Substance use Disorder in the Offspring of Antenatally Depressed Mothers in the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort: Relationship to Parental History of Severe Mental Disorder

• Published in: European Psychiatry
• Main Authors: Mäki, P., Taka-Eilola, T., Veijola, J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2017
• Subjects: Northern Finland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.02.025; https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0924933817322964?httpAccept=text/xml; https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0924933817322964?httpAccept=text/plain; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0924933800200515

Introduction Maternal depression during pregnancy is common. However, reports of the adult offspring with maternal antenatal depression are scarce. Objectives Our aim was to study whether offspring of antenatally depressed mothers have increased risk for substance use disorder when taking account parental mental disorder. Methods In the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort, the mothers of 12,058 children were asked at the antenatal clinic if they felt depressed. The offspring were followed for over 40 years. Substance use disorders were detected using the Finnish Care Register for Health Care, which was also used for identifying severe mental disorders in the parents till 1984. Results Of the mothers, 14% had rated themselves as depressed during pregnancy. Of the parents, 10% had had a hospital-treated mental disorder. The risk for substance use disorder was slightly increased in the offspring of antenatally depressed mothers (crude OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.2–2.1), when compared with the cohort members without maternal antenatal depression. The risk for substance use disorder was higher in the offspring with both maternal antenatal depression and parental mental disorder (2.8; 1.7–4.7) than in those with maternal depression but without parental mental disorder (1.4; 1.1–2.0) or those without maternal depression and with parental mental disorder (1.5; 1.1–2.2). The reference group was cohort members without maternal antenatal depression and without parental mental disorder. The association remained significant after adjustment [1]. Conclusions Offspring with both maternal depression during pregnancy and parental severe mental disorder have elevated risk for substance use disorder. Disclosure of interest The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.