October 9, 2013

expert reaction to depression during pregnancy and depression in offspring at age 18 years

A report published by JAMA Psychiatry suggested depression in pregnant women appears to increase the possibility their children may have depression when they are 18 years old.

Professor Celso Arango, Professor of Psychiatry, Gregorio Maranon General University Hospital, Madrid and President-Elect of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), said:

“This is a significant study that builds on what we already know for other disorders. The really significant point is that the state of the father antenatally did not affect the outcome of the child i.e. there may be an effect of the cortisol from the stressed mother on the development of the child in the uterus.

“Women with depression would ideally be treated before getting pregnant, but if they are already pregnant when diagnosed with depression it is even more important that they are treated as it will impact on the mother and child. Fortunately our most up-to-date findings from studies on animal models and humans suggest that the benefit of treating with fluoxetine far outweighs any potential risks.

“Researchers are only just beginning to realise that it is not psychiatrists, psychologists or neuroscientists that are having the biggest impact on preventing mental health issues – it is gynaecologists. This is something that needs much more research as we have seen similar impacts in schizophrenia with increased risk in mothers that developed schizophrenia during the war and passed on an increased risk to their children.”

Professor Carmine Pariante, Professor of Biological Psychiatry, King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, says:

“The study confirms that the pregnancy period is essential in establishing the health trajectory of the offspring, and that the development of an individual’s mental health does not start at birth but already in utero. The strength of this study by Pearson et al. is that the large sample size and the complex and rich amount of information allow the authors to thoroughly investigate how depression in pregnancy and depression in offspring at age 18 years might be linked. Indeed, this study confirms our own work conducted at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London; our most recent data show that this effect of antenatal depression increasing the risk of depression in the offspring persists beyond adolescence and continues to be present when the offspring reach adulthood. The message is clear: helping women who are depressed in pregnancy will not only alleviate their suffering but also the suffering of the next generation.”

‘Maternal depression during pregnancy and the postnatal period. Risk and possible mechanisms for offspring depression at age 18 years’ by Rebecca M. Pearson et al. published in JAMA Psychiatry on Wednesday 9 October 2013.