Family history and the risk of mental illnesses
A study recently published in the Archives of General Psychiatry reported that the more family members you have who have been diagnosed with major depression, anxiety disorders, or an addiction, the greater the chances that you will have one of these conditions in your lifetime.
The research team at the Duke University’s Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy was led by Dr Terrie Moffitt, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience. She and her team looked at a cohort of nearly 1000 Kiwis born in 1972 and 1973, analysing their mental and physical health from age 3 into their early 30s. The research team also collected verbal medical histories regarding all of the participants’ parents, grandparents and siblings over age 10.
What they found was that the more relatives a person could report who had one of the mental illnesses listed above the more likely they would be to develop it, too. In other words, a strong family history increased the risk of having the same condition seriously enough to require medication and hospitalisation.
Is it because of the shared genes or the shared family environment they were raised in? Both elements are important, say the researchers. One of their study conclusions was that GPs should not just ask patients about their family history of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, but also ask about mental illnesses that can have serious impacts on anyone’s life.
Major depression is considered very common, and affects all races, ethnicities and socio-economic groups, although not equally. It is on average first diagnosed in one’s late 20s, but can affect anyone at any age, even very young children. Double the number of women than men are diagnosed with depression, but that is likely due to the fact that women are more likely to seek medical care, whereas men are more likely to avoid doctors.
In addition to the biological relatives with depression other risk factors that have been found to increase the risk of developing or triggering depression are: Having someone in your family commit suicide; death of a loved one, Stressful life events; having been depressed as a child; having a serious illness, such as Alzheimer’s, HIV/AIDS, or cancer; long-term use of medications used for high blood pressure, or sleeping pills; having personality traits such as low self-esteem, pessimism, being self-critical, or being overly dependent on others; alcohol, nicotine and drug abuse; having had a baby recently, for children, their family’s frequent change of residence; and being poor.
There’s no sure way to prevent depression. However, psychologists recommend that everyone takes steps to control stress in their lives, increase their resilience and take part in activities that will boost low self-esteem. Friendship and social support, especially in times of crisis, can help people weather rough spells. In addition, treatment at the earliest sign of a problem can help prevent depression from worsening. Long-term maintenance treatment also may help prevent a relapse of depression symptoms. If you or anyone in your family seems to be showing signs of depression please see your GP as soon as possible, as it is treatable. The original report appears in the July 2009 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. http://genome.duke.edu/press/news/07-07-2009/index.php