@article{ref1,
title="Suicide and mental illness in parents and risk of suicide in offspring : A birth cohort study",
journal="Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology",
year="2009",
author="Sørensen, HJ and Mortensen, Erik Lykke and Wang, August G. and Juel, Knud and Silverton, Leigh and Mednick, Sarnoff A.",
volume="44",
number="9",
pages="748-751",
abstract="BACKGROUND: A family history of completed suicide and psychiatric illness has been identified as risk factors for suicide. AIMS: To examine the risk of offspring suicide in relation to parental history of suicide and other parental risk factors. METHOD: The study population consisted of 7,177 adult offspring born 1959-1961 and their parents from the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort. Cohort members and their parents who had committed suicide were identified in the Danish Causes of Death Registry (follow-up until December 31, 2005), while information on psychiatric hospitalisation history was obtained from the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register. RESULTS: Forty-eight cohort members, 77 mothers and 133 fathers had committed suicide during the follow-up. Independent of parental psychiatric illness and social status, parental suicide significantly increased suicide risk in offspring (hazard ratio 4.40 with 95% CI 1.81-10.69). A stronger effect of parental suicide was observed in offspring without a history of psychiatric hospitalisation. CONCLUSION: Parental history of suicide is a risk factor for suicide in offspring, but primarily in offspring without psychiatric hospitalisation. <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0933-7954",
doi="10.1007/s00127-009-0495-5",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-009-0495-5"
}