Stanford Report, June 21, 2006

Volunteers needed for study of depression in mothers and daughters

BY MICHELLE L. BRANDT

With the help of hundreds of mother-daughter duos, researchers are attempting to pinpoint the biological and cognitive risk factors for depression. The study could lead to a greater understanding of a disease that cripples nearly 20 million Americans each year.

"Our purpose is to identify factors that put people at risk for depression with the hope that we may someday be able to intervene," said lead investigator Ian Gotlib, PhD, a professor of psychology who is collaborating with faculty members in the medical school's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He added that the research team's interest is "severe, can't-get-out-of-bed depression."

The exact causes of depression are unknown, but there appears to be a strong family component.

Previous studies have shown that the offspring of depressed mothers are at elevated risk for depression; 40-60 percent of pre-teen girls with depressed mothers develop a depressive disorder before they reach adulthood. This figure may be due to genetics; it may also be due to environment.

Researchers hope that by examining the emotional, cognitive and biological functioning of young daughters of depressed mothers, they can shed light on the cause of this unfortunate hand-me-down. (Twice as many women as men experience depressive disorders, which is why the researchers are focusing on females in their study.)

During the study, data from brain scans, genetic tests, cortisol tests, cognitive tasks and self-questionnaires are collected from daughters of depressed mothers and compared with data from daughters of healthy moms.

Participants are monitored over time, and more data is gathered at 18-month intervals after the initial testing.

"We're interested in finding out which girls will go on to develop depression over time and how they differ at the initial assessment from those who do not develop depression," said Chris Hayward, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and one of Gotlib's collaborators.

Hayward calls this a unique study because most depression studies are conducted with people who already have the illness. "When you study people with depression and see certain characteristics, you don't know if the depression is causing these characteristics or if those factors were there before the depression," he said. "With this type of study we can differentiate cause from effect."

The researchers hope their findings will help identify telltale signs in girls who are at highest risk for depression. Clinicians could then use this information to implement earlier preventive strategies.

The researchers have worked with 80 mother-daughter pairs thus far and are seeking 300-400 more pairs over the next five years.

Daughters must be between the ages of 9 and 14. One group of mothers in the study must have no history of psychiatric difficulties. The other group of mothers must have had recurrent, clinically significant depression and must have had at least two episodes during their daughters' lifetime.

Participants will be assessed at 18-month intervals and will be paid $25/hour for their time.

For those interested in volunteering, please either send e-mail to mood@psych.stanford.edu or call the research coordinator at 723-0804.

The work is being supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health.