Psychiatric disorders in the relatives of depressed probands. II. Familial loading for comorbid non-depressive disorders based upon proband age of onset.
This study examined familial loading for non-depressive disorders in first-degree relatives (FDRs) of early-(< 20 years of age) and adult-onset (> or = 20 years of age) depressed probands. Our previous work, which demonstrated that FDRs of early-onset probands have higher rates of major depression as compared to FDRs of adult-onset probands, has not yet examined risk for non-depressive disorders in FDRs. In this paper, we focus on best-estimate diagnoses of anxiety disorders, alcoholism, and antisocial personality conducted on 639 first-degree relatives. The FDRs of early-onset probands had significantly higher rates of comorbid transmission of alcoholism and depression, and antisocial personality and depression, respectively. Significant co-transmission of anxiety disorders and depression was found in the FDRs of both early- and adult-onset probands. Future genetic studies of depression, especially early-onset depression, should hence broaden their definitions of phenotypes to include comorbid disorders when searching for the etiology of this complex disorder.
Rende
R
R
Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA.
Weissman
M
M
Rutter
M
M
Wickramaratne
P
P
Harrington
R
R
Pickles
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010553:Personality Development; D010641:Phenotype; D012307:Risk Factors