title: Clinical predictors of familial depression in Han Chinese women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A number of clinical features potentially reflect an individual's familial vulnerability to major depression (MD), including early age at onset, recurrence, impairment, episode duration, and the number and pattern of depressive symptoms. However, these results are drawn from studies that have exclusively examined individuals from a European ethnic background. We investigated which clinical features of depressive illness index familial vulnerability in Han Chinese females with MD.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used lifetime MD and associated clinical features assessed at personal interview in 1,970 Han Chinese women with DSM-IV MD between 30-60 years of age. Odds Ratios were calculated by logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individuals with a high familial risk for MD are characterized by severe episodes of MD without known precipitants (such as stress life events) and are less likely to feel irritable/angry or anxious/nervous.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The association between family history of MD and the lack of a precipitating stressor, traditionally a characteristic of endogenous or biological depression, may reflect the association seen in other samples between recurrent MD and a positive family history. The symptomatic associations we have seen may reflect a familial predisposition to other dimensions of psychopathology, such as externalizing disorders or anxiety states.
authors: Shandong Mental Health Center, Jinan, Shandong, People's Republic of China.
authors: Lina
authors: L
authors: Wang
authors: Dongdong
authors: D
authors: Qiao
authors: Yihan
authors: Y
authors: Li
authors: Liwei
authors: L
authors: Wang
authors: Jianer
authors: J
authors: Ren
authors: Kangmei
authors: K
authors: He
authors: Jing
authors: J
authors: Sun
authors: Zhoubing
authors: Z
authors: Wang
authors: Tian
authors: T
authors: Tian
authors: Ce
authors: C
authors: Chen
authors: Lei
authors: L
authors: Yang
authors: Jian
authors: J
authors: Hu
authors: Hong
authors: H
authors: Deng
authors: Qian
authors: Q
authors: Wang
authors: Keqing
authors: K
authors: Li
authors: Jiyang
authors: J
authors: Han
authors: Han
authors: H
authors: Rong
authors: Zhaoyu
authors: Z
authors: Gan
authors: Hong
authors: H
authors: Yang
authors: Pingliang
authors: P
authors: Zhou
authors: Jiyang
authors: J
authors: Pan
authors: Cong
authors: C
authors: Zhou
authors: Yanping
authors: Y
authors: Cui
authors: Libo
authors: L
authors: Song
authors: Yuzhang
authors: Y
authors: Zhu
authors: Ying
authors: Y
authors: Li
authors: Xueyi
authors: X
authors: Wang
authors: Lanxian
authors: L
authors: Ye
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Liang
authors: Yunchun
authors: Y
authors: Chen
authors: Qingjun
authors: Q
authors: Tang
authors: Jing
authors: J
authors: Guan
authors: Shenxun
authors: S
authors: Shi
authors: Kenneth S
authors: KS
authors: Kendler
authors: Jonathan
authors: J
authors: Flint
authors: Lanfen
authors: L
authors: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012306:Risk; D012720:Severity of Illness Index