Family history is important in predicting recurrence of depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug dependence.

Various studies have  investigated the influence of family history in depression.  But there have been fewer reports of how psychiatric disorders other than depression run in families.  We still know little of genetic factors involved in depression and related illnesses, such as anxiety disorder, but interest in this angle of psychiatry is growing fast. A new report from the long-running Dunedin Study now looks at family history and depression, anxiety, alcohol dependence and drug dependence.

Researchers in New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom, have been studying 981 residents of Dunedin born in 1972 or 1973.  The participants were enrolled in the study at age three and during 2003 and 2005 family history was collected relating to depression, anxiety, alcohol dependence and drug dependence.  The researchers analyzed the data with respect to recurrence, age of onset, severity and service use relating to depression and the other disorders.

They found that family history is a factor in the presence of depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug dependence.  And, save for women with depression, family history is associated with more severe disorder, recurrence and, as you might expect, more health service use.  Doctors could use this information to identify those patients who are most vulnerable to depression and related disorders because of their family background.  Also, families who might be able to participate in genetic studies could also be identified.

Source

Milne B, Caspi A et al Predictive value of family history on severity of illness. The case for depression, anxiety, alcohol dependence and drug dependence Archives of General Psychiatry July 2009;66:738-747