Gender differences in the risk of depressive disorders following the loss of a young child: a nationwide population-based longitudinal study

Chen, Hsin-Hung; Wang, I-An; Fang, Shao-You; Chou, Yiing-Jenq; Chen, Chuan-Yu

doi:10.1186/s12888-021-03421-w

Table 1 Characteristics of children who died and paired cohort with their parents

From: Gender differences in the risk of depressive disorders following the loss of a young child: a nationwide population-based longitudinal study

Characteristics	Deceased children		Non-deceased children		P-value
Characteristics	n	%	n	%	P-value
Total	5881	100.00	23,524	100.00
Child’s and family characteristics
Gender					1.0000
Male	3262	55.47	13,048	55.47
Female	2619	44.53	10,476	44.53
Age at death					1.0000
1–2 years	1792	30.47	7168	30.47
3–6 years	2250	38.26	9000	38.26
7–12 years	1839	31.27	7356	31.27
Diagnosis of catastrophic illness before death					< 0.001
Less than one year	856	14.56	162	0.69
One or more years	1861	31.64	320	1.36
No	3164	53.80	23,042	97.95
Income level^b					< 0.001
Poverty	1951	33.17	3898	16.57
Medium	2448	41.63	11,909	50.32
High	1257	21.37	7087	30.13
Missing	225	3.83	630	2.68
Urbanization^b					< 0.001
Urban	1515	25.76	6448	27.41
Suburban	3614	61.45	14,561	61.90
Rural	650	11.05	2054	8.73
Missing	102	1.73	461	1.96
Premium payer^b					< 0.001
Father	3247	55.21	12,268	52.15
Mother	2032	34.55	10,354	44.01
Other^a	488	8.30	378	1.61
Missing	114	1.94	524	2.23
Maternal characteristics (N = 19,499)
Maternal age at child’s death					0.009
< 35 years	1667	55.81	9633	58.34
≥ 35 years	1320	44.19	6879	41.66
Maternal depressive disorders before child’s death^c					< 0.001
Yes	71	2.38	94	0.57
No	2916	97.62	16,418	99.43
Maternal chronic physical condition^d					< 0.001
Yes	1060	35.49	1875	11.36
No	1927	64.51	14,637	88.64
Treatment seeking for depressive disorders after child’s death^e					< 0.001
Yes	149	4.99	130	0.79
No	2838	95.01	16,382	99.21
Paternal characteristics (N = 22,011)
Paternal age at child’s death					< 0.001
< 35 years	1338	31.42	6534	36.81
≥ 35 years	2920	68.58	11,219	63.19
Paternal depressive disorders before child’s death^c					< 0.001
Yes	78	1.83	49	0.28
No	4180	98.17	17,704	99.72
Paternal chronic physical condition^d					< 0.001
Yes	1650	38.75	2214	12.47
No	2608	61.25	15,539	87.53
Treatment seeking for depressive disorders after child’s death^e					< 0.001
Yes	104	2.44	92	0.52
No	4154	97.56	17,661	99.48

^a Refers to insurance covered under the name of the child himself or herself or the name of a grandparent
^b In the year before the index child’s death
^c Depressive disorder (ICD-9-CM codes: 296.2X, 296.3X, 300.4X, and 311) is confirmed by receiving a diagnosis by a psychiatrist in (i) two or more outpatient services or (ii) one inpatient service within three years before the index child’s death
^d Chronic physical condition — including malignant neoplasms, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, hypertensive disease, bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, and atherosclerosis — were obtained from the three-year reimbursement records prior to the index child’s death
^e Depressive disorder (ICD-9-CM codes: 296.2X, 296.3X, 300.4X, and 311) is confirmed by receiving a diagnosis by a psychiatrist in (i) two or more outpatient services or (ii) one inpatient service in the three years after the index child’s death

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ISSN: 1471-244X

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