Chen HH, Wang IA, Fang SW, et al. - The study findings demonstrate that parental elevated risk of major depression disorders (MDD) was especially prominent for the women and those without prior medical condition after the death of a child. It has been considered that effective strategies addressing bereavement may require family-based, integrated physical and mental healthcare and even extended counseling service.

• Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort to distinguish a total of 7,245 parents (2,987 mothers and 4,258 fathers) in the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan who had lost a child with age between 1 and 12 years.

• After a child’s death, nearly 5.0% and 2.4% of bereaved mothers and fathers sought treatment for MDD within three years, significantly higher than 0.8% and 0.5% in the non-bereaved parents.

• The results showed that with covariate adjustment, the hazard ratio (HR) for maternal and paternal seeking treatment for MDD was calculated at 4.71 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.35–6.64) and 1.93 (95% CI: 1.27–2.95), respectively.

• Prior disease history varied the elevated risk of MDD; specifically, the elevated risk of seeking treatment for MDD was particularly prominent for those without chronic physical condition (CPC) (e.g., mothers with CPC: aHR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.56–3.65 vs. no CPC: aHR = 9.55, 95% CI: 6.17–14.79).