Childhood family adversity and recurrent depression in adulthood: the findings of three ELSA-Brasil follow-up visits.

Objective: This study investigated the association between childhood family adversity and depression in a cohort of Brazilian adults over three visits.

Methods: A total of 12,636 participants from the Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil), baseline (2008-2010) and followed up in 2012-2014 and 2017-2019, were included. Five types of family dysfunction and the childhood family dysfunction score (0, 1, and = 2 dysfunctions) were used. The Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised was used to assess depression in visits 1 and 2 or 3. Multinomial logistic regression models estimated crude and adjusted OR and 95%CI.

Results: The mean age of the sample was 59.6 (SD, 8.8) years, 7.4% presented depression in one visit, and 2.2% presented it in two or three visits. After adjustment, compared to no family dysfunction, mental disorder (OR = 3.91; 95%%CI 2.94-5.21), substance abuse (OR = 2.14; 95%CI 1.65-2.77), and parental separation/divorce (OR = 1.55; 95%CI 1.12-2.15) increased the odds of depression in two or three visits. Exposure to = 2 types of family dysfunction increased the odds of depression in one, and two or three visits in a dose-response gradient.

Conclusion: Exposure to childhood family dysfunction contributes to the occurrence and recurrence of depression in adults. Interventions to prevent dysfunctional family environments and their repercussions on children can reduce the burden of depression.