Journal of affective disorders最新文献

Background: Becoming a father is a critical period of life transition. Evidence suggests that lifetime history of mental health disorder/s and elevated depressive symptoms prior to conception increase risk for men's postnatal depression. Less is understood about the role of positive mental health, or wellbeing, as a protective factor for future depressive outcomes during the transition to fatherhood. The present study investigated whether men's post-natal depressive outcomes were associated with pre-conception levels of wellbeing and whether wellbeing during the post-natal period predicted depressive outcomes post-infancy.

Methods: Secondary analysis of data from a national, longitudinal cohort study of men's health, namely, The Ten to Men Study (TTM), was conducted. Participants in the pre-conception sample were n = 350 men for whom data were available at both a pre-conception baseline and post-natal follow-up. The post-natal sample were n = 427 men with post-natal baseline data and post-infancy follow-up. Multivariate negative binomial regressions and logistic regression models were used to determine pre-conception and post-natal predictors of future depressive outcomes.

Results: Men's pre-conception depressive symptoms were the best predictor of post-natal depressive symptoms (IRR = 1.089, p < 0.001) and risk of moderate-severe depression (IRR = 1.193, p = 0.005) the latter of which was also predicted by a previous mental health diagnosis (IRR = 3.079, p = 0.029). Similarly, post-natal depressive symptoms were the best predictor of post-infancy depressive symptoms (IRR = 1.089, p < 0.001) and risk of moderate-severe depression (IRR = 1.193, p = 0.005) alongside lifetime prevalence of a mental health disorder (symptoms: IRR = 1.317, p = 0.011; moderate-severe depression: IRR = 2.606, p = 0.023). Preconception levels of wellbeing predicted lower post-natal depressive symptoms (IRR = 0.988, p < 0.001) and reduced risk of moderate-severe depression (IRR = 0.940, p = 0.002) after controlling for baseline symptoms and sociodemographic and behavioural confounds; however, wellbeing during the post-natal period did not predict either depressive outcome post-infancy.

Limitations: Fatherhood-specific risk factors for mental health outcomes (e.g., conception difficulties, maternal postnatal mental health) were not assessed in the present study, and only one aspect of wellbeing was captured.

Conclusions: Screening for history of common mental health disorders and current symptoms is recommended to inform preventative approaches to paternal mental health care during early fatherhood. Inclusion of wellbeing in such screening procedures may be beneficial, however, further research is required to elucidate the prospective associations between wellbeing and depressive symptoms during the transition to fatherhood.

Background: Despite the pivotal role of the hypothalamus in regulating various physiological processes, our understanding of its developmental trajectory and subregional organization during childhood and adolescence remains limited, as well as how emotional and behavioral problems can impact hypothalamic development, potentially leading to neurodevelopmental disorders.

Methods: This population-based longitudinal cohort study utilized data from a representative sample of 702 children, who were followed two to five times. Emotional and behavioral problems were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Linear mixed models were employed to delineate developmental trajectories and behavioral regulation.

Results: Using an automated segmentation technique, we quantified the volumes and asymmetries of the hypothalamus and its subregions in a large longitudinal sample of 702 subjects aged 6-15 years with 1371 MRI scans, and mapped their developmental trajectories. Our findings indicate that while the anterior and posterior regions of the hypothalamus exhibit a tendency toward decline, the tubular region demonstrates a linear increase which is influenced by lateralization, sex, and intracranial volume. Furthermore, emotional and behavioral problems - particularly emotional symptoms and peer relationship problems - are related to faster development in superior tubular and anterior-superior regions.

Conclusions: In this study, we initially delineated the developmental trajectories of the hypothalamus and its subregions from childhood to adolescence based on a longitudinal cohort study. Our findings revealed that the development of hypothalamus followed the pattern of "lateral early to medial late, and dorsomedial early to ventromedial late", and the emotional and behavioral problems are associated with faster hypothalamic development. This study provides preliminary evidence regarding the impact of emotional and behavioral problems on the dynamic development of the hypothalamus, offering a crucial foundation for future prevention and intervention strategies targeting cognitive and emotional behavioral problems.

Background: Depression risk increases dramatically for adolescent females following the pubertal transition. Although chronic early-life stressor exposure and a maternal history of depression are established risk factors for depression onset in this population, we know little about the biological mechanisms underlying these associations.

Method: To investigate, we examined how chronic early-life stressor exposure and maternal depression history were associated with stress-related gene expression patterns, using a high-risk family design in 48 psychiatrically healthy adolescent females, 20 of whom had a mother with a lifetime history of depression. Lifetime chronic stressor exposure was assessed using the STRAIN and gene expression patterns were estimated using transcriptional profiling of whole blood.

Results: Consistent with hypotheses, we found that adolescent females with greater chronic stressor exposure had higher NR3C1 expression levels compared to those with less chronic stressor exposure. Additionally, youth with a depressed mother had lower levels of FKBP5 expression compared to those without a depressed mother. Levels of FKBP5 expression, in turn, interacted with chronic stressor exposure to predict NR3C1 expression. Specifically, for those with low chronic stressor exposure, levels of FKBP5 and NR3C1 expression were strongly interrelated, whereas for those with high chronic stressor exposure, NR3C1 expression was high regardless of levels of FKBP5 expression.

Limitations: This study was correlational, the sample size was limited, and additional research is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and predict who subsequently develops depression.

Conclusions: Notwithstanding these limitations, these data indicate that having low FKBP5 expression, alongside high NR3C1 expression, may be a potential preclinical marker of depression risk in adolescent females that warrants additional investigation.