GENERAL MEDICAL PROBLEMS AMONG THE OFFSPRING OF DEPRESSED PARENTS - A10-YEAR FOLLOW-UP

Objective: To examine the association between both parental and offspr ing depression and the general medical problems of a sample of offspri ng at high and low risk for depression. Method: Offspring (n = 222) fr om families with either depressed or nondepressed parents were followe d up for a period of 10 years. Data collected included psychiatric dia gnoses derived from direct semistructured interviews and history of ge neral medical problems and hospital visits. Rates of medical problems and hospitalizations were calculated, and offspring were stratified by depression status of both parent and offspring. Results: In analyses controlled for sociodemographic factors, offspring depression status w as associated with a history of genitourinary disorders, headaches, re spiratory disorders, other disorders, and hospitalizations in the offs pring, and parental depression was associated with a history of uncons ciousness and hospitalization in the offspring. After subjects were st ratified by parental depression, significant associations between offs pring depression and medical problems were found for only those offspr ing with a depressed parent. Conclusions: These findings suggest that a history of parental depression increases the risk for medical proble ms and hospitalization among depressed offspring. The co-occurrence of general medical and psychological problems among offspring of depress ed parents may have implications for the treatment of both depression and comorbid medical disorders.