Cohort Profile Update: The Neuroscience in Psychiatry Network (NSPN) 2400 cohort during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

The Neuroscience in Psychiatry Network (NSPN) 2400 cohort (n 2403; aged 14-24 years at baseline) was conceived in 2012 to support an accelerated longitudinal design to study the emergence of psychopathology and psychiatric disorders across adolescence and young adulthood. Two new follow-up surveys have been established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to assess the impact of the initial outbreak as well as any potential consequences on mental health and wellbeing within this well-defined cohort that is broadly representative of the general emerging adult population. The first COVID-19 follow-up was conducted between May and July 2020 and included 1000 individuals aged 19-34 years; the second COVID-19 follow-up was conducted between July and October 2022 and included 803 individuals aged 21-36 years. Repeated measures of psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale; K10) and mental wellbeing (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale; WEMWBS) were supplemented by clinical measures of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire; PHQ-9) and anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder; GAD-7) to enable mapping of psychological outcomes into primary care settings such as the UK Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme. The NSPN 2400 cohort has a network of existing collaborators and welcomes new collaborations, which can be directed to pbj21@cam.ac.uk. Additionally, anonymized research data are released to the global scientific research community and can be requested and downloaded through the Open: NSPN portal (https://nspn.org.uk/).