Abstract
To address the observation of a secular trend in the incidence of major depression, we have evaluated prevalence of unipolar depression in first-degree relatives of unipolar depressed probands, all of whom were studied in the sleep laboratory. A threshold value of reduced (≤65.0 min) or non-reduced (>65.0 min) REM latency was used to define groups for both parents and siblings. Unipolar depression occurred at the same rate in both reduced REM latency siblings (57.1%) and parents (66.7%). Siblings with non-reduced REM latency had a higher rate of depression (36.8%) than non-reduced REM latency parents (0.0%). Implications for biological and environmental factors associated with liability for unipolar depression are discussed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 71-75 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of affective disorders |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1989 |
Keywords
- Family
- Polysomnogram
- Unipolar depression
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health