Abstract
BackgroundAlthough life course influences have long been recognised in affective disorder, little is known about the influence of early life factors on late life anxiety and depression. The aim was to investigate the extent to which birth measures, maternal health and family circumstances were associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression in late life.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was constructed from a cross-sectional survey sample of community residents aged 72–74 years, 406 of whom had traceable birth records. Cases and controls for late life anxiety and depression were defined applying standard cut-offs to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. A range of measures and circumstances were extracted from birth records blind to survey data and compared in age- and gender-adjusted models.ResultsThere were no differences in any anthropometric measure in either case control comparison. Case-level anxiety and depression were both associated with significantly lower maternal age. Late-life anxiety was additionally associated with smaller maternal pelvic size and the mother’s condition being rated as poor at birth/discharge. Late-life depression was associated with a lower status paternal occupation.ConclusionsThere was no evidence for a substantial influence of early life size on late life affective disorder. However, there was some evidence in secondary analyses for an enduring influence of the family’s socioeconomic environment and maternal health.
Highlights
Life course influences have long been recognised in affective disorder, little is known about the influence of early life factors on late life anxiety and depression
In this study investigating risk factors present at birth in relation to anxiety and depression in old age, no associations were found for the anthropometric measures of principal interest
Less attention has been directed towards identifying risk factors for late life mental disorders, especially anxiety, than in younger age groups [38,62]
Summary
Life course influences have long been recognised in affective disorder, little is known about the influence of early life factors on late life anxiety and depression. The DOHAD-hypothesis suggests that prenatal risk factors, from intrauterine environmental exposures, affect the foetus irreversibly during specific developmental periods. According to the hypothesis, the risk of specific diseases such as coronary heart disease and non-insulin dependent diabetes in adult life, will be elevated across the life-span for those who are exposed to the relevant risks in foetal life [7]. A key practical challenge in research on the hypothesis is to attain information about the offspring’s development during pregnancy. Anthropometric measures such as birth weight, birth length and head circumference are routinely, and often reliably recorded, and often used as proxy measures [8]
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