| Summary: | Abstract Depression is a common mental disorder in the Finnish population. There are several biological, psychological and social factors in the background of depression. The aim of this study was to investigate depression in association with birth weight, age at menarche, obesity and metabolic syndrome using data from the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort. A large, prospectively collected general population-based birth cohort of originally 12058 liveborn children was used as study population. The database provided information on birth characteristics and features of the primary family. The follow-up studies were performed at the age of 14 years by postal inquiry, and at the age of 31 years by postal inquiry and clinical examination. Information on age at menarche and weight and height was obtained from the postal questionnaire at 14 and 31 years and clinical examination at 31 years. Data on abdominal obesity and metabolic syndrome were gathered from the clinical examination. Data on depressive symptoms measured by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25), self-reported physician-diagnosed lifetime depression and the use of antidepressants were gathered from the postal questionnaire at 31 years. Females with high birth weight and high ponderal index (index of the birth measures, kg/m3) had a higher risk of depressive symptoms at 31 years measured by the HSCL-25 compared with females with normal birth weight and ponderal index. Males with ponderal index belonging to the lowest 5 percentile had an increased risk for physician-diagnosed depression at 31 years. Females with late menarche (≥ 16 years) had an elevated risk of depression measured by the HSCL-25, the use of antidepressants and self-reported physician-diagnosed depression compared with females with menarche at 12–15 years. Obesity measured by BMI at 14 years increased the risk of depressive symptoms measured by the HSCL-25 at 31 years among both males and females. Females who were obese both at baseline and at follow-up had an increased risk of ...
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