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Emeritus Professor John Horwood

John HorwoodEmeritus Professor

BA BSc(Auck) MSc(Cant)

Email john.horwood@otago.ac.nz

John retired from the University in 2021 after 44 years' service as the lead biostatistician for the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS). From 2015 to 2019, he served as the third Director in the history of the CHDS. He was a much respected academic and colleague and will be greatly missed.

His research focussed on aspects of psychosocial development in adolescence and young adulthood including:

  • the development, course and consequences of cannabis and other illicit drug use
  • life course trajectories in antisocial behaviour
  • the consequences of early onset psychiatric disorder for later adult functioning
  • the psychosocial consequences of the Canterbury earthquakes
  • and the long term functional outcomes of preterm birth and very low birthweight

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Publications

Noble, A. J., Pearson, J. F., Kennedy, M. A., Boden, J. M., Horwood, L. J., & Osborne, A. J. (2021). Does DNA methylation link the association between maternal tobacco use during pregnancy and altered offspring neurodevelopment. Proceedings of the 16th Congress of the Federation of Asian & Oceanic Biochemists & Molecular Biologists (FAOBMB). (pp. 292). Retrieved from https://www.faobmb2021.org

Watson, H. J., Thornton, L. M., Yilmaz, Z., Baker, J. H., Coleman, J. R. I., Adan, R. A. H., … Boden, J. M., … Horwood, L. J., … Jordan, J., Kennedy, M., … Bulik, C. M. (2022). Common genetic variation and age at onset of anorexia nervosa. Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science, 2, 368-378. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.09.001

McLeod, G. F. H., Cleland, L., Welch, J., Spittlehouse, J. K., Fenton, A., Boden, J. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2022). Menopause status and climacteric symptoms in a birth cohort of mid-life New Zealand women. Climacteric, 25(3), 271-277. doi: 10.1080/13697137.2021.1948005

Greer, C., Harris, S. L., Troughton, R., Adamson, P. D., Horwood, J., Frampton, C., & Darlow, B. A. (2021). Right ventricular structure and function in young adults born preterm at very low birth weight. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 10(21), 4864. doi: 10.3390/jcm10214864

Ip, H. F., van der Laan, C. M., Krapohl, E. M. L., Brikell, I., Sánchez-Mora, C., Nolte, I. M., … Miller, A., … Boden, J., Pearson, J., Horwood, L. J., Kennedy, M., Poulton, R., … Boomsma, D. I. (2021). Genetic association study of childhood aggression across raters, instruments, and age. Translational Psychiatry, 11, 413. doi: 10.1038/s41398-021-01480-x

Noble, A. J., Pearson, J. F., Kennedy, M. A., Boden, J. M., Horwood, L. J., & Osborne, A. J. (2021). Does DNA methylation link the association between maternal tobacco use during pregnancy and altered offspring neurodevelopment. Proceedings of the 16th Congress of the Federation of Asian & Oceanic Biochemists & Molecular Biologists (FAOBMB). (pp. 292). Retrieved from https://www.faobmb2021.org

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Watson, H. J., Thornton, L. M., Yilmaz, Z., Baker, J. H., Coleman, J. R. I., Adan, R. A. H., … Boden, J. M., … Horwood, L. J., … Jordan, J., Kennedy, M., … Bulik, C. M. (2022). Common genetic variation and age at onset of anorexia nervosa. Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science, 2, 368-378. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.09.001

Journal - Research Article

McLeod, G. F. H., Cleland, L., Welch, J., Spittlehouse, J. K., Fenton, A., Boden, J. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2022). Menopause status and climacteric symptoms in a birth cohort of mid-life New Zealand women. Climacteric, 25(3), 271-277. doi: 10.1080/13697137.2021.1948005

Journal - Research Article

Greer, C., Harris, S. L., Troughton, R., Adamson, P. D., Horwood, J., Frampton, C., & Darlow, B. A. (2021). Right ventricular structure and function in young adults born preterm at very low birth weight. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 10(21), 4864. doi: 10.3390/jcm10214864

Journal - Research Article

Ip, H. F., van der Laan, C. M., Krapohl, E. M. L., Brikell, I., Sánchez-Mora, C., Nolte, I. M., … Miller, A., … Boden, J., Pearson, J., Horwood, L. J., Kennedy, M., Poulton, R., … Boomsma, D. I. (2021). Genetic association study of childhood aggression across raters, instruments, and age. Translational Psychiatry, 11, 413. doi: 10.1038/s41398-021-01480-x

Journal - Research Article

Eves, R., Mendonça, M., Baumann, N., Ni, Y., Darlow, B. A., Horwood, J., Woodward, L. J., … Wolke, D. (2021). Association of very preterm birth or very low birth weight with intelligence in adulthood: An individual participant data meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 175(8), e211058. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.1058

