Depression risk increases in children if both their parents and grandparents have a history of the condition

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-04-22 01:00

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Children are at greater risk of depression and suicidal behaviour if multiple previous generations of their family have been experienced depressive disorders, according to US researchers. In a study of 11,200 children, less than one in 25 with no family history of depression were reported by their parents as having a depressive disorder, compared to one in 7.5 among children with two previous generations of family history with depression. For both depression and suicidal behaviours, having just an affected parent increased the risk more than just an affected grandparent.