Having depressed parents and grandparents triples the risk of having it yourself, according to an American study.
The ancestors weigh heavily on their descendants. The family effect of depression lasts for three generations, according to a study in the JAMA Pyschiatry. Those whose parents and grandparents suffered from this mental illness are at greater risk of developing it themselves. They are also more exposed to substance abuse.
Risk doubled
This work, carried out by Columbia University (New York, United States), focused on 251 people aged 18 on average whose parents and grandparents were still alive. The team met with these families on multiple occasions to question them about their mental health.
The impact of a depressive parentage has already been highlighted. This work confirms it: being the child of someone suffering from major depression doubles the risk of having one yourself. The risk of depending on a psychoactive substance is tripled. Behavioral disorders are also more present.
Spot early
The effects over three generations are however mentioned for the first time. When both parents and grandparents have been diagnosed with depression in the past, the risk to the offspring is tripled.
The researchers recognize several limits to this observation: a small sample was requested to obtain them. The study method also makes it difficult to reach a conclusion for larger populations.
The team nonetheless draws a major lesson from these observations: identifying people at risk is an opportunity to put in place a rapid treatment strategy. “Early intervention with two-generation offspring with disabling major depression seems warranted,” the authors conclude.
This work is in line with work that appeared earlier in August. Posted in Nature Genetics, they revealed 17 genetic variations involved in depression. Many of them affect the development of the brain.
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