Journal - Research Article

McLeod, G. F. H., Horwood, L. J., Darlow, B. A., Boden, J. M., Martin, J., Spittlehouse, J. K., Carter, F. A., Jordan, J., Porter, R., Bell, C., Douglas, K., … McIntosh, V. V. W., … Vierck, E. (2022). Recruitment and retention of participants in longitudinal studies after a natural disaster. Longitudinal & Life Course Studies, 13(2), 287-306. doi: 10.1332/175795921X16168462584238

Journal - Research Article

McLeod, G. F. H., Horwood, J., Boden, J. M., & Woodward, L. J. (2021). Parental use of physical punishment in a birth cohort. New Zealand Medical Journal, 134(1534), 17-30. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Journal - Research Article

Munn-Chernoff, M. A., Johnson, E. C., Chou, Y.-L., Coleman, J. R. I., Thornton, L. M., Walters, R. K., … Boden, J. M., … Horwood, L. J., … Pearson, J. F., … Jordan, J., Kennedy, M. A., … Agrawal, A. (2021). Shared genetic risk between eating disorder- and substance-use-related phenotypes: Evidence from genome-wide association studies. Addiction Biology, 26, e12880. doi: 10.1111/adb.12880

Journal - Research Article

Darlow, B. A., Horwood, J., Dhakal, B., Harris, S. L., McKelvey, V. A., Elliott, J. M., Yang, J., & Mackay, R. J. (2021). Biomarkers of ageing in New Zealand VLBW young adults and controls. Pediatric Research, 89, 533-539. doi: 10.1038/s41390-020-0882-x

Journal - Research Article

McKelvey, V., Darlow, B. A., Horwood, L. J., & Martin, J. (2021). Dental status of young adults born with very low birthweight: A national cohort study. Community Dentistry & Oral Epidemiology, 49, 240-248. doi: 10.1111/cdoe.12595

Journal - Research Article

Johnson, E. C., Demontis, D., Thorgeirsson, T. E., Walters, R. K., Polimanti, R., Hatoum, A. S., … Boden, J., … Pearson, J. F., … Horwood, J., … Kennedy, M. A., … Agrawal, A. (2020). A large-scale genome-wide association study meta-analysis of cannabis use disorder. Lancet Psychiatry, 7, 1032-1045. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30339-4

Journal - Research Article

Yuen, W. S., Chan, G., Bruno, R., Clare, P., Mattick, R., Aiken, A., … Horwood, J., … Peacock, A. (2020). Adolescent alcohol use trajectories: Risk factors and adult outcomes. Pediatrics, 146(4), e20200440. doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-0440

Journal - Research Article

Darlow, B. A., Woodward, L. J., Levin, K. J., Melzer, T., & Horwood, L. J. (2020). Perinatal and childhood predictors of general cognitive outcome at 28 years in a very-low-birthweight national cohort. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 62, 1423-1428. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.14649

Journal - Research Article

Clare, P. J., Dobbins, T., Bruno, R., Peacock, A., Boland, V., Yuen, W. S., … Horwood, J., … McCambridge, J. (2020). The overall effect of parental supply of alcohol across adolescence on alcohol-related harms in early adulthood: A prospective cohort study. Addiction, 115, 1833-1843. doi: 10.1111/add.15005

Journal - Research Article

Mulder, R. T., Horwood, L. J., & Tyrer, P. (2020). The borderline pattern descriptor in the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision: A redundant addition to classification. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 54(11), 1095-1100. doi: 10.1177/0004867420951608

Journal - Research Article

Noble, A., Pearson, J., Boden, J., Horwood, J., Kennedy, M., & Osborne, A. (2020). Understanding the interaction between maternal tobacco use during pregnancy and adult offspring with conduct disorder. New Zealand Medical Journal, 133(1524), (pp. 144). Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Greer, C., Adamson, P., Harris, S., Horwood, J., Troughton, R., & Darlow, B. (2020). Very low birth weight is associate with reduced right ventricular function detected by strain imaging in early adulthood: Findings from a prospective cohort study. Heart, Lung & Circulation, 29(Suppl. 1), (pp. S2). doi: 10.1016/j.hlc.2020.05.007

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Boden, J. M., Cleland, L., Dhakal, B., & Horwood, L. J. (2020). Attitudes towards cannabis and cannabis law change in a New Zealand birth cohort. New Zealand Medical Journal, 133(1515), 79-88. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Journal - Research Article

Yang, J., Kingsford, R. A., Horwood, J., Epton, M. J., Swanney, M. P., Stanton, J., & Darlow, B. A. (2020). Lung function of adults born at very low birth weight. Pediatrics, 145(2), e20192359. doi: 10.1542/peds.2019-2359

