Premorbid risk factors for major depressive disorder: Are they associated with early onset and recurrent course?

Abstract

Premorbid risk for major depressive disorder (MDD) and predictors of an earlier onset and recurrent course were examined in two studies in a large, community-based sample of parents and offspring, prospectively assessed from late childhood into adulthood. In Study 1 (N = 2,764 offspring and their parents), parental psychiatric status, offspring personality at age 11, and age-11 offspring internalizing and externalizing symptoms predicted the subsequent development of MDD, as did poor quality parent-child relationships, poor academic functioning, early pubertal development, and childhood maltreatment by age 11. Parental MDD and adult antisocial behavior, offspring negative emotionality and disconstraint, externalizing symptoms, and childhood maltreatment predicted an earlier onset of MDD, after accounting for course; lower positive emotionality, trait anxiety, and childhood maltreatment predicted recurrent MDD, after accounting for age of onset. In Study 2 (N = 7,146), we examined molecular genetic risk for MDD by extending recent reports of associations with glutamatergic system genes. We failed to confirm associations with MDD using either individual SNP-based tests or gene-based analyses. Overall, results speak to the pervasiveness of risk for MDD, as well as specific risk for early-onset MDD; risk for recurrent MDD appears to be largely a function of its often earlier onset.

The course of major depressive disorder from childhood to young adulthood: Recovery and recurrence in a longitudinal observational study

“…Somewhat surprisingly, parental history of depressive illness and number of prior MDEs were unrelated to recovery or recurrence. However, a recent large, community-based study found that, while parental mood disorder predicted early-onset depression, it did not predict depression recurrence (Wilson et al, 2014). Thus, early-onset, recurrence, and positive familial history may all be alternate indicators of an underlying dimension of depression severity (Burcusa and Iacono, 2007).…”

“…There also has been an emerging consensus that the combination of early-onset and recurrence represents the most severe form of MDD (Wilson et al, 2014). The high recurrence rate is prognostic information that is useful to patients and clinicians and suggests that preventive interventions should be given priority in the delivery of mental health services; the lowered age for risk of first-onset implies that such services ought to be available to pediatric populations.…”

Gender Moderation of the Intergenerational Transmission and Stability of Depressive Symptoms from Early Adolescence to Early Adulthood

“…This could be an indication that the early emergence of elevated depressive symptoms carries unique risk for lasting problems, perhaps because early emergence represents a more serious manifestation of depression or because it culminates in an extended period of risk exposure. Factors known to contribute to early onset of depression and risk for later major depressive disorder include parental depression and antisocial behavior, childhood mistreatment, childhood poor academic functioning, early pubertal development, and negative emotionality (Wilson et al 2014). …”

Dispositional negativity: An integrative psychological and neurobiological perspective.

“…Dispositional negativity is also a key risk factor for anxiety disorders, depression, and substance abuse (Clauss & Blackford, 2012; Conway, Craske, Zinbarg, & Mineka, 2016; Grav, Stordal, Romild, & Hellzen, 2012; Hakulinen, Elovainio, et al, 2015; Hengartner, Kawohl, et al, 2016; Kendler & Gardner, 2014; Soldz & Vaillant, 1999; Watson & Naragon-Gainey, 2014; S. Wilson, Vaidyanathan, Miller, McGue, & Iacono, 2014) —psychiatric disorders that are highly prevalent, debilitating, and often challenging to treat (Bystritsky, 2006; Collins et al, 2011; DiLuca & Olesen, 2014; Griebel & Holmes, 2013; Insel, 2012; Kessler, Petukhova, Sampson, Zaslavsky, & Wittchen, 2012; Whiteford et al, 2013).…”