to increased risk, has been criticized. The aims of this paper are to improve the definition of defeat and to integrate the social defeat hypothesis with the n...

Background: Treatments for depression have improved, and their availability has markedly increased since the 1980s. Mysteriously, the prevalence of depression in the general population has not decreased. This ‘treatment-prevalence paradox’ (TPP) raises fundamental questions about the diagnosis and treatment of depression. Aim: To clarify the TPP...

Background Psychopathology has been long recognized as a fluctuating process with various expressions over time, which can only be properly understood if we follow individuals and their social context from childhood up until adulthood. Longitudinal population‐based studies have yielded powerful data to analyze this process. However, the resulting p...

Sum scores from questionnaire data are frequently analyzed under the normality assumption which is not always tenable due to for instance the skewness of the distribution, or the discreteness of the sum scores for small number of items. Alternatively, an ordinal regression analysis can be applied, but this approach seems appropriate only for very s...

Objective: This study tested two opposing hypotheses on the continuity of psychopathology throughout adolescence and young adulthood; differentiation versus dynamic mutualism. Differentiation predicts that co-occurrence decreases, while dynamic mutualism predicts that co-occurrence increases due to causal interactions amongst mental health problem...

Few investigations have directly compared personality and internalizing symptoms stability within the same sample and have not included personality facets. This study examined rank-order stability and mean-level change of Big Five domains, facets of neuroticism and extraversion, and internalizing symptoms in a sample of 550 adolescent females. Pers...

Treatments for depression have improved, and their availability has markedly increased since the 1980s. Mysteriously the general population prevalence of depression has not decreased. This “treatment-prevalence paradox” (TPP) raises fundamental questions about the diagnosis and treatment of depression. We propose and evaluate seven explanations for...

Background Risk factors for depressive disorders (DD) change substantially over time, but the prognostic value of these changes remains unclear. Two basic types of dynamic effects are possible. The ‘Risk Escalation hypothesis’ posits that worsening of risk levels predicts DD onset above average level of risk factors. Alternatively, the ‘Chronic Ris...

Heterogeneity in development of imbalance between impulse control and sensation seeking has not been studied until now. The present study scrutinized this heterogeneity and the link between imbalance and adolescent risk. Seven-wave data of 7,558 youth (50.71% males; age range from 12/13 until 24/25) were used. Three developmental trajectories were...

Shortcomings of approaches to classifying psychopathology based on expert consensus have given rise to contemporary efforts to classify psychopathology quantitatively. In this paper, we review progress in achieving a quantitative and empirical classification of psychopathology. A substantial empirical literature indicates that psychopathology is ge...

Large increases in treatment of Common Mental Disorders (CMD) have failed to reduce population prevalence and global burden. Preventive strategies are needed to lower CMD prevalence and burden. Giving prevention a real chance to prove its promise will require: (a) full embedment in social institutions; (b) long‐term structural funding; (c) targetin...

The burden of common mental disorders (CMDs), including major depressive and anxiety disorders, is substantial. CMDs contribute to lowered work productivity, family dysfunction, substance misuse, suicide, and reduced life expectancy. The point prevalence of CMDs has been stable since the 1980s,¹ although expenditures on mental health care and drug...

Despite major expansions of evidence-based treatments of common mental disorders in recent decades, especially antidepressant medication, the point prevalence of depression has not decreased; instead it probably increased in young adults. We question whether antidepressants (AD)-monotherapy and low-fidelity-to-guideline psychological treatment (PT)...

Background Mental health problems during adolescence may create a problematic start into adulthood for affected individuals. Usually, categorical indicators of adolescent mental health issues (yes/no psychiatric disorder) are used in studies into long-term functional outcomes. This however does not take into account the full spectrum of mental heal...

The experience of a mental disorder may affect the development of personality in multiple ways, but empirical evidence regarding psychopathology effects on personality development that persist after remission of the disorder is limited and inconsistent. In the longitudinal cohort TRacking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), mental disord...

Background: From around 1980, antidepressants (ad) have increasingly been prescribed, for longer periods of time, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (ssris). Paradoxically, their effectiveness is still doubted, especially outside the psychiatric profession. AIM: To explain increase and offer a perspective on causes and solutions, a...

Background Perinatal depression and anxiety are associated with unfavourable child outcomes. Aims To assess among women with antenatal depression or anxiety the effectiveness of prenatally initiated cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) on mother and child compared with care as usual (CAU). Trial registration: Netherlands Trial Register number NTR22...

