Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder in offspring of parents with depression and bipolar disorder

Lukas Propper; Jill Cumby; Victoria C Patterson; Vladislav Drobinin; Jacqueline M Glover; Lynn E MacKenzie; Jessica Morash-Conway; Sabina Abidi; Alexa Bagnell; David Lovas; Tomas Hajek; William Gardner; Kathleen Pajer; Martin Alda; Rudolf Uher

doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.117.198754

Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder in offspring of parents with depression and bipolar disorder

Br J Psychiatry. 2017 Jun;210(6):408-412. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.117.198754. Epub 2017 Apr 6.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Lukas Propper, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax and Department of Psychiatry, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Jill Cumby, RN, Victoria C. Patterson, BA (Hons), Vladislav Drobinin, BSc, Jacqueline M. Glover, BSc, Lynn E. MacKenzie, MA, Jessica Morash-Conway, MA, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Sabina Abidi, MD, Alexa Bagnell, MD, David Lovas, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax and Department of Psychiatry, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Tomas Hajek, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax and Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia; William Gardner, PhD, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa and Department of Epidemiology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario; Kathleen Pajer, MD, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa and Department of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario; Martin Alda, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax and Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Rudolf Uher, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Department of Psychiatry, IWK Health Centre, Halifax and Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
² Lukas Propper, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax and Department of Psychiatry, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Jill Cumby, RN, Victoria C. Patterson, BA (Hons), Vladislav Drobinin, BSc, Jacqueline M. Glover, BSc, Lynn E. MacKenzie, MA, Jessica Morash-Conway, MA, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Sabina Abidi, MD, Alexa Bagnell, MD, David Lovas, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax and Department of Psychiatry, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Tomas Hajek, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax and Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia; William Gardner, PhD, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa and Department of Epidemiology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario; Kathleen Pajer, MD, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa and Department of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario; Martin Alda, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax and Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Rudolf Uher, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Department of Psychiatry, IWK Health Centre, Halifax and Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada uher@dal.ca.

PMID: 28385707
DOI: 10.1192/bjp.bp.117.198754

Abstract

BackgroundIt has been suggested that offspring of parents with bipolar disorder are at increased risk for disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), but the specificity of this association has not been established.AimsWe examined the specificity of DMDD to family history by comparing offspring of parents with (a) bipolar disorder, (b) major depressive disorder and (c) a control group with no mood disorders.MethodWe established lifetime diagnosis of DMDD using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children for DSM-5 in 180 youth aged 6-18 years, including 58 offspring of parents with bipolar disorder, 82 offspring of parents with major depressive disorder and 40 control offspring.ResultsDiagnostic criteria for DMDD were met in none of the offspring of parents with bipolar disorder, 6 of the offspring of parents with major depressive disorder and none of the control offspring. DMDD diagnosis was significantly associated with family history of major depressive disorder.ConclusionsOur results suggest that DMDD is not specifically associated with a family history of bipolar disorder and may be associated with parental depression.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Bipolar Disorder*
Canada / epidemiology
Child
Child of Impaired Parents / psychology*
Depressive Disorder, Major*
Female
Humans
Male
Mood Disorders / epidemiology*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding