Back to Search
Start Over
Gender differences in the risk of depressive disorders following the loss of a young child: a nationwide population-based longitudinal study
- Source :
- BMC Psychiatry, Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2021), BMC Psychiatry
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- BMC, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Background Losing a child to death is one of the most stressful life events experienced in adulthood. The aim of the current study is to investigate parental risk of seeking treatment for major depression disorders (MDD) after a child’s death and to explore whether such connection may operate differentially by parents’ prior medical condition. Methods We studied a retrospective cohort of 7245 parents (2987 mothers and 4258 fathers) identified in the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan (NHIRD) who had lost a child with age between 1 and 12 years. For comparison, the parents of 1:4 birth year- and gender-matched non-deceased children were retrieved (16,512 mothers and 17,753 fathers). Gender-specific Cox regression analyses were performed to estimate risk. Results Nearly 5.0% and 2.4% of bereaved mothers and fathers sought treatment for MDD within three years after a child’s death, significantly higher than 0.8% and 0.5% in the non-bereaved parents. With covariate adjustment, the hazard ratio (HR) for maternal and paternal seeking treatment for MDD was estimated 4.71 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.35–6.64) and 1.93 (95% CI: 1.27–2.95), respectively. The increased risk of MDD varied by prior disease history; specifically, the increased risk of seeking treatment for MDD was especially prominent for those without chronic physical condition (CPC) (e.g., mothers with CPC: aHR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.56–3.65 vs. no CPC: aHR = 9.55, 95% CI: 6.17–14.79). Conclusions After the death of a child, parental elevated risk of MDD was especially prominent for the women and those without prior medical condition. Effective strategies addressing bereavement may require family-based, integrated physical and mental healthcare and even extended counseling service.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
Longitudinal study
RC435-571
Disease
Major depressive disorder
Treatment seeking
Sex Factors
Medicine
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Child
Depression (differential diagnoses)
Retrospective Studies
Psychiatry
Depressive Disorder
business.industry
Proportional hazards model
Death of a child
Research
Hazard ratio
Infant
Retrospective cohort study
medicine.disease
Confidence interval
Bereavement effects
Psychiatry and Mental health
Child, Preschool
Female
business
Demography
Bereavement
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Volume :
- 21
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- BMC Psychiatry
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....92b9e2fb760605a5f3d0954c0c756d3e