The Researcher's Guide to Selecting Biomarkers in Mental Health Studies

Overview

Journal Bioessays

Publisher Wiley

Specialties Biology
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology

Date 2024 Sep 11

PMID 39258367

Authors

Josine E Verhoeven

Owen M Wolkowitz

Isaac Barr Satz

Quinn Conklin

Femke Lamers

Catharina Lavebratt

Jue Lin

Daniel Lindqvist

Stefanie E Mayer

Philippe A Melas

Yuri Milaneschi

Martin Picard

Ryan Rampersaud

Natalie Rasgon

Kathryn Ridout

Gustav Soderberg Veiback

Caroline Trumpff

Audrey R Tyrka

Kathleen Watson

Gwyneth Winnie Y Wu

Ruoting Yang

Anthony S Zannas

Laura K M Han

Kristoffer N T Mansson

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

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 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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