Performance analysis of three pilot-scale multi-compartment anaerobic baffled reactors treating domestic wastewater at psychrophilic temperatures in Colorado.

A transition from inefficient aerobic wastewater treatment methods to sustainable approaches is needed. Anaerobic bioreactors are a viable solution as they consume less energy, reduce biosolid production, and provide a source of renewable methane-rich biogas. A barrier to widespread implementation of anaerobic technologies is the lack of design guidance, especially in colder climates.

Impact of early intervention on the population prevalence of common mental disorders: 20-year prospective study.

Background: The potential for early interventions to reduce the later prevalence of common mental disorders (CMD) first experienced in adolescence is unclear.

Aims: To examine the course of CMD and evaluate the extent to which the prevalence of CMD could be reduced by preventing adolescent CMD, or by intervening to change four young adult processes, between the ages of 20 and 29 years, that could be mediating the link between adolescent and adult disorder.

Method: This was a prospective cohort study of 1923 Australian participants assessed repeatedly from adolescence (wave 1, mean age 14 years) to adulthood (wave 10, mean age 35 years).

Young-adult compared to adolescent onset of regular cannabis use: A 20-year prospective cohort study of later consequences.

Introduction: This paper compares consequences of cannabis use initiated after high school with those of cannabis initiation in adolescence, with estimates of the proportion of adverse consequences accounted for by adult-onset and adolescent-onset cannabis users.

Methods: A state-representative sample in Victoria, Australia (n = 1792) participated in a 10-wave longitudinal study and was followed from age 15 to 35 years. Exposure variable: Patterns of cannabis use across 20 years.

Parental mental health before and during pregnancy and offspring birth outcomes: A 20-year preconception cohort of maternal and paternal exposure.

Background: Preterm birth (PTB) and small for gestational age (SGA) are increasingly prevalent, with major consequences for health and development into later life. There is emerging evidence that some risk processes begin before pregnancy. We report on associations between maternal and paternal common mental disorders (CMD) before and during pregnancy and offspring PTB and SGA.

The Victorian Intergenerational Health Cohort Study (VIHCS): Study design of a preconception cohort from parent adolescence to offspring childhood.

Background: There is increasing evidence that parental determinants of offspring early life development begin well before pregnancy.

Objectives: We established the Victorian Intergenerational Health Cohort Study (VIHCS) to examine the contributions of parental mental health, substance use, and socio-economic characteristics before pregnancy to child emotional, physical, social, and cognitive development.

Population: Men and women were recruited from the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort (VAHCS), an existing cohort study beginning in 1992 that assessed a representative sample of 1943 secondary school students in Victoria, Australia, repeatedly from adolescence (wave 1, mean age 14 years) to adulthood (wave 10, mean age 35 years).

Does adolescent heavier alcohol use predict young adult aggression and delinquency? Parallel analyses from four Australasian cohort studies.

While the association between heavy alcohol consumption and aggression has been well documented, the causal direction of this association, particularly at a population level, is disputed. A number of causal sequences have been proposed. First, that aggression leads to heavy alcohol use.

20-year outcomes in adolescents who self-harm: a population-based cohort study.

Background: Little is known about the long-term psychosocial outcomes associated with self-harm during adolescence. We aimed to determine whether adolescents who self-harm are at increased risk of adverse psychosocial outcomes in the fourth decade of life, using data from the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study.

Methods: We recruited a stratified, random sample of 1943 adolescents from 44 schools across the state of Victoria, Australia.

Preconception personality disorder and antenatal maternal mental health: A population-based cohort study.

Background: Prior anxiety and depression have been identified as risk factors for maternal perinatal mental health problems, but other preconception mental disorders have not been prospectively examined. This study investigated prospectively whether women with preconception personality disorder have increased rates of antenatal anxiety and/or depressive symptoms.

Methods: 244 women in a population cohort were assessed for personality disorder at age 24 using the Standardised Assessment of Personality.

Adolescent Predictors of a Typology of DSM-5 Alcohol Use Disorder Symptoms in Young Adults Derived by Latent Class Analysis Using Data From an Australian Cohort Study.

Objective: There is little research examining alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms (based on criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition [DSM-5]) in young adulthood. We assessed symptom structure at 24 years using latent class analysis (LCA), examining relationships between class membership and (a) concurrent alcohol use and DSM-5 AUD severity and (b) adolescent risk factors.

Method: A stratified, random sample of 1,943 adolescents ages 14-15 years was recruited from 44 secondary schools in Victoria, Australia, and interviewed during adolescence and young adulthood.

The influence of personality disorder on the future mental health and social adjustment of young adults: a population-based, longitudinal cohort study.

Background: Existing knowledge about the consequences of personality disorders is substantially derived from the study of clinical populations. To gain a fuller understanding of the disease burden associated with personality disorders, we report their long-term mental health and social consequences in a large population-based sample of young adults.

