Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Dec 6;2(1):e000353.
doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2018-000353. eCollection 2018.

Can adoption at an early age protect children at risk from depression in adulthood? A Swedish national cohort study

Anders Hjern  1   2 , Jesus Palacios  3 , Bo Vinnerljung  2   4
Affiliations

Can adoption at an early age protect children at risk from depression in adulthood? A Swedish national cohort study

Anders Hjern et al. BMJ Paediatr Open. .

Abstract

Objective: Our aim was to investigate whether the risk of depression in adulthood in children raised by substitute parents from an early age differ by care arrangements.

Methods: Register study in Swedish national cohorts born 1972-1981, with three study groups of children raised in adoptive or foster homes with care starting before the age of 2 years and a comparison majority population group. Cox regression estimated HRs of prescribed antidepressive medication and specialised psychiatric care with a diagnosis of depression in adulthood during 2006-2012.

Results: Compared with the general population, long-term foster care carried the highest age-adjusted and sex-adjusted HR for both antidepressive medication, 2.07 (95% CI 1.87 to 2.28), and psychiatric care for depression, 2.85 (95% CI 2.42 to 3.35), in adulthood. Adults raised by adoptive parents were far more similar to the general population with HR of 1.19 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.43) for domestic and 1.13 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.18) for international adoption for antidepressive medication. Adjusting the analysis for school marks and income attenuated these risks more in the long-term foster care group.

Conclusion: The study demonstrates the benefits of early adoption when substitute parents are provided for young children, and underlines the importance of improved educational support for children in foster care.

Keywords: adoption; depression; foster home care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

References

    1. Flaherty EG, Thompson R, Litrownik AJ, et al. . Effect of early childhood adversity on child health. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2006;160:1232–8. 10.1001/archpedi.160.12.1232 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ethier LS, Lemelin JP, Lacharité C. A longitudinal study of the effects of chronic maltreatment on children’s behavioral and emotional problems. Child Abuse Negl 2004;28:1265–78. 10.1016/j.chiabu.2004.07.006 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sonuga-Barke EJS, Kennedy M, Kumsta R, et al. . Child-to-adult neurodevelopmental and mental health trajectories after early life deprivation: the young adult follow-up of the longitudinal English and Romanian Adoptees study. Lancet 2017;389:1539–48. 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30045-4 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gilbert R, Widom CS, Browne K, et al. . Burden and consequences of child maltreatment in high-income countries. Lancet 2009;373:68–81. 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61706-7 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nanni V, Uher R, Danese A. Childhood maltreatment predicts unfavorable course of illness and treatment outcome in depression: a meta-analysis. Am J Psychiatry 2012;169:141–51. 10.1176/appi.ajp.2011.11020335 - DOI - PubMed