Risk of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Offspring of Parents with Major Depressive Disorder: A Birth Cohort Study

Studies have reported inconsistent results regarding associations between parental depression and offspring neurodevelopmental disorders, such as developmental delay and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In all, 7,593 children who were born between 1996 and 2010 in Taiwan and had at least one parent with major depressive disorder and 75,930 birth-year- and sex-matched children of parents without major depressive disorder were followed from 1996 or time of birth to the end of 2011. Intergroup differences in neurodevelopmental conditions—including ASD, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), tic disorder, developmental delay, and intellectual disability (ID)—were assessed. Compared with the children in the control group, the children of parents with major depression were more likely [hazard ratio (HR), 95% confidence interval (CI)] to develop ADHD (1.98, 1.80–2.18), ASD (1.52, 1.16–1.94), tic disorder (1.40, 1.08–1.81), developmental delay (1.32, 1.20–1.45), and ID (1.26, 1.02–1.55). Parental depression was associated with offspring neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically ASD, ADHD, developmental delay, ID, and tic disorder. Therefore, clinicians should closely monitor the neurodevelopmental conditions of children of parents with depression.