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Intellectual disability and other neuropsychiatric outcomes in high-risk children of mothers with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and unipolar major depression

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Author

  • Vera A. Morgan
  • Maxine L. Croft
  • Giulietta M. Valuri
  • Stephen R. Zubrick
  • Carol Bower
  • Thomas McNeil
  • Assen V. Jablensky

Summary, in English

Background Recent evidence points to partially shared genetics of neuropsychiatric disorders. Aims We examined risk of intellectual disability and other neuropsychiatric outcomes in 3174 children of mothers with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or unipolar major depression compared with 3129 children of unaffected mothers. Method We used record linkage across Western Australian population-based registers. The contribution of obstetric factors to risk of intellectual disability was assessed. Results Children were at significantly increased risk of intellectual disability with odds ratios (ORs) of 3.2 (95% Cl 1.8-5.7), 3.1 (95% Cl 1.9-4.9) and 2.9 (95% Cl 1.8-4.7) in the maternal schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and unipolar depression groups respectively. Multivariate analysis suggests familial and obstetric factors may contribute independently to the risk. Although summated labour/delivery complications (OR= 1.4, 95% CI 1.0-2.0) just failed to reach significance, neonatal encephalopathy (OR = 7.7, 95% Cl 3.0-20.2) and fetal distress (OR= 1.8, 95% Cl 1.1-2.7) were independent significant predictors. Rates of rare syndromes in children of mothers with mental disorder were well above population rates. Risk of pervasive developmental disorders, including autism, was significantly elevated for children of mothers with bipolar disorder. Risk of epilepsy was doubled for children of mothers with unipolar depression. Conclusions Our findings provide epidemiological support for clustering of neuropsychiatric disorders. Further larger epidemiological studies are warranted.

Publishing year

2012

Language

English

Pages

282-289

Publication/Series

British Journal of Psychiatry

Volume

200

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Topic

  • Psychiatry

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0007-1250