General News Technology — 11 July 2013
Depression during adolescence significantly raises the risk of ongoing mental illness and psychosocial problems in early adulthood, Australian research confirms.
The study involving 111 teenagers with a depressive disorder found over 90% made a full remission.But more than half experienced a recurrence during the three to nine year follow-up, the researchers from Monash University found.
Depression in young people may also pave the way for other mental illnesses, with four out of five participants developing another psychiatric diagnosis over the follow up period.
Anxiety disorders were the most common emerging diagnoses- identified in over half of the young adults. Substance use and eating disorders were also rife, affecting 30% and 15% of the teens respectively.
The fact that the development of non-depressive disorders exceeded the rate of depressive disorder recurrence “suggests the continuity of serious morbidity and impairment over time,” the authors wrote in the Journal of Affective Disorder.
Low socio-economic status was the only demographic variable linked to poor outcomes. Low self-efficacy as well as ongoing
depression and anxiety were also flagged as risk factors for relapse and recurrence.
The authors suggested the findings could form the basis for developing a risk profile to identify teenagers who would likely
benefit from ongoing treatment for depressive disorders.
As first appeared in Psychiatry Update, 10 July 2013. Source: Journal of Affective Disorders, 2013
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Ross Vaughn
It is scary for a teen dealing with teen depression, it can be a simple episode that they’re upset over a breakup. Or, it can be a constant depression that can destroy lives. As a parent of two preteen boys I keep an eye for warning signs that mine may have teen depression …