Association between maternal depression symptoms across the first eleven years of their child’s life and subsequent offspring suicidal ideation

Depression is common, especially in women of child-bearing age; prevalence estimates for this group range from 8% to 12%, and there is robust evidence that maternal depression is associated with mental health problems in offspring. Suicidal behaviour is a growing concern amongst young people and those exposed to maternal depression are likely to be especially at high risk. The aim of this study was to utilise a large, prospective population cohort to examine the relationship between depression symptom trajectories in mothers over the first eleven years of their child’s life and subsequent adolescent suicidal ideation. An additional aim was to test if associations were explained by maternal suicide attempt and offspring depressive disorder. Data were utilised from a population-based birth cohort: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Maternal depression symptoms were assessed repeatedly from pregnancy to child age 11 years. Offspring suicidal ideation was assessed at age 16 years. Using multiple imputation, data for 10,559 families were analysed. Using latent class growth analysis, five distinct classes of maternal depression symptoms were identified (minimal, mild, increasing, sub-threshold, chronic-severe). The prevalence of past-year suicidal ideation at age 16 years was 15% (95% CI: 14-17%). Compared to offspring of mothers with minimal symptoms, the greatest risk of suicidal ideation was found for offspring of mothers with chronic-severe symptoms [OR 3.04 (95% CI 2.19,4.21)], with evidence for smaller increases in risk of suicidal ideation in offspring of mothers with sub-threshold, increasing and mild symptoms. These associations were not fully accounted for by maternal suicide attempt or offspring depression diagnosis. Twenty-six percent of non-depressed offspring of mothers with chronic-severe depression symptoms reported suicidal ideation. Risk for suicidal ideation should be considered in young people whose mothers have a history of sustained high levels of depression symptoms, even when the offspring themselves do not have a depression diagnosis

Maternal smoking during pregnancy and child emotional problems: The relevance of maternal and child 5-HTTLPR genotype

Serotonin is involved in the development of neural circuits modulating emotional behavior. The short allele (s) of a polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) of the serotonin transporter gene is a risk factor for psychopathology in the presence of environmental stressors. Maternal smoking is associated with growth restriction of the human fetal brain and adverse effects of nicotine on the developing serotonin system have been documented. We hypothesized that maternal smoking interacts with both child and mother 5-HTTLPR genotype as a risk factor for later child emotional problems. In a sample of n=1,529 mother-child dyads, smoking habits were assessed by questionnaires during pregnancy. Child emotional problems were measured by the Child Behavior Checklist at the child's age of 3 years. Maternal smoking during pregnancy significantly increased the risk for emotional problems in children carrying the s-allele; beta=0.24, P=0.03 (mother-report), and beta=0.46, P=0.001 (father-report). In children heterozygous at 5-HTTLPR and exposed to maternal prenatal smoking (n=79) risk of emotional problems increased with each additional s-allele the mother carried. The associations between 5-HTTLPR and child emotional problems were not moderated by paternal prenatal smoking. These findings imply that the vulnerability for emotional problems in s-allele carriers may already originate in fetal life. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Child mental health and maternal depression history in Pakistan

Purpose We address the significant gaps in knowledge of prevalence and correlates of child mental health (CMH) problems outside of high income countries. We describe the prevalence of CMH problems and their correlates with a focus on the association with maternal depression in a sample of seven-year-old children in rural Pakistan. Methods This study was nested in a long-term follow-up of a perinatal depression intervention together with a reference group of non-depressed women, yielding a population representative sample. The Total Difficulties (TD) and component scores of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were used to measure emotional and behavioral difficulties. Results The mean SDQ TD score was 10.6 (standard deviation = 8.3), with 12.5 % of children categorized as ?abnormal? using standard cutoffs. Boys had a roughly 1 point higher (worse) SDQ TD score than girls (p value = 0.04). Children of mothers who were depressed prenatally as well as currently had SDQ TD scores 2.87 points higher than children whose mothers were not depressed at either time point (p value < 0.01). This association was stronger for boys. There was no evidence of elevated SDQ TD score among children whose mothers were depressed only prenatally or only currently. Some deviations from this pattern were observed with specific components of the SDQ. Conclusions In this low resource, South Asian setting, we found evidence of elevated levels of emotional and behavioral problems, highlighting the need for effective interventions. Given the strong association of CMH with maternal depression, any intervention efforts should give strong consideration to maternal mental health