Studies have suggested that a family history of depression could increase the risk of psychopathology in offspring. However, there’s no clarity on the relative risk, and more research on the topic is required. This study aims to assess the association of multigenerational family history of depression with lifetime depressive disorders in offspring.
This retrospective, cross-sectional data analysis of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study includes a total of 11,200 children with a multigenerational family history of depression. The reports on the depression histories of parents (G2) and grandparents (G1) were analyzed. Four risk categories were developed: (1) neither G1 nor G2 (G1−/G2−), (2) only G1 (G1+/G2−), (3) only G2 (G1−/G2+), and (4) both G1 and G2 (G1+/G2+). The primary outcomes of the study were child lifetime prevalence and risks of psychiatric disorders.
The results showed that the weighted prevalence of depressive disorders among children was 3.8% for children in the G1−/G2 group, 5.5% in the G1+/G2− group, 10.4% in the G1−/G2+ group, and 13.3% in the G1+/G2+ group. The prevalence of suicidal behavior in the four groups was 5.0%, 7.2%, 12.1%, and 15.0%, respectively.
The research concluded that multigenerational family history of depression was associated with psychiatric disorders in the offspring.
Ref: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2778480?resultClick=1
