Healio (4/28, Gramigna) reports, “Among matched full and half siblings at high risk for major depression, those raised in adoptive homes had a significantly reduced risk compared with those raised in their home environment,” researchers concluded after identifying “a Swedish national sample of 666 high-risk full sibships and 2,596 high-risk half sibships that contained at least one adopted-away sibling and one home-reared sibling and used national medical registries to assess major depression.” For study purposes, investigators then “defined high risk as having at least one biological parent with major depression.”
Psychiatric News (4/28) reports, “The environment in which a child is raised may influence his or her risk of developing depression later in life,” researchers concluded in a study that revealed that “compared with home-reared full and half siblings, children who had been adopted had a 23% and 19% decreased risk of major depression,” a conclusion that may “demonstrate the strong impact of the rearing environment on risk for major depression.” The findings were published online April 28 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.
Related Links:
— “Adoption may significantly decrease major depression risk among high-risk youth, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, April 28, 2020