Journal - Research Article

Poulton, R., Robertson, K., Boden, J., Horwood, J., Theodore, R., Potiki, T., & Ambler, A. (2020). Patterns of recreational cannabis use in Aotearoa-New Zealand and their consequences: Evidence to inform voters in the 2020 referendum. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 50(2), 348-365. doi: 10.1080/03036758.2020.1750435

Journal - Research Other

Osborne, A. J., Pearson, J. F., Noble, A. J., Gemmell, N. J., Horwood, L. J., Boden, J. M., … Kennedy, M. A. (2020). Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of heavy cannabis exposure in a New Zealand longitudinal cohort. Translational Psychiatry, 10, 114. doi: 10.1038/s41398-020-0800-3

Journal - Research Article

Duncan, R., Horwood, J., Razvi, S., & Mulhern, S. (2020). Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures that remit when the diagnosis is given: Just good luck? Epilepsy & Behavior, 102, 106667. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2019.106667

Journal - Research Other

Lee, J. O., Horwood, L. J., Lee, W. J., Hackman, D. A., McLeod, G. F. H., & Boden, J. M. (2020). Social causation, social selection, or common determinants? Examining competing explanations for the link between young adult unemployment and nicotine dependence. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 22(11), 2006-2013. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntz131

Journal - Research Article

Spittlehouse, J. K., Boden, J. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2020). Sexual orientation and mental health over the life course in a birth cohort. Psychological Medicine, 50, 1348-1355. doi: 10.1017/S0033291719001284

Journal - Research Article

Boden, J. M., Dhakal, B., Foulds, J. A., & Horwood, L. J. (2020). Life-course trajectories of cannabis use: A latent class analysis of a New Zealand birth cohort. Addiction, 115(2), 279-290. doi: 10.1111/add.14814

Journal - Research Article

Horwood, J. (2019, October). Childhood adversity and mental health: Lifecourse implications. Verbal presentation at the Otago Spotlight Series: Mental Health Research, Wellington, New Zealand.

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Osborne, A., Pearson, J., Gemmell, N., Boden, J., Horwood, J., & Kennedy, M. (2019). Methylome impacts of cannabis use in the Christchurch Health and Development Study. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 29(Suppl. 3), (pp. S851). doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2017.08.125

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Yuen, W. S., Chan, G. C. K., Clarke, P. J., Bruno, R., Boland, V., Aiken, A., … Horwood, J., … Peacock, A. (2019). Trajectories of adolescent alcohol consumption: A prospective cohort study. Drug & Alcohol Review, 38(Suppl. 1), (pp. S107-S108). doi: 10.1111/dar.12991

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Duncan, R., Mulder, R., Wilkinson, S. H., & Horwood, J. (2019). Medically unexplained symptoms and antecedent sexual abuse: An observational study of a birth cohort. Psychosomatic Medicine, 81, 622-628. doi: 10.1097/psy.0000000000000726

Journal - Research Article

Watson, H. J., Yilmaz, Z., Thornton, L. M., Hübel, C., Coleman, J. R. I., Gaspar, H. A., … Roberts, M., … Boden, J. M., … Horwood, L. J., … Pearson, J. F., … Jordan, J., Kennedy, M., … Bulik, C. M. (2019). Genome-wide association study identifies eight risk loci and implicates metabo-psychiatric origins for anorexia nervosa. Nature Genetics, 51, 1207-1214. doi: 10.1038/s41588-019-0439-2

Journal - Research Article

Najman, J. M., Plotnikova, M., Horwood, J., Silins, E., Fergusson, D., Patton, G. C., … Mattick, R. P. (2019). Does adolescent heavier alcohol use predict young adult aggression and delinquency? Parallel analyses from four Australasian cohort studies. Aggressive Behavior, 45, 427-436. doi: 10.1002/ab.21828

Journal - Research Article

Pearson, J., Osborne, A., Noble, A., Kennedy, M., Horwood, J., & Boden, J. (2019, August-September). Epigenetic impact of cannabis use in the Christchurch Health and Development Study. Verbal presentation at the Queenstown Molecular Biology (QMB) Meetings, Queenstown, New Zealand.

