ArticleThe Lancet. Public health2019
Prevalence of maternal mental illness among children and adolescents in the UK between 2005 and 2017: a national retrospective cohort analysis.
Article in The Lancet. Public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 82 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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82 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Parental mental illness and the risk of offspring cancer in childhood: a pooled meta-analysis of English and Swedish national cohorts.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions to improve outcomes for parents or carers of children with anxiety and/or depression.BMJ mental health · 2024Pooled it
- Associations between food insecurity in high-income countries and pregnancy outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Adverse childhood experiences and maternal anxiety and depression: a meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- An intervention to improve the quality of life in children of parents with serious mental illness: the Young SMILES feasibility RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2020Trial
- Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Treatment in Adolescence and Subsequent Risk of Nonaffective Psychosis: A Quasi-Experimental Study.Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica · 2026Article
- Parental Psychiatric Symptoms and Child Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties: Exploring the Mediating Role of Parental Reflective Functioning in Parents With Mental Disorders.Early intervention in psychiatry · 2026Article
- No evidence of parental mental health influencing children's academic achievement: a within-family study.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Early detection of distinct language development in infants of mothers with severe mental illness using fNIRS.Communications psychology · 2026Article
- Personality disorder diagnoses in UK Autistic people: Evidence from a matched cohort study.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026Article
- Emotional and Behavioral Problems in Children and Adolescents: The Role of Parental Mental Illnesses: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- The Cumulative Risk of Having a Family Member With a Diagnosed Mental Disorder: A Nationwide Study of Mental Disorders in Family Networks.Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica · 2026Article
- Alcohol consumption, mental health, and the moderating role of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Brazil.Revista brasileira de epidemiologia = Brazilian journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Circle of Security-Parenting and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy-Toddler: A Qualitative Exploration of Parents' Perspectives.Scandinavian journal of psychology · 2025Article
- Factors associated with mental health resilience in the child, adolescent and adult offspring of depressed parents: A systematic literature review.Journal of affective disorders reports · 2025Article
- Children's Sensitivity to Facial Emotional Expressions: The Mediating Roles of Maternal Warmth and Home Environment.Developmental science · 2025Article
- The Art of Nanoimmunobiotechnomedicine in Depression Management.Advanced pharmaceutical bulletin · 2025Review
- Parental Mental Disorders and Offspring Mortality up to Middle Age.JAMA psychiatry · 2025Article
- Differences in infant feeding methods at one month postpartum among women with psychiatric disorders and factors influencing exclusive breastfeeding.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2025Article
- Associations between Parental Depression and Anxiety and Children's Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: Investigating Expressed Emotion as a Transdiagnostic Mechanism.Child psychiatry and human development · 2025Article
22 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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9 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLittle information exists about the prevalence of children exposed to maternal mental illness. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of children and adolescents exposed to maternal mental illness in the UK between 2005 and 2017 using primary care data.
methodsIn this national retrospective cohort study, we included children aged 0-16 years born between Jan 1, 1991, and Dec 31, 2015, who were linked to their mothers and registered on the primary care Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) between 2005 and 2017. We extracted data on diagnosis, symptoms, and therapy from the CRPD to define the following maternal mental illnesses: depression, anxiety, non-affective psychosis, affective psychosis, eating disorders, personality disorders, alcohol misuse disorder, and substance misuse disorder. We also extracted data on socioeconomic status from the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2010 and data on ethnicity from the Hospital Episode Statistics dataset. The main outcome was prevalence of maternal mental illness. Prevalence was calculated for each 2-year period of childhood (from age 0-<2 to 14-<16 years) using marginal predictions from a logistic regression model. We used survival analysis to estimate the incidence and cumulative risk of children experiencing maternal mental illness by age 16 years.
findingsWe identified 783 710 children registered in the UK CPRD mother-baby link database, and included 547 747 children (381 685 mothers) in our analysis. Overall prevalence of maternal mental illness was 23·2% (95% CI 23·1-23·4), which increased during childhood (21·9%, 21·7-22·1 among the 0-<2 year age group vs 27·3%, 26·8-27·8 among the 14-<16 year age group). Depression and anxiety were the most prevalent maternal mental illnesses. The proportion of children exposed to maternal mental illness increased from 22·2% (21·9-22·4) between 2005 and 2007 to 25·1% (24·8-25·5) between 2015 and 2017. Geographically, the highest prevalence of maternal mental illness was observed in Northern Ireland (29·8%, 29·0-30·5). In England, prevalence of maternal mental illness was highest among children in the most deprived areas (28·3%, 27·8-28·8). The incidence of maternal mental illness was highest between 0-3 months (26·7 per 100 person years, 26·4-27·1). By age 16 years, the cumulative risk of maternal mental illness was 53·1% (52·8-53·3).
interpretationOne in four children aged 0-16 years are exposed to maternal mental illness and the prevalence of diagnosed and treated maternal mental illness is increasing. Policy makers and commissioners should consider this information and channel resources to target individuals in greatest need.
fundingThe European Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research.
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