Centre for Policy on Ageing



Birth weight and the risk of depressive disorder in late life
Author(s)	Christopher Thompson, Holly Syddall, Ian Rodin
Journal title	British Journal of Psychiatry, vol 179, November 2001
Pages	pp 450-455
Keywords	Biological ageing ; Ageing process ; Weight ; At risk ; Depression.
Annotation	Low birth weight is a risk factor for coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and hypertension. Depression is highly associated with these conditions. A total of 882 singleton term births in the 1920s had contemporary birth records of birth weight, and weight at one year. At age 68, all completed the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS); and 867 completed the Geriatric Mental State Examination (GMS). Current social class, social class at birth, recent bereavement, social isolation and physical illness increased the risk of depression. After adjusting for these and weight at one year, the odds ratios for depression among men, but not women, rose incrementally with decreasing birth weight. Foetal undernutrition predisposes men to depression in late adult life. If replicated, these results would suggest a neurodevelopmental aetiology of depression, possibly mediated by programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-011205206 A
Classmark	BH: BG: 4X6: CA3: ENR
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.