Maternal and paternal mental health problems and the risk of offspring depression in late adolescence: findings from the Raine study

Abstract

Background There are limited studies on the risk of depressive symptoms in adolescent offspring exposed to parental mental health problems in middle childhood. Aim We investigated the association between parental mental health problems, particularly paternal emotional problems and maternal symptoms of anxiety and depression, and the risk of depressive symptoms in adolescent offspring aged 17. Methods The study included 995 parent-offspring pairs from the 1989–91 birth cohort (the Raine Study) in Western Australia. Log-binomial regression was used to assess the associations. Results An increased risk of depression symptoms was observed in the adolescent offspring of mothers with depressive [RR 1.45, 95% CI 1.13–1.86] as well as anxiety symptoms [RR 1.43, 95% CI 1.09–1.87].Compared to those non-exposed, offspring whose mothers reported comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms were more likely to have developed depressive symptoms by late adolescence [RR 1.63, 95%CI 1.11–2.38]. An increased risk of depressive symptoms was also seen in the offspring of fathers with emotional problems [RR 1.29, 95%CI 1.01–1.53]. Conclusion Our findings suggest an increased risk of depressive symptoms in the adolescent offspring of parents with mental health problems, specifically paternal emotional problems (29%) and maternal anxiety (43%), depression (45%), as well as comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms (63%).