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The researcher's guide to selecting biomarkers in mental health studies

Verhoeven, Josine E. ; Wolkowitz, Owen M. LU ; Barr Satz, Isaac ; Conklin, Quinn ; Lamers, Femke ; Lavebratt, Catharina ; Lin, Jue ; Lindqvist, Daniel LU ; Mayer, Stefanie E. and Melas, Philippe A. , et al. (2024) In BioEssays 46(10).
Abstract

Clinical mental health researchers may understandably struggle with how to incorporate biological assessments in clinical research. The options are numerous and are described in a vast and complex body of literature. Here we provide guidelines to assist mental health researchers seeking to include biological measures in their studies. Apart from a focus on behavioral outcomes as measured via interviews or questionnaires, we advocate for a focus on biological pathways in clinical trials and epidemiological studies that may help clarify pathophysiology and mechanisms of action, delineate biological subgroups of participants, mediate treatment effects, and inform personalized treatment strategies. With this paper we aim to bridge the gap... (More)

Clinical mental health researchers may understandably struggle with how to incorporate biological assessments in clinical research. The options are numerous and are described in a vast and complex body of literature. Here we provide guidelines to assist mental health researchers seeking to include biological measures in their studies. Apart from a focus on behavioral outcomes as measured via interviews or questionnaires, we advocate for a focus on biological pathways in clinical trials and epidemiological studies that may help clarify pathophysiology and mechanisms of action, delineate biological subgroups of participants, mediate treatment effects, and inform personalized treatment strategies. With this paper we aim to bridge the gap between clinical and biological mental health research by (1) discussing the clinical relevance, measurement reliability, and feasibility of relevant peripheral biomarkers; (2) addressing five types of biological tissues, namely blood, saliva, urine, stool and hair; and (3) providing information on how to control sources of measurement variability.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
biomarker, guideline, mental health, peripheral, psychiatric disorders
in
BioEssays
volume
46
issue
10
article number
2300246
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • pmid:39258367
  • scopus:85203498973
ISSN
0265-9247
DOI
10.1002/bies.202300246
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
90c156af-a5db-4ce7-adb6-fb3bfb7a6996
date added to LUP
2024-12-13 10:40:05
date last changed
2025-07-12 03:42:10
@article{90c156af-a5db-4ce7-adb6-fb3bfb7a6996,
  abstract     = {{<p>Clinical mental health researchers may understandably struggle with how to incorporate biological assessments in clinical research. The options are numerous and are described in a vast and complex body of literature. Here we provide guidelines to assist mental health researchers seeking to include biological measures in their studies. Apart from a focus on behavioral outcomes as measured via interviews or questionnaires, we advocate for a focus on biological pathways in clinical trials and epidemiological studies that may help clarify pathophysiology and mechanisms of action, delineate biological subgroups of participants, mediate treatment effects, and inform personalized treatment strategies. With this paper we aim to bridge the gap between clinical and biological mental health research by (1) discussing the clinical relevance, measurement reliability, and feasibility of relevant peripheral biomarkers; (2) addressing five types of biological tissues, namely blood, saliva, urine, stool and hair; and (3) providing information on how to control sources of measurement variability.</p>}},
  author       = {{Verhoeven, Josine E. and Wolkowitz, Owen M. and Barr Satz, Isaac and Conklin, Quinn and Lamers, Femke and Lavebratt, Catharina and Lin, Jue and Lindqvist, Daniel and Mayer, Stefanie E. and Melas, Philippe A. and Milaneschi, Yuri and Picard, Martin and Rampersaud, Ryan and Rasgon, Natalie and Ridout, Kathryn and Söderberg Veibäck, Gustav and Trumpff, Caroline and Tyrka, Audrey R. and Watson, Kathleen and Wu, Gwyneth Winnie Y. and Yang, Ruoting and Zannas, Anthony S. and Han, Laura K.M. and Månsson, Kristoffer N.T.}},
  issn         = {{0265-9247}},
  keywords     = {{biomarker; guideline; mental health; peripheral; psychiatric disorders}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{10}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{BioEssays}},
  title        = {{The researcher's guide to selecting biomarkers in mental health studies}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bies.202300246}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/bies.202300246}},
  volume       = {{46}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}