Stress in pregnancy linked to depression in children

WOMEN whose mothers suffered stressful events while pregnant with them are more likely to suffer from depression in later life, Irish researchers have found.

The study, co-authored by Dr Áine Behan from the department of physiology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), could help in the development of anti-depressant medicines.

By studying certain parts of the brains of mice whose mothers had stress induced in them in the late stages of pregnancy, they found a reduced number of brain cells called glial cells, a factor already known to be linked to depressive illness in adults.

They also observed depressive behaviour in the adolescent mice, compounding the evidence of a link between the pregnancy stresses and subsequent depression, but only among females and not in males.

“These results could allow the use of a similar testing model when clinical trials are being used for anti-depressant medicines. It should also raise awareness about the importance of restricting or avoiding stress during pregnancy, particularly in the latter stages,” Dr Behan said.

“The findings refer to psychological stress or physical stresses, so it could be anything from a bereavement or other life trauma to an expectant mother getting an infection,” she said.

Depression and related mental health illnesses are already known to be about twice as prevalent among women than in men.

A study published this month by Amnesty International Ireland found that 95% of people with mental health illnesses believe they have been unfairly treated or discriminated against as a result.

The RCSI research involved collaboration with scientists at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, and the findings have been published in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology.

The work was funded by Science Foundation Ireland, an EU research grant and the Wellcome Trust.

Previous research by Dr Behan’s colleague in the RCSI’s psychiatry department, Professor David Cotter, found a deficit of glial cells in specific regions of the brain in patients with schizophrenia and depression.

Mental health problems are estimated to cost the country around €3 billion a year, with most arising from unemployment, absenteeism from work, lost productivity and other costs, as well as the obvious expense to the health service.