Project Summary

Yoko Nomura, Ph.D., M.P.H. (Young Investigator 2004) of New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University, proposes studying how perinatal problems, low socioeconomic status and maternal depression lead to an increased risk of behavioral, emotional and medical problems in early childhood and social, emotional and medical problems in adulthood. Perinatal refers to the time just before and after birth. In the proposed project, Dr. Nomura will utilize data from two longitudinal studies following parents and their offspring for over 17 years to: 1) identify the mechanisms linking exposure to perinatal problems to both depression and other medical (allergies and heart disease) illness in adults, and the temporal sequence of the two; 2) evaluate how much of the association between perinatal risk and problems in childhood (and in adulthood) is mediated by problems in infancy (and in childhood respectively); 3) determine how much the association was amplified by presence of maternal depression, and 4) compare the level of functional impairment measured by hospital use, conflict in family, low personal resources, and suicidal ideation. By applying rigorous statistical modeling methods, findings could help elucidate the mechanisms underlying why depression and other medical illness occur in the same person, and could lead to improved techniques for early identification, prevention and/or treatment.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Unipolar Depression

Search Again