Teenage depression increases adult risk

Teenagers who suffer from minor depression are much more likely to develop mental-health problems later in life. Researchers at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute interviewed 750 14-16-year-olds and found that 8% of them had minor depression. The same group was assessed again as adults. By the time the participants got to their 20s and 30s the risk of having major depression was four times greater in those who had suffered from minor depression as teenagers. The risk of agoraphobia, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder was two-and-a-half times greater and the risk of anorexia or bulimia was three times higher.

You can find out more about this research at

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8227485.stm