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Mother’s marital status, not age, linked to later depression

The age a mother first gives birth may be less relevant to her chance of later-life depression than her marital status, according to new research showing that unmarried teenage mothers and unmarried adult mothers have similar levels of depressive symptoms in their late 20s. The study also found that living in a female-headed family at age 14, living with a stepfather at age 14, having low self-esteem in mid-adolescence and having poor verbal and math skills predicted depressive symptoms in young adulthood.

Genetic Clash With Mother Doubles Child’s Schizophrenia Risk

Scientists have discovered that infants possessing a cell protein called Rhesus (Rh) factor that their mothers lack are twice as likely to develop schizophrenia in young adulthood. Reported in the December issue of the peer-reviewed American Journal of Human Genetics, the study suggests that the gene that codes for Rh factor is to blame for the higher risk. “Previous studies reported a link between mothers and infants who are Rh-incompatible and a higher rate of schizophrenia in the children later in life,” said Dr. Christina Palmer, a research scientist at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. “Our research is the first to take a genetic approach to examining this increased risk.”