This report adds to the existing literature by providing prospective evidence for elevated risk for developing internalizing disorders including mood-related disorders among young adult offspring of AD individuals (Earls and Powell, 1988; Hill and Muka 1996; Reich et al., 1993, Hill et al., 2008). A 6-fold increase in the odds for developing MDD was seen among those with a history of maternal familial AD. Previously, Dawson and Grant, (1998) reported that among adults over the age of 18, the odds for developing MDD increases with the percentage of first degree relatives with alcohol dependence. For women with 50% of relatives affected, the odds ratio (OR) was reported to be 4.77 [CI 4.06–5.61].