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Richards, A., Horwood, J., Boden, J., Kennedy, M., Sellers, R., Riglin, L., … Harold, G. T. (2019). Associations between schizophrenia genetic risk, anxiety disorders and manic/hypomanic episode in a longitudinal population cohort study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 214, 96-102. doi: 10.1192/bjp.2018.227

Journal - Research Article

Walker, G. H., Boden, J. M., Fergusson, D. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2019). Examining the associations between offending trajectories in adolescence/young adulthood and subsequent mental health disorders. Journal of Criminal Justice, 62, 94-100. doi: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2018.09.008

Journal - Research Article

Bell, C. J., Foulds, J. A., Horwood, L. J., Mulder, R. T., & Boden, J. M. (2019). Childhood abuse and psychotic experiences in adulthood: Findings from a 35-year longitudinal study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 214, 153-158. doi: 10.1192/bjp.2018.264

Journal - Research Article

McLeod, G. F. H., Horwood, L. J., Boden, J. M., & Fergusson, D. M. (2018). Early childhood education and later educational attainment and socioeconomic wellbeing outcomes to age 30. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 53(2), 257-273. doi: 10.1007/s40841-018-0106-7

Journal - Research Article

Horwood, J. (2018, August). Child development study. Verbal presentation at the George Abbott Symposium & Festschrift for Emeritus Professor Brian Darlow, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Horwood, J. (2018). Causal effect decomposition in the context of time varying exposures and mediators: An example. Proceedings of the World Psychiatric Association Epidemiology and Public Health Section Meeting. (pp. 16). Retrieved from https://www.erasmus.gr/microsites/1115

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Thornton, L. M., Munn-Chernoff, M. A., Baker, J. H., Juréus, A., Parker, R., Henders, A. K., … Horwood, L. J., Boden, J. M., Pearson, J. F., … Jordan, J., Kennedy, M. A., … Bulik, C. M. (2018). The Anorexia Nervosa Genetics Initiative (ANGI): Overview and methods. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 74, 61-69. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2018.09.015

Journal - Research Article

Sillins, E., Horwood, L. J., Najman, J. M., Patton, G. C., Toumbourou, J. W., Olsson, C. A., … Fergusson, D., … Boden, J. M., … for the Cannabis Cohorts Research Consortium. (2018). Adverse adult consequences of different alcohol use patterns in adolescence: An integrative analysis of data to age 30 years from four Australasian cohorts. Addiction, 113(10), 1811-1825. doi: 10.1111/add.14263

Journal - Research Article

Pascoe, M., Melzer, T., Horwood, L. J., & Darlow, B. (2018). Adults born with very-low-birth-weight demonstrate alterations in grey matter volume, perfusion, and white matter integrity. In K. Hillman (Ed.), Proceedings of the 36th International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research. (pp. 71). AWCBR. Retrieved from https://www.otago.ac.nz/awcbr

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Culverhouse, R. C., Saccone, N. L., Horton, A. C., Ma, Y., Anstey, K. J., Banaschewski, T., … Horwood, J., … Fergusson, D. M., … Kennedy, M., … Bierut, L. J. (2018). Collaborative meta-analysis finds no evidence of a strong interaction between stress and 5-HTTLPR genotype contributing to the development of depression. Molecular Psychiatry, 23, 133-142. doi: 10.1038/mp.2017.44

Journal - Research Article

McLeod, G. F. H., Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J., Boden, J. M., & Carter, F. A. (2018). Childhood predictors of adult adiposity: Findings from a longitudinal study. New Zealand Medical Journal, 131(1472), 10-20. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Journal - Research Article

McLeod, G. F. H., Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J., Boden, J. M., & Carter, F. A. (2017, May). Prevalence and predictors of adiposity, a known risk factor for Type 2 diabetes. Verbal presentation at the New Zealand Society for the Study of Diabetes (NZSSD) Annual Scientific Meeting, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Foulds, J., Boden, J., Horwood, J., & Mulder, R. (2017). High novelty seeking as a predictor of antisocial behaviour in early adulthood. Personality & Mental Health, 11(4), 256-265. doi: 10.1002/pmh.1393

Journal - Research Article

Horwood, J., & McLeod, G. (2017, July). Adult outcome of adolescent substance use: Integrative analysis in four Australasian cohorts. and Long term outcome of early childhood education. Department of Psychological Medicine Research Meeting Series, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand. [Department Seminar].

Other Research Output

Foulds, J. A., Boden, J. M., Newton-Howes, G., Mulder, R. T., & Horwood, L. J. (2017). The role of novelty seeking as a predictor of substance use disorder outcomes in early adulthood. Addiction, 112(9), 1629-1637. doi: 10.1111/add.13838

Journal - Research Article

Schaefer, J. D., Caspi, A., Belsky, D. W., Harrington, H., Houts, R., Horwood, L. J., … Ramrakha, S., Poulton, R., & Moffitt, T. E. (2017). Enduring mental health: Prevalence and prediction. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 126(2), 212-224. doi: 10.1037/abn0000232

Journal - Research Article

Bagshaw, A. T. M., Horwood, L. J., Fergusson, D. M., Gemmell, N. J., & Kennedy, M. A. (2017). Microsatellite polymorphisms associated with human behavioural and psychological phenotypes including a gene-environment interaction. BMC Medical Genetics, 18, 12. doi: 10.1186/s12881-017-0374-y

Journal - Research Article

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