title: The association between parental history of diagnosed mood/anxiety disorders and psychiatric symptoms and disorders in young adult offspring.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Parental history of mood or anxiety disorders is one of the strongest and most consistent risk factors for the development of these disorders in offspring. Gaps remain however in our knowledge of whether maternal or paternal disorders are more strongly associated with offspring disorders, and whether the association exists in non-clinical samples. This study uses a large population-based sample to test if maternal or paternal history of mood and/or anxiety disorders increases the risk of mood and/or anxiety disorders, or symptoms of specific anxiety disorders, in offspring.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were drawn from the Nicotine Dependence in Teens Study, a prospective cohort investigation of 1293 grade 7 students. Data on mental health outcomes were collected in mailed self-report questionnaires when participants were aged 20.4 (0.7) years on average. Parental data were collected in mailed self-report questionnaires. This current analysis pertains to 564 participants with maternal and/or paternal data. The association between maternal and paternal history and each of diagnosed anxiety disorder, diagnosed mood disorder, and symptoms of specific anxiety disorders in offspring was studied in multivariate logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A higher proportion of mothers than fathers had a diagnosed mood/anxiety disorder (23% versus 12%). Similarly, 14% of female offspring had a diagnosed mood/anxiety disorder, compared to 6% of male offspring. The adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for maternal history was 2.2 (1.1, 4.5) for diagnosed mood disorders, 4.0 (2.1, 7.8) for diagnosed anxiety disorders, and 2.2 (1.2, 4.0) for social phobia symptoms. Paternal history was not associated with any of the mental health outcomes in offspring.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal, but not paternal mood/anxiety disorders were associated with diagnosed psychiatric disorders, as well as symptoms of specific anxiety disorders, in offspring. Efforts to detect mood and anxiety disorders in offspring with a maternal history should be encouraged.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 1A1, Canada. nancy.low@mcgill.ca
authors.forename: Nancy C P
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Low
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dugas
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Constantin
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Karp
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'Loughlin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D032721:Adult Children / Q000523:psychology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010331:Paternal Age; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult