4
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Effects of parental mental illness on children's physical health: systematic review and meta-analysis

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPubMed
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Background

          Children of parents with mental disorder face multiple challenges.

          Aims

          To summarise evidence about parental mental disorder and child physical health.

          Method

          We searched seven databases for cohort or case–control studies quantifying associations between parental mental disorders (substance use, psychotic, mood, anxiety, obsessive–compulsive, post-traumatic stress and eating) and offspring physical health. Studies were excluded if: they reported perinatal outcomes only (<28 days) or outcomes after age 18; they measured outcome prior to exposure; or the sample was drawn from diseased children. A meta-analysis was conducted. The protocol was registered on the PROSPERO database (CRD42017072620).

          Results

          Searches revealed 15 945 non-duplicated studies. Forty-one studies met our inclusion criteria: ten investigated accidents/injuries; eight asthma; three other atopic diseases; ten overweight/obesity; ten studied other illnesses (eight from low-and middle-income countries (LMICs)). Half of the studies investigated maternal perinatal mental health, 17% investigated paternal mental disorder and 87% examined maternal depression. Meta-analysis revealed significantly higher rates of injuries (OR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.04–1.26), asthma (OR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.12–1.41) and outcomes recorded in LMICs (malnutrition: OR = 2.55, 95% CI 1.74–3.73; diarrhoea: OR = 2.16, 95% CI 1.65–2.84). Evidence was inconclusive for obesity and other atopic disorders.

          Conclusions

          Children of parents with mental disorder have health disadvantages; however, the evidence base is limited to risks for offspring following postnatal depression in mothers and there is little focus on fathers in the literature. Understanding the physical health risks of these vulnerable children is vital to improving lives. Future work should focus on discovering mechanisms linking physical and mental health across generations.

          Declaration of interest

          None.

          Related collections

          Most cited references57

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          Prevalence and determinants of common perinatal mental disorders in women in low- and lower-middle-income countries: a systematic review.

          To review the evidence about the prevalence and determinants of non-psychotic common perinatal mental disorders (CPMDs) in World Bank categorized low- and lower-middle-income countries. Major databases were searched systematically for English-language publications on the prevalence of non-psychotic CPMDs and on their risk factors and determinants. All study designs were included. Thirteen papers covering 17 low- and lower-middle-income countries provided findings for pregnant women, and 34, for women who had just given birth. Data on disorders in the antenatal period were available for 9 (8%) countries, and on disorders in the postnatal period, for 17 (15%). Weighted mean prevalence was 15.6% (95% confidence interval, CI: 15.4-15.9) antenatally and 19.8% (19.5-20.0) postnatally. Risk factors were: socioeconomic disadvantage (odds ratio [OR] range: 2.1-13.2); unintended pregnancy (1.6-8.8); being younger (2.1-5.4); being unmarried (3.4-5.8); lacking intimate partner empathy and support (2.0-9.4); having hostile in-laws (2.1-4.4); experiencing intimate partner violence (2.11-6.75); having insufficient emotional and practical support (2.8-6.1); in some settings, giving birth to a female (1.8-2.6), and having a history of mental health problems (5.1-5.6). Protective factors were: having more education (relative risk: 0.5; P = 0.03); having a permanent job (OR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.4-1.0); being of the ethnic majority (OR: 0.2; 95% CI: 0.1-0.8) and having a kind, trustworthy intimate partner (OR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.3-0.9). CPMDs are more prevalent in low- and lower-middle-income countries, particularly among poorer women with gender-based risks or a psychiatric history.
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            Epidemiology of maternal depression, risk factors, and child outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries.

            Maternal depression, a non-psychotic depressive episode of mild to major severity, is one of the major contributors of pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality. Maternal depression (antepartum or post partum) has been linked to negative health-related behaviours and adverse outcomes, including psychological and developmental disturbances in infants, children, and adolescents. Despite its enormous burden, maternal depression in low-income and middle-income countries remains under-recognised and undertreated. In this Series paper, we systematically review studies that focus on the epidemiology of perinatal depression (ie, during antepartum and post-partum periods) among women residing in low-income and middle-income countries. We also summarise evidence for the association of perinatal depression with infant and childhood outcomes. This review is intended to summarise findings from the existing literature, identify important knowledge gaps, and set the research agenda for creating new generalisable knowledge pertinent to increasing our understanding of the prevalence, determinants, and infant and childhood health outcomes associated with perinatal depression. This review is also intended to set the stage for subsequent work aimed at reinforcing and accelerating investments toward providing services to manage maternal depression in low-income and middle-income countries.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Impact of maternal depression on infant nutritional status and illness: a cohort study.

              The risk for emotional and behavioral problems is known to be high among children of depressed mothers, but little is known about the impact of prenatal and postnatal depression on the physical health of infants. To determine whether maternal depression is a risk factor for malnutrition and illness in infants living in a low-income country. Prospective cohort study. Rural community in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Six hundred thirty-two physically healthy women were assessed in their third trimester of pregnancy to obtain at birth a cohort of 160 infants of depressed mothers and 160 infants of psychologically well mothers. All infants were weighed and measured at birth and at 2, 6, and 12 months of age, and they were monitored for episodes of diarrhea and acute respiratory infections. The mothers' mental states were reassessed at 2, 6, and 12 months. Data were collected on potential confounders of infant outcomes, such as birth weight and socioeconomic status. Infants of prenatally depressed mothers showed significantly more growth retardation than controls at all time points. The relative risks for being underweight (weight-for-age z score of less than -2) were 4.0 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.1 to 7.7) at 6 months of age and 2.6 (95% CI, 1.7 to 4.1) at 12 months of age, and the relative risks for stunting (length-for-age z score of less than -2) were 4.4 (95% CI, 1.7 to 11.4) at 6 months of age and 2.5 (95% CI, 1.6 to 4.0) at 12 months of age. The relative risk for 5 or more diarrheal episodes per year was 2.4 (95% CI, 1.7 to 3.3). Chronic depression carried a greater risk for poor outcome than episodic depression. The associations remained significant after adjustment for confounders by multivariate analyses. Maternal depression in the prenatal and postnatal periods predicts poorer growth and higher risk of diarrhea in a community sample of infants. As depression can be identified relatively easily, it could be an important marker for a high-risk infant group. Early treatment of prenatal and postnatal depression could benefit not only the mother's mental health but also the infant's physical health and development.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                The British Journal of Psychiatry
                Br J Psychiatry
                Royal College of Psychiatrists
                0007-1250
                1472-1465
                July 2020
                October 15 2019
                July 2020
                : 217
                : 1
                : 354-363
                Article
                10.1192/bjp.2019.216
                31610824
                73275e06-5de2-49f3-803a-c68d047fc1e4
                © 2020

                https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms

                History

                Comments

                Comment on this article