Children with a high depressive/anxious mood profile showed the same odds of suicidality as those of the reference group.
The authors noted that there was considerably stability in developmental profiles, so children who showed the highest levels of symptoms at age 6 were likely to exhibit those same high levels at age 12.
They also commented on their study’s use of an “innovative, person-centered approach” to describe the joint course of these moods over the time course of the study.
The investigators cited several limitations. One is that the assessment of childhood symptoms were based on teachers only, so depressive/anxious mood might have been underrated compared with irritability “because internalizing symptoms may be more difficult to observe in a school setting than externalized symptoms.”
Dr. Orri and two associates reported receiving support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The other researchers cited funding from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression and the Fonds de Recherche du Québec. No other financial disclosures were reported. The Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development was supported by several entities, including the Québec Government’s Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Family Affairs.
SOURCE: Orri M et al. JAMA Psychiatry. 2018 Mar 28. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.0174.