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 Previous research has shown an association between maternal
depression and adolescent depression, but few studies have looked
for links between fathers’ and kids’ depression.
“Men are less likely to seek treatment than women, so it is
important to encourage fathers to seek health care services,” said
study coauthor Dr. Gemma Lewis of University College London.
Depression risk increases around age 13, and about three-fourths of
adults say their mental health problems began during their teen
years.
“The priority should be the treatment of depression in both parents,
irrespective of their gender,” Lewis told Reuters Health by email.
“Fathers should also be involved in any family-based interventions
to improve the prevention of teenage depression.”
Lewis and colleagues looked at data from two programs that have
followed children since the early 2000s - the UK Millennium Cohort
Study and Growing Up in Ireland. Altogether, they studied more than
6,000 Irish two-parent families and nearly 8,000 UK two-parent
families.
When the kids were 7 to 9 years old, and again when they were 13 or
14, family members completed questionnaires that measured their
depressive symptoms.
The research team found that every 3-point increase in paternal
depressive symptoms (with possible scores ranging from 0 to 24) was
associated with an increase of about a third of a point in
adolescent depressive symptoms (on a scale of 0 to 26). In Ireland,
the influence was stronger for daughters than sons. In both
countries, it didn’t matter whether the paternal caregiver was
biologically related to the child.
Notably, the association of fathers’ and kids’ depression and the
association of mothers’ and kids’ depression were similar in
strength.
“I think that lots of people will be surprised that depression in
fathers is as important to the child’s risk of depression as
depression in mothers,” Lewis said.
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Future studies should look at additional genetic and environmental
factors that influence why fathers’ depression may increase the risk
in their kids, she added. Researchers should look at different types
of families as well. In this study, for example, all fathers lived
with the child. The effects of depression may vary if parents are
separated.
“We need to start the conversation with men and fathers about the
potential risks to their mental health and the impact they can have
on their families,” said Dr. Lisa Underwood of the University of
Auckland in New Zealand, who coauthored a commentary that was
published alongside the authors’ report online November 15 in The
Lancet Psychiatry.
Underwood researches similar depression symptoms among participants
in the Growing Up in New Zealand study, which has tracked nearly
7,000 families since 2009. “We’re finding that moms and dads in
difficult relationships are having the hardest time,” she told
Reuters Health by phone. “We also see that fathers who are no longer
in a relationship with the mom have the highest rates of
depression.”
Ongoing studies could help doctors and teachers understand how to
reach out to parents during health care appointments and
parent-teacher meetings, for example.
“Nobody grows up in isolation. Families affect one another’s mental
health,” Underwood said. “We need to reach both parents so we’re not
leaving out someone who needs support.”
SOURCES: http://bit.ly/2AFJ0dk and http://bit.ly/2AI1EBc
Lancet Psychiatry 2017.
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