More assortative mating in US compared to European parents and spouses of patients with bipolar disorder: implications for psychiatric illness in the offspring.

More assortative mating in US compared to European parents and spouses of patients with bipolar disorder: implications for psychiatric illness in the offspring. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2018 Aug 11;: Authors: Post RM, Altshuler LL, Kupka R, McElroy SL, Frye MA, Rowe M, Grunze H, Suppes T, Keck PE, Nolen WA Abstract The effect of assortative mating on offspring is often not considered. Here, we present data on illness in the spouse and the parents of patients with bipolar disorder as they affect illness in the offspring. A history of psychiatric illness (depression, bipolar disorder, suicide attempt, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and "other" illness) was elicited for the parents, spouse, and the offspring of 968 patients with bipolar disorder (540 of whom had children) who gave informed consent for participation in a treatment outcome network. Assortative mating for a mood disorder in the spouse and parents in those from the United States (US) was compared to those from the Netherlands and Germany and related to illnesses in the offspring. There was more illness and assortative mating for a mood disorder in both the spouse and patient's parents from the US compared to Europe. In the parents of the US patients, assortative mating for a mood disorder was associated with more depression, bipolar disorder, alcohol, and "other" illness in the offspring. Compared to the Europeans, there was more assortative mating for mood and other ...
Source: European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci Source Type: research