Specific parental depression symptoms as risk markers for new-onset depression in high-risk offspring

Mars, Becky, Harold, Gordon Thomas, Elam, Kit K., Sellers, Ruth, Owen, Michael John ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4798-0862, Craddock, Nicholas John ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2171-0610, Thapar, Ajay Kumar ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4589-8833, Rice, Frances ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9484-1729, Collishaw, Stephan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4296-820X and Thapar, Anita ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3689-737X 2013. Specific parental depression symptoms as risk markers for new-onset depression in high-risk offspring. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 74 (09) , pp. 925-931. 10.4088/JCP.12m08152

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Abstract

Objective: To disaggregate the depression construct and investigate whether specific depression symptoms in parents with a history of recurrent depression are clinical risk markers for future depression in their high-risk offspring. Our hypothesis was that parental symptoms of the type that might impact offspring would most likely be of greatest importance. Method: Data were drawn from a longitudinal high-risk family study. Families were mainly recruited from primary care and included 337 parent-child dyads. Parents had a history of recurrent DSM-IV unipolar depression and were aged 26–55 years. Their offspring (197 female and 140 male) were aged 9–17 years. Three assessments were conducted between April 2007 and April 2011. Ninety-one percent of families (n = 305) provided full interview data at baseline and at least 1 follow-up, of which 291 were included in the primary analysis. The main outcome measure was new-onset DSM-IV mood disorder in the offspring, which was assessed using the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment. Results: Of the 9 DSM-IV depression symptoms, parental change in appetite or weight, specifically loss of appetite or weight, most strongly predicted new-onset mood disorder (odds ratio [OR] = 4.47; 95% CI, 2.04–9.79; P < .001) and future depression symptoms in the offspring (β = 0.12; B = 0.21; 95% CI, 0.00–0.42; P = .050). The cross-generational association was not accounted for by measures of parental depression severity (total depression symptom score, episode recurrence, age at onset, and past impairment or hospitalization) or other potential confounds (parent physical health, eating disorder, or medication). Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that loss of appetite or weight in parents with a history of recurrent depression is a marker of risk for depression in their offspring. The findings highlight the importance of examining depression heterogeneity. The biological and environmental mechanisms underlying this finding require investigation.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (CNGG) Medicine Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHRI) Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Publisher:	Physicians Postgraduate Press
ISSN:	0160-6689
Last Modified:	25 Oct 2022 10:14
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/61497

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