Pre-adult onset and patterns of suicidality in patients with a history of recurrent depression

Journal article

Background: This report assesses the association between age of onset of major depression and later suicidality in a sample of 276 recurrently depressed patients recruited for the Oxford/Bangor Staying Well after Depression (SWAD) Trial, and interviewed when in remission. Methods: The study enrolled adult patients with a history of at least three episodes of non-psychotic major depressive disorder from primary care and psychiatric care practices and through community advertisements. At study entry, all participants estimated the age of their first onset of a major depressive episode and completed both self-report and interview-based assessments of past and current suicidal ideation and behavior. Participants were divided into pre-adult and adult onset groups using a cut-off age of 18. Results: Forty-eight percent of the sample reported a pre-adult age of onset. Pre-adult age of onset was significantly associated with suicidality, both from self-report and from interviewer assessment even when adjusting for differences in age, gender, employment status, length of the disorder and early adversity. Limitations: Relevant variables were all assessed through retrospective reports. Conclusions: Pre-adult age of onset is closely associated with risk for and severity of later suicidality, replicating, in a sample of patients assessed when in remission, findings from studies that assessed patients when currently depressed. The association of pre-adult age of onset with suicidality is not due to differences in sociodemographic variables, length of the disorder and early adversity. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Authors: Williams, J; Barnhofer, T; Crane, C; Duggan, D; Shah, D

• Journal: Journal of Affective Disorders
• Volume: 138
• Issue: 1-2
• Pages: 173-179
• Publication date: 2012-04-01
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2011.12.011
• EISSN: 1573-2517
• ISSN: 0165-0327
• Language: English
• Keywords: Suicide attempts; Depression; Early onset; Keywords; Pre-adult onset; Suicidality