I recently read that Tipper Gore’s mother died. Both have histories of dealing with the illness of depression. I also have depression and am concerned about the likelihood that my children, who are now 10 and 14 years old, will have the disease.

Clinicians who interview seriously depressed individuals routinely discover a family history of depression. Twin and adoption studies have demonstrated that some individuals have a genetic predisposition that can increase the likelihood of depression in response to environmental "triggers" such as divorce, loss of a job, or the death of someone deeply loved. The genetic basis for depression is illustrated by the fact that identical twins are more than twice as likely as fraternal twins to be "concordant" for depression.

While your own history of depression does increase the likelihood that one or both of your children will experience this illness, the odds are still in their favor and they will probably not have to cope with clinical depression. Since depression is about twice as common in women, their risk will be higher if you have daughters rather than sons.

The important thing to remember is that depression responds to treatment in more than 80% of cases, and recent studies have demonstrated that most people respond best to a combination of medication and cognitive-behavior therapy. If you have been successfully treated for your own depression and your children are aware of this fact, you will serve as a potent role model. Your success in coping with your own illness will teach your children that depression is a problem that often can be identified quickly, treated early, and sometimes solved.

Danny Wedding, Ph.D., MPH,
Director, Missouri Institute of Mental Health, St. Louis
Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry and Neurology
University of Missouri–Columbia

Depressive Disorders affect approximately 19 million American adults. In addition, the National Institute of Mental Health reports "2.5% of children and 8.3% of adolescents suffer from depression." While anyone can suffer from depression at any time, certain people are more susceptible than others.

For example, Major Depression is 1.5 to 3.0 times more common among immediate relatives of a person with this disorder than in the general population. This includes the children. The risk to a son of an affected mother is about 10% to 12% while that of a daughter is about 20% to 25%. A person’s increased risk depends on several factors: the type of psychiatric illness in the family, the number of affected and unaffected relatives, and the closeness of their relationship to the person whose risk is being assessed. Because of these complexities, families who wish to understand more about the risk should consult a professional.

Tremendous advances have increased our knowledge of Major Depression and new information from the Human Genome map will help guide scientists to genes that determine who in a family will develop depression while others do not. This will revolutionize our understanding of the illness and lead to new and better treatments.

For more information on a three-year family and genetic study of Major Depression being conducted at Washington University School of Medicine, please call toll-free 1-888-292-1210 or visit the study’s website: www.psychiatry.wustl.edu/depression.

Caroline E. Drain, M.H.S.
Research Patient Coordinator
Washington University School of Medicine
Department of Psychiatry
St. Louis, MO 63108

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