title: Psychopathology in the adolescent and young adult offspring of parents with dysthymic disorder and major depressive disorder.
abstract: This study addressed the following question: are the adolescent and young adult offspring of parents with early-onset dysthymic disorder (DD) at increased risk for psychopathology? Participants included 41 offspring of 21 outpatients with early-onset DD, 19 offspring of nine outpatients with episodic major depressive disorder (MDD), and 32 offspring of 11 normal controls (NCs). Lifetime best-estimate diagnoses were determined for each offspring using a team consensus method. Diagnoses were derived blind to all information about the index parents. The offspring of outpatients with early-onset DD exhibited significantly higher lifetime rates of a broad range of psychiatric disorders than the offspring of NCs. In addition, the offspring of outpatients with early-onset DD exhibited significantly higher lifetime rates of DD, anxiety disorders, and phobia than the offspring of outpatients with episodic MDD. These results support the importance of early-onset DD in parents as a risk factor for psychopathology in their offspring.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, City University of New York at Lehman College, Bronx, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Humberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lizardi
authors.forename: Daniel N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Stewart A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Shankman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D019263:Dysthymic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index