A possible association between paternal longevity and major depression among elderly men.
Ancestral longevity is sometimes thought to contribute to psychosocial well-being in late life. The present paper aims to examine if parental longevity is associated with mental health among the elderly. The age at death of the parents was compared between 68 patients with major depression who were aged 65 or over and 40 subjects of the same age range without any history of psychiatric disorder. Cox regression revealed that the fathers of the elderly men with unipolar depression died at a significantly younger age than those of the control group. Several hypotheses are advanced to explain this unexpected and intriguing association.
Furukawa
T
T
Department of Psychiatry, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. GBA02004@niftyserve.or.jp
Takeuchi
H
H
Hirai
T
T
Furukawa
T
T
Takeuchi
H
H
Hirai
T
T
Fujihara
S
S
Kitamura
T
T
Takahashi
K
K
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D010331:Paternal Age; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis