The Interplay of Familial Depression Liability and Adverse Events in Predicting the First Onset of Depression During a 10-Year Follow-up
Received 11 April 2007; received in revised form 22 May 2007; accepted 23 May 2007. published online 16 August 2007.
Background
The aim of the present article is to explore interaction and correlation effects between familial depression liability and selected adverse (separation and traumatic) events in predicting the first onset of a major depressive episode (MDE) in a 10-year prospective longitudinal community survey.
Methods
Analyses are based on 1982 subjects (14 to 24 years at baseline) without baseline MDE who participated during the whole study period and for whom diagnostic information about psychopathology in both parents was available. The offspring’s familial depression liability was determined by aggregating information on parental depressive symptoms obtained from family history data and direct interviews with parents. Data were assessed with the Munich-Composite International Diagnostic Interview according to its DSM-IV algorithms.
Results
Adverse events predicted a substantially increased incidence of MDE among respondents with familial liability but not in those without familial liability. There was a significant interaction between familial liability and traumatic events with the strongest effect for the number of severe traumatic events (risk difference = 11.3%; 95% confidence interval = 3.55–19.15). Associations with familial liability were most pronounced for separation events.
Conclusions
Adverse events are particularly pathogenic in individuals with familial liability. The involvement of interactions and correlations between familial liability and adversity might depend on type, severity, and number of events. Both processes are suggested to be concomitant rather than exclusive.
aMolecular Psychology Unit, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
bInstitute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany
cEpidemiology and Health Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Address reprint requests to Petra Zimmermann, Ph.D., Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Molecular Psychology Unit, Kraepelinstr. 2, 80804 München, Germany
ABSTRACT