Severe mood disorders and schizophrenia in the adult offspring of antenatally depressed mothers in the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort: Relationship to parental severe mental disorder. ...

• Main Authors: Taka-Eilola Nèe Riekki, Tiina, Veijola, Juha, Murray, Graham K, Koskela, Jari, Mäki, Pirjo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier BV 2019
• Subjects: Antenatal; Bipolar disorder; Depression; Mood disorders; Parental mental disorder; Schizophrenia; Adolescent; Adult; Adult Children; Child; Child of Impaired Parents; Cohort Studies; Depressive Disorder; Female; Finland; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Mood Disorders; Mother-Child Relations; Mothers; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Prenatal Diagnosis; Schizophrenic Psychology; Young Adult; Northern Finland
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.36910; https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/289662

BACKGROUND: Maternal antenatal depression may alter offspring neurodevelopment, but long follow-up studies are lacking. We studied the risks for mood disorders and schizophrenia in adult offspring of antenatally depressed mothers, taking account parental severe mental disorders. METHODS: In the general population-based Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort with 12,058 children, 13.9% of the mothers reported themselves depressed at mid-gestation. The offspring were followed 43 years. Severe mood disorders and schizophrenia in the offspring and severe mental disorders in the parents were detected using the Care Register for Healthcare. Maternal smoking during pregnancy, perinatal complications, fathers´ social class, family type at birth, and grand multiparity were considered as confounding variables. RESULTS: The offspring of antenatally depressed mothers had an elevated risk for depression (adjusted OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.03-2.2), compared to cohort members without maternal antenatal depressed mood. The offspring ...