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Abstract
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AIM: To compare the differences of parental age at delivery and birth order between the unipolar major depressive patients with and without suicidal behavior.
METHODS: Totally 177 patients with depression who had been diagnosed without serious systemic diseases or organic brain syndrome and all types of mania, were selected from the outpatients or inpatients of Wuxi Mental Health Center from June 1, 1983 to May 31, 2003. Self-drafted questionnaire by psychiatrists including such parameters as social demographic data, characters and times of episode, and suicide of patients and their first degree relatives was surveyed by two psychiatrists or more professional physicians in each family, using the patients with unipolar major depressive disorder as probands. Each of these patients was re-diagnosed by two psychopathists unknown to each other. Face-to-face detection was performed in all the probands and their first degree relatives with suicidal behavior, and the detection rate was over 95%, but letter survey and face-to-face detection were used in the probands' first degree relatives without suicidal behavior in the rate of 53% and 47% respectively. One or two first degree relatives of the probands who had been dead or could not provide their data through face-to-face detection were asked to fill in the questionnaire about these probands' related conditions. The effects of parental age at delivery and birth order in the unipolar major depressive patients with or without suicidal behavior were observed.
RESULTS: According to the actual management, 59 patients suffering from unipolar major depressive disorder with suicidal behavior and 56 such patients without suicidal behavior were collected. The suicide risk in the first-degree relatives of probands with suicidal behavior was 3. 8% (14/373), which was higher than that in the ones without suicidal behavior(1. 4%, 5/363) (χ2 = 4. 14, P < 0. 05). Parental age and birth order were significantly related to suicidal behavior in unipolar major depressive patients(C = 2. 4 > 2, P < 0. 01, 6 A > M, 6 A is the product of summation of birth order sequence A from the siblings out of each family in all groups and 6, M is the expected average value of 6 A). Parental age and birth order were also significantly related to suicidal behavior not in patients with unipolar major depression(C = 4. 45 > 2, P < 0. 001, but 6 A < M).
CONCLUSION: The older parental age at delivery and the later birth order are, the more easily suicidal behavior occurs in unipolar major depressive patients. The younger parental age at delivery and the earlier birth order are, the less easily suicidal behavior occurs in unipolar major depressive patients. The suicide risk is higher in the first degree relatives of unipolar major depressive patients with suicidal behavior than in the ones without suicidal behavior.
Language: zh |