ArticleThe lancet. Psychiatry2015
Depression and violence: a Swedish population study.
Article in The lancet. Psychiatry, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 83 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
83 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 241 citations in OpenAlex.
- Paranoid Ideation and Violence: Meta-analysis of Individual Subject Data of 7 Population Surveys.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2016Pooled it
- Prevention of violent revictimization in depressed patients with an add-on internet-based emotion regulation training (iERT): study protocol for a multicenter randomized controlled trial.BMC psychiatry · 2018Trial
- Risk factors for alcohol-related injury experienced within a year: results of a nationwide large-scale internet survey.Addictive behaviors reports · 2026Article
- Epidemiology of aggression and violence in mental disorders and the approach of TRR 379.Der Nervenarzt · 2026Review
- Depression as a Longitudinal Modulator of Physical-Verbal Aggression in Early Adolescence: Trajectories and Sex Comparisons.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2026Article
- Article
- Bidirectional Association Between Premenstrual Disorders and Psychiatric Disorders.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Pre-attack crisis indicators in mass shooters: Differences across no-, single-, and dual-harm groups.Journal of affective disorders · 2026Article
- Depression and Crime Across Different Neighborhoods in the Swedish General Population.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Sex difference in parental risk of suicide attempt during and after pregnancy in Sweden.Nature human behaviour · 2026Article
- [Forensic-Psychiatric Consultations in General Psychiatry - Supporting Treatment of Patients Prone to Commit Violence].Fortschritte der Neurologie-Psychiatrie · 2025Article
- Sertraline to reduce recidivism in impulsive violent offenders (ReINVEST): a randomised double blind clinical trial.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- Overstated association between adolescent physical fitness and adulthood depression risk due to familial factors.Journal of internal medicine · 2025Article
- Premenstrual disorders and risk of cardiovascular diseases.Nature cardiovascular research · 2025Article
- Montelukast Use and the Risk of Neuropsychiatric Adverse Events in Children.JAMA pediatrics · 2025Article
- Exploring Risky Decision-Making in Depressed Patients with High Aggression: An Event-Related Potential Study.Psychology research and behavior management · 2025Article
- Parental mental disorders and school performance among non-immigrant and second-generation immigrant children in Sweden.Journal of migration and health · 2025Article
- Three-Year Assault Cases Performed on the Emergency Trauma Center.Medeniyet medical journal · 2024Article
- Sex differences in clinically diagnosed psychiatric disorders over the lifespan: a nationwide register-based study in Sweden.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2024Article
- The elderly, COVID-19, and violence: A qualitative content analysis.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
23 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDepression increases the risk of a range of adverse outcomes including suicide, premature mortality, and self-harm, but associations with violent crime remain uncertain. We aimed to determine the risks of violent crime in patients with depression and to investigate the association between depressive symptoms and violent crime in a cohort of twins.
methodsWe conducted two studies. The first was a total population study in Sweden of patients with outpatient diagnoses of depressive disorders (n=47,158) between 2001 and 2009 and no lifetime inpatient episodes. Patients were age and sex matched to general population controls (n=898,454) and risk of violent crime was calculated. Additionally, we compared the odds of violent crime in unaffected half-siblings (n=15,534) and full siblings (n=33,516) of patients with the general population controls. In sensitivity analyses, we examined the contribution of substance abuse, sociodemographic factors, and previous criminality. In the second study, we studied a general population sample of twins (n=23,020) with continuous measures of depressive symptoms for risk of violent crime.
findingsDuring a mean follow-up period of 3·2 years, 641 (3·7%) of the depressed men and 152 (0·5%) of the depressed women violently offended after diagnosis. After adjustment for sociodemographic confounders, the odds ratio of violent crime was 3·0 (95% CI 2·8–3·3) compared with the general population controls. The odds of violent crime in half-siblings (adjusted odds ratio 1·2 [95% CI 1·1–1·4]) and full siblings (1·5, 95% CI 1·3–1·6) were significantly increased, showing some familial confounding of the association between depression and violence. However, the odds increase remained significant in individuals with depression after adjustment for familial confounding, and in those without substance abuse comorbidity or a previous violent conviction (all p<0·0001). In the twin study, during the mean follow-up time of 5·4 years, 88 violent crimes were recorded. Depressive symptoms were associated with increased risk of violent crime and a sensitivity analysis identified little difference in risk estimate when all crimes (violent and non-violent) was the outcome.
interpretationRisk of violent crime was increased in individuals with depression after adjustment for familial, sociodemographic and individual factors in two longitudinal studies. Clinical guidelines should consider recommending violence risk assessment in certain subgroups with depression.
fundingWellcome Trust and the Swedish Research Council.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.