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The risk for major depression and bipolar disorder in the offspring of informative parental mating types : a Swedish population-based study

Kendler, Kenneth ; Sundquist, Jan LU ; Sundquist, Kristina LU and Abrahamsson, Linda LU (2026) In Psychological Medicine 56.
Abstract

Background. Seeking to clarify the parent-offspring transmission of Major Depression (MD) and type I Bipolar Disorder (BD), we examined offspring MD and BD risk in five informative parental pairs: Unaffected x MD, Unaffected x BD, MDxMD, MDxBD and BDxBD. Methods. We identified 289,637 individuals born in Sweden 1970-1990, followed through 2018, from parents with MD and/or BD identified from Swedish medical registers. We quantified the MD→MD, BD→BD, MD→BD and BD→MD parent-offspring transmission and explored effects of parental illness on MD→BD conversions. Results. The risk for MD was modestly and similarly increased in offspring of Unaffected x MD (HR=1.64) and Unaffected x BD parents (HR=1.53), higher in MDxMD and MDxBD pairings... (More)

Background. Seeking to clarify the parent-offspring transmission of Major Depression (MD) and type I Bipolar Disorder (BD), we examined offspring MD and BD risk in five informative parental pairs: Unaffected x MD, Unaffected x BD, MDxMD, MDxBD and BDxBD. Methods. We identified 289,637 individuals born in Sweden 1970-1990, followed through 2018, from parents with MD and/or BD identified from Swedish medical registers. We quantified the MD→MD, BD→BD, MD→BD and BD→MD parent-offspring transmission and explored effects of parental illness on MD→BD conversions. Results. The risk for MD was modestly and similarly increased in offspring of Unaffected x MD (HR=1.64) and Unaffected x BD parents (HR=1.53), higher in MDxMD and MDxBD pairings (HRs=2.39 and 2.47) and slightly lower in BDxBD matings (HR=2.29). By contrast, risk for BD was much higher in Unaffected x BD versus Unaffected x MD matings (HRs = 5.59 vs. 1.70), further elevated modestly in MDxBD matings (HR=6.26) and very high in BDxBD matings (HR=13.61). The rate of offspring MD→BD conversions was substantially increased by parental BD but not parental MD. Offspring BD was equally predicted by paternal and maternal affective illness while offspring MD was more strongly predicted by maternal than paternal affective illness. Conclusions. Examining risk for MD and BD in offspring of different parental mating types of MD and BD is an informative strategy for further clarifying the cross-generational transmission of these two partially related and partially distinct mood disorders.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
bipolar disorder, dual mating study, environmental risk score, major depression, stressful life events
in
Psychological Medicine
volume
56
article number
e44
publisher
Cambridge University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:105029888222
  • pmid:41667937
ISSN
0033-2917
DOI
10.1017/S0033291726103286
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5ff22bc3-836e-4794-ad4c-305088331782
date added to LUP
2026-04-17 11:54:50
date last changed
2026-06-12 18:02:47
@article{5ff22bc3-836e-4794-ad4c-305088331782,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background. Seeking to clarify the parent-offspring transmission of Major Depression (MD) and type I Bipolar Disorder (BD), we examined offspring MD and BD risk in five informative parental pairs: Unaffected x MD, Unaffected x BD, MDxMD, MDxBD and BDxBD. Methods. We identified 289,637 individuals born in Sweden 1970-1990, followed through 2018, from parents with MD and/or BD identified from Swedish medical registers. We quantified the MD→MD, BD→BD, MD→BD and BD→MD parent-offspring transmission and explored effects of parental illness on MD→BD conversions. Results. The risk for MD was modestly and similarly increased in offspring of Unaffected x MD (HR=1.64) and Unaffected x BD parents (HR=1.53), higher in MDxMD and MDxBD pairings (HRs=2.39 and 2.47) and slightly lower in BDxBD matings (HR=2.29). By contrast, risk for BD was much higher in Unaffected x BD versus Unaffected x MD matings (HRs = 5.59 vs. 1.70), further elevated modestly in MDxBD matings (HR=6.26) and very high in BDxBD matings (HR=13.61). The rate of offspring MD→BD conversions was substantially increased by parental BD but not parental MD. Offspring BD was equally predicted by paternal and maternal affective illness while offspring MD was more strongly predicted by maternal than paternal affective illness. Conclusions. Examining risk for MD and BD in offspring of different parental mating types of MD and BD is an informative strategy for further clarifying the cross-generational transmission of these two partially related and partially distinct mood disorders.</p>}},
  author       = {{Kendler, Kenneth and Sundquist, Jan and Sundquist, Kristina and Abrahamsson, Linda}},
  issn         = {{0033-2917}},
  keywords     = {{bipolar disorder; dual mating study; environmental risk score; major depression; stressful life events}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Cambridge University Press}},
  series       = {{Psychological Medicine}},
  title        = {{The risk for major depression and bipolar disorder in the offspring of informative parental mating types : a Swedish population-based study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0033291726103286}},
  doi          = {{10.1017/S0033291726103286}},
  volume       = {{56}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}