Methods: We used data from a population-based, ten-wave cohort study of a stratified random sample of non-treatment-seeking young adults recruited from Victoria, Australia, between Aug 20, 1992, and March 3, 2014.

Cannabis Use in Adolescence and Young Adulthood: A Review of Findings from the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study.

The Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study (VAHCS) is a long-term Australian cohort study that has documented cannabis use in young Australians from the mid-teens to the mid-30s. The study findings have described the natural history of early cannabis use, remission, and escalation and the social and mental health consequences of different patterns of use. The adverse consequences of cannabis use are most clear-cut in heavy early adolescent users.

Does the social context of early alcohol use affect risky drinking in adolescents? Prospective cohort study.

Background: There are limited longitudinal data on the associations between different social contexts of alcohol use and risky adolescent drinking.

Methods: Australian prospective longitudinal cohort of 1943 adolescents with 6 assessment waves at ages 14-17 years. Drinkers were asked where and how frequently they drank.

Adolescent substance use and educational attainment: An integrative data analysis comparing cannabis and alcohol from three Australasian cohorts.

Background: The relative contributions of cannabis and alcohol use to educational outcomes are unclear. We examined the extent to which adolescent cannabis or alcohol use predicts educational attainment in emerging adulthood.

Methods: Participant-level data were integrated from three longitudinal studies from Australia and New Zealand (Australian Temperament Project, Christchurch Health and Development Study, and Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study).

Young adult sequelae of adolescent cannabis use: an integrative analysis.

Background: Debate continues about the consequences of adolescent cannabis use. Existing data are limited in statistical power to examine rarer outcomes and less common, heavier patterns of cannabis use than those already investigated; furthermore, evidence has a piecemeal approach to reporting of young adult sequelae. We aimed to provide a broad picture of the psychosocial sequelae of adolescent cannabis use.

Associations between psychotic symptoms and substance use in young offenders.

Introduction And Aims: Substance use and psychotic symptoms/disorders are associated. There has been little examination of this issue in young offenders, despite elevated substance use in this group.

Design And Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted by trained researchers with 514 young offenders.

Prediction of perinatal depression from adolescence and before conception (VIHCS): 20-year prospective cohort study.

Background: Perinatal depression is a neglected global health priority, affecting 10-15% of women in high-income countries and a greater proportion in low-income countries. Outcomes for children include cognitive, behavioural, and emotional difficulties and, in low-income settings, perinatal depression is associated with stunting and physical illness. In the Victorian Intergenerational Health Cohort Study (VIHCS), we aimed to assess the extent to which women with perinatal depressive symptoms had a history of mental health problems before conception.

Substance use and risk of death in young offenders: a prospective data linkage study.

Introduction And Aims: Young offenders are at increased risk of preventable death after release from custody, but risk factors for death in this population are poorly understood. Despite their poor health profiles, no studies have examined mortality outcomes in young people who have served community-based orders. The aims of this study were to describe the causes and identify risk factors for death in a cohort of young offenders in Victoria, Australia.

Deaths in young people aged 0-24 years in the UK compared with the EU15+ countries, 1970-2008: analysis of the WHO Mortality Database.

Background: Concern is growing that mortality and health in children and young people in the UK lags behind that of similar countries.

Methods: We analysed death registry data provided to the WHO Mortality Database to compare UK mortality for children and young people aged 0-24 years with that of European Union member states (before May, 2004, excluding the UK, plus Australia, Canada, and Norway [the EU15+ countries]) from 1970 to 2008 using the WHO World Mortality Database. We grouped causes of death by Global Burden of Disease classification: communicable, nutritional, or maternal causes; non-communicable disorders; and injury.

The prognosis of common mental disorders in adolescents: a 14-year prospective cohort study.

Background: Most adults with common mental disorders report their first symptoms before 24 years of age. Although adolescent anxiety and depression are frequent, little clarity exists about which syndromes persist into adulthood or resolve before then. In this report, we aim to describe the patterns and predictors of persistence into adulthood.

Complex health needs in the youth justice system: a survey of community-based and custodial offenders.

Purpose: Estimate the prevalence and annual frequency of health risk indicators in young people serving community-based orders (CBOs) and custodial orders in the state of Victoria, Australia.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey of 242 young people serving CBOs and 273 serving custodial orders in Victoria in 2002-2003. Validated measures included the Composite International Diagnostic Interview for substance dependence, Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire for depression, and Psychosis Screening Questionnaire for psychosis symptoms.

The persistence of adolescent binge drinking into adulthood: findings from a 15-year prospective cohort study.

Objectives: To examine the prevalence of binge drinking in adolescence and its persistence into adulthood in an Australian cohort.

Design: 15-year prospective cohort study.

Setting: Victoria, Australia.

The persistence of the association between adolescent cannabis use and common mental disorders into young adulthood.

Aims: Debate continues about whether the association between cannabis use in adolescence and common mental disorders is causal. Most reports have focused on associations in adolescence, with few studies extending into adulthood. We examine the association from adolescence until the age of 29 years in a representative prospective cohort of young Australians.