Genetic discovery in psychiatry and clinical psychology is hindered by suboptimal phenotypic definitions. We argue that the hierarchical, dimensional, and data-driven classification system proposed by the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) consortium provides a more effective approach to identifying genes that underlie mental disorder...

Despite substantial investments in the treatment of major depressive disorder (hereafter ‘depression’), especially antidepressant medications and cognitive behavioral therapy, epidemiological data do not indicate that depression burden, as measured by the period prevalence, has decreased in recent decades. Although improving the delivery and qualit...

Background Antidepressant medications (ADMs) are widely used and long-term use is increasing. Given this extensive use and recommendation of ADMs in guidelines, one would expect ADMs to be universally considered effective. Surprisingly, that is not the case; fierce debate on their benefits and harms continues. This editorial seeks to understand why...

Background: The structure of psychopathology has been much debated within the research literature. This study extends previous work by providing comparisons of the links between psychopathology and several life outcomes (temperamental, economic, social, psychological and health) using a three-correlated-factors model, a bifactor model, a revised-b...

The recent successful genome-wide association studies (GWASs) for depression have yielded more than 80 replicated loci and brought back the excitement that had evaporated during the years of negative GWAS findings. The identified loci provide anchors to explore their relevance for depression, but this comes with new challenges. Using the watershed...

Purpose of review: Since the 70s, treatment of depression, especially pharmacologically, has expanded enormously. However, epidemiological studies show that 12-month population prevalence rates have not dropped. This observation raises multiple questions. How good are treatments of depression actually? Do they improve long-term outcomes? Have the...

Background As depression has a recurrent course, relapse and recurrence prevention is essential. Aims In our randomised controlled trial (registered with the Nederlands trial register, identifier: NTR1907), we found that adding preventive cognitive therapy (PCT) to maintenance antidepressants (PCT+AD) yielded substantial protective effects versus...

Background Research in depression has progressed rapidly over the past four decades. Yet depression rates are not subsiding and treatment success is not improving. We examine the extent to which the gap between science and practice is associated with the level of integration in how depression is considered in research and stakeholder-relevant docum...

Shortcomings of approaches to classifying psychopathology based on expert consensus have given rise to contemporary efforts to classify psychopathology quantitatively. In this paper, we review progress in achieving a quantitative and empirical classification of psychopathology. A substantial empirical literature indicates that psychopathology is ge...

Background: Various childhood social experiences have been reported to predict adult outcomes. However, it is unclear how different social contexts may influence each other's effects in the long run. This study examined the joint contribution of adolescent family and peer experiences to young adult wellbeing and functioning. Methods: Participant...

Missing data methods, maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and multiple imputation (MI), for longitudinal questionnaire data were investigated via simulation. Predictive mean matching (PMM) was applied at both item and scale levels, logistic regression at item level and multivariate normal imputation at scale level. We investigated a hybrid approach...

Behavioral-genetic studies show substantial non-genetic influences on variance of neuroticism within a population. Longitudinal studies show a small but steady drop in test-retest correlations with increasing time intervals. This suggest environmental effects on neuroticism, but a systematic overview of which environmental determinants account for...

The neural substrate of cognitive reappraisal has been well-mapped. Individuals who successfully downregulate negative affect (NA) by reshaping their thoughts about a potentially emotional situation show augmented activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), with attenuated activity in the amygdala. We performed functional neuroimaging with experience...

Second-level whole-brain analyses. T-maps and con images obtained for second-level whole-brain analyses (instructed downregulation contrast, i.e., downregulate negative–attend negative and uninstructed regulation contrast, i.e., attend negative–attend neutral). (ZIP)

Second-level whole brain correlational analyses of baseline NA. T-maps and con images obtained for second-level whole-brain correlational analyses of baseline NA (instructed downregulation contrast, i.e., downregulate negative–attend negative and uninstructed regulation contrast, i.e., attend negative–attend neutral). (ZIP)

Multilevel regression results for the right amygdala. NAt-1 = negative affect at the previous measurement (t-1), NE = negative event (dichotomous variable), r = reversed sign. To facilitate interpretation, a greater decrease in activation in the amygdala is represented by a more positive value for the instructed downregulation contrast. (DOCX)

Second-level whole brain correlational analyses of NA reactivity. T-maps and con images obtained for second-level whole-brain correlational analyses of NA reactivity (instructed downregulation contrast, i.e., downregulate negative–attend negative and uninstructed regulation contrast, i.e., attend negative–attend neutral). (ZIP)

