Daughters Born to Older Mothers at Greater Depression Risk?

Daughters of women who were older than 30 at the time they gave birth may be at a higher risk for anxiety, depression, and stress when they become young adults, a new study finds.

A team of researchers led by Jessica Tearne, a doctoral student at the University of Western Australia, evaluated 1,200 Australians born between the years 1989 and 1991, following participants for 2 decades. The investigators found that girls born to mothers who were between the ages of 30 and 34 demonstrated higher levels of stress at age 20, in comparison to those born to younger mothers.
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Those born to mothers who were older than 35 at the time they had their daughters showed significantly higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, according to Tearne and colleagues. Maternal age at the time of birth had no effect on their sons, while the authors found that the father’s age at the time of birth had no effect on either sons or daughters.

Tearne notes that these results are “just the beginning of research in this area, and we need to understand their clinical utility, and to examine the reasons the relationships between maternal age and mental health outcomes in daughters exist.”

What can be gleaned from these findings, however, is that “working on emotional literacy with children and adolescents, and helping them to understand the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors can be very helpful in managing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress,” says Tearne, adding that “it may also be helpful in preventing their escalation to a clinical syndrome.”

—Mark McGraw

Reference

Tearne J, Robinson M, et al. Older Maternal Age Is Associated With Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Symptoms in Young Adult Female Offspring. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 2015.