Scientists from the University of Eastern Finland say they have discovered biomarkers based on plasma proteins that can identify adolescents at risk of developing mental health problems. The study “Plasma proteomics discovery of mental health risk biomarkers in adolescents” appears in Natural mental health.
“An estimated 10 to 20 percent of adolescents suffer from mental health problems, and most of these remain underdiagnosed and undertreated,” the investigators write. “The discovery of new susceptibility biomarkers is therefore important to identify people at high risk of developing mental health problems and to improve early prevention. Here, we aimed to discover plasma protein-based susceptibility biomarkers in children/adolescents aged 11–16 years at risk of developing mental health problems.
As part of work in the research group of Katja Kanninen, PhD, PhD, the team used self-reported scores from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to assess mental health risk in participants aged 11 to 16 years old. Analyzes of blood samples showed that 58 proteins were significantly associated with SDQ score. Bioinformatics analyzes were used to identify biological processes and pathways related to the identified plasma protein biomarker candidates.
The major enriched pathways related to these proteins included immune responses, blood clotting, neurogenesis, and neuronal degeneration. The study relied on a symbolic regression algorithm to create predictive models that best separate low and high SDQ score groups.
Studies of plasma biomarkers in mental disorders are an emerging area, notes Kanninen.
“Alterations in plasma proteins have previously been associated with various mental health disorders, such as depression, schizophrenia, psychotic disorders and bipolar disorders. Our study supports these previous findings and further reveals that specific plasma protein alterations could indicate a high risk of mental dysfunction in adolescents,” she continues.
This pilot study will be followed by more specific investigations into potential biomarkers for identifying individuals at risk for mental health problems, opening a new avenue for progress in adolescent mental health care, the researchers say.