Scatterplots of correlations between NA reactivity and PFC activation during the three task conditions. R2 = explained variance. (DOCX)

Details of the multilevel regression analysis. (DOCX)

Brain and daily life NA measures. Imputed dataset comprising brain measures and daily life NA measures for each individual. (SAV)

Second-level whole brain correlational analyses of NA variability. T-maps and con images obtained for second-level whole-brain correlational analyses of NA variability (instructed downregulation contrast, i.e., downregulate negative–attend negative and uninstructed regulation contrast, i.e., attend negative–attend neutral). (ZIP)

Multilevel regression results for the left amygdala. NAt-1 = negative affect at the previous measurement (t-1), NE = negative event (dichotomous variable), r = reversed sign. To facilitate interpretation, a greater decrease in activation in the amygdala is represented by a more positive value for the instructed downregulation contrast. (DOCX)

Multilevel regression results for the regulation clusters. NAt-1 = negative affect at the previous measurement (t-1), NE = negative event (dichotomous variable). (DOCX)

Elderly patients with somatic illness are at increased risk of depression. The authors studied the prevalence and persistence of depressive symptoms during the first year after the events of myo-cardial infarction, congestive heart failure, fall-related injury, and the diagnosis of cancer and their putative pre-event risk factors. The GLAS study co...

Introduction This study examined the predictive value of current and past mental disorders for early adult functional outcomes. Methods We took 1,584 youngsters aged 19 who are being followed from preadolescence through to adulthood in the Dutch TRAILS study and administered the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) to measure curren...

Background: Keeping individuals on antidepressants after remission or recovery of major depressive disorder is a common strategy to prevent relapse or recurrence. Preventive cognitive therapy (PCT) has been proposed as an alternative to maintenance antidepressant treatment, but whether its addition would allow tapering of antidepressants or enhanc...

It is not clear if treatments for depression targeting repetitive negative thinking (RNT: rumination, worry and content-independent perseverative thinking) have a specific effect on RNT resulting in better outcomes than treatments that do not specifically target rumination. We conducted a systematic search of PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase and the Cochra...

Background We modeled both psychopathology and executive function (EF) as bi-factor models to study if EF impairments are transdiagnostic or relate to individual syndromes, and concurrently, if such associations are with general EF or specific EF impairments. Methods Data were obtained from the Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS...

From the literature it is not clear whether low resting heart rate (HR) reflects low or high sensitivity to the detrimental effects of adverse environments on externalizing problems. We studied parental psychiatric history (PH), reflecting general vulnerability, as possible moderator explaining these inconsistencies. Using Linear Mixed Models, we a...

Set-point trait theories presume homeostasis at a specified level (stability/trait) and a surrounding “bandwidth” (change/state). The theory has been productively applied in studies on subjective well-being (SWB) but hardly in research on stability and change in personality (e.g., neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness). This divergence m...

This study aims to test whether adolescent negative social interactions mediate the relation between early adolescent self-regulatory capacities and young adult psychopathology, using a fully prospective mediation model. Data were derived from the Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey, a large population cohort of Dutch adolescents ( n = 96...

Neuroticism and genetic variation in the serotonin-transporter (SLC6A4) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene are risk factors for psychopathology. Alterations in the functional integration and segregation of neural circuits have recently been found in individuals scoring higher on neuroticism. The aim of the current study was to investigate...

Baumert and colleagues argued that research on between- and within-individual differences and expression of personality processes in context should be integrated. We applaud this effort and their focus on developmental processes but felt that their descriptions remained too unspecific. This comment highlights six issues that may contribute to a fru...

Correction to article number 15805 published in June 2017 in Nature Communications, vol 8.

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been proposed to be a key mechanism underlying the link between adversity and mental health, but longitudinal studies on adversity and HPA-axis functioning are scarce. Here, we studied adversity-driven changes in HPA-axis functioning during adolescence (N = 141). HPA-axis functioning (basal cortisol...

Reduced cardiac vagal control reflected in low heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with greater risks for cardiac morbidity and mortality. In two-stage meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies for three HRV traits in up to 53,174 individuals of European ancestry, we detect 17 genome-wide significant SNPs in eight loci. HRV SNPs tag n...

The hypothesis that the S allele of the 5-HTTLPR serotonin transporter promoter region is associated with increased risk of depression, but only in individuals exposed to stressful situations, has generated much interest, research and controversy since first proposed in 2003. Multiple meta-analyses combining results from heterogeneous analyses have...