Recurrence in teenage depression

Major depression is one of the most common mental-health problems in adolescence with rates of around 5.9% among girls and 4.6% among boys. It is associated with functional impairment, risk of suicide and a risk of depression in adulthood. A team of researchers from Duke University in North Carolina looked into the long-term outcomes of 196 adolescents, aged between 14 and 22, who had originally participated in a study into the effectiveness of different kinds of treatment for depression. The researchers found that 96.4% of the participants had recovered by the time they were followed up five years after the original study. Recovery by two years was more likely in participants who responded quickly to treatment (96.2%) than for those who responded only partially or not at all (79.1%). Of the 189 participants who recovered 46.6% had a recurrence. Girls (57%) were more likely than boys (32.9%) to have a relapse.

Curry, John ... [et al] - Recovery and recurrence following treatment for adolescent major depression Archives of General Psychiatry 2011; 68(3):263-270.

Colleges fail to pick up depressed students

Universities and colleges could be failing to pick up on, and offer help to, students who are depressed. Researchers from Northwestern University in Illinois studied 1,622 college students going to medical appointments for other health problems. They screeened them for depression with a seven-question survey and found that between a quarter and a fifth of them were depressed with about 2-3% having had suicidal thoughts. The research also found that students who took more exercise were less likely to be depressed.

New study less hopeful on teenage depression

New research from Duke University in North Carolina has painted a gloomy picture of the recovery rates from adolescent depression. Their study involved 196 participants - 110 of whom were girls - aged between 12 and 17. Some were treated with fluoxetine (Prozac), others with cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), others with a combination of the two, while a fourth group acted as a control group (i.e. had no psychotherapy and took a placebo instead of Prozac). Nearly 95% of the participants recovered and 88.3% recovered within two years. However, over the five-year period of the study 46.6% of the participants who recovered had another bout of major depression. 57% of the girls had a relapse, compared to 33% of the boys - perhaps, thought the researchers, because the girls were more inclined to chew things over and have feelings of inadequacy. None of the treatments was better at preventing relapse but those teenagers who recovered within two years were less likely to become ill again.

Internet use and depression

Teenagers who are obsessed with the internet could be more likely to suffer from depression. Researchers from the University of Notre Dame in Australia and Sun-Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China looked at the mental health and internet use of 1,041 students in Guangzhou. The students were asked about their internet use including questions such as "How often do your grades or school work suffer because of the amount of time you spend on-line?" and "How often do you fear that life without the internet would be boring, empty and joyless?" and about their mental health. 8% of the teenagers developed symptoms of depression over the course of the study while 6% of them were classified as having 'pathological' internet use. Those teenagers who had an unhealthy relationship with the internet were two-and-a-half times more likely to have developed depression by the end of the study. But it is still not clear whether heavy internet use makes people feel depressed or whether teenagers who feel depressed are more likely to be heavier internet users.

Students in counselling more distressed but less suicidal

College students going for counselling are more depressed and lonely than they were ten years ago but less likely to think of killing themselves. Researchers from Hofstra University in New York State looked at the records of 3,256 college students who had had college counselling at a mid-sized private university between September 1997 and August 2009. They found that the percentage diagnosed with a mental disorder rose from 93% in 1998 to 96% in 2009. The percentage of students with moderate-severe depression rose from 34% to 41% and these students were frequently socially isolated, depressed and on medication. In 1998 11% of those who attended counselling took psychiatric drugs - mostly for depression, anxiety and ADHD - while in 2009 24% did so. However, the number of students seeking counselling who had thoughts about killing themselves in the last couple of weeks fell from 26% in 1998 to 11% in 2009. The researchers did, however, stress that the results applied to students who had sought out counselling and that there was no evidence that students in general had become more unhappy over the course of the study.

You can find out more about this research by clicking on the title of this post.

Teenage internet 'addicts' at higher risk of depression

Teenagers who are compulsive internet users are more likely to be depressed. Researchers from the School of Medicine in Sydney and Sun-Yat-Sen University in China studied over 1,000 teenagers - who had an average age of 15 - and asked them about their internet use. They found that 6% of the sample felt depressed, moody and anxious when they were not on the internet. Nine months later the teenagers were examined again for signs of anxiety and depression; the 'pathological' internet users were two-and-a-half times more likely to show signs of depression.

You can find out more about this story by clicking on the link in the title of this post.

Young, free, worried and gloomy

Some research has suggested an increase in depression and anxiety among children and adolescents over the last few decades. But are children really getting gloomier and more anxious or is the increase down to improved awareness and better diagnosis? A team of researchers led by Stephan Collishaw from Cardiff University compared two groups of 16- and 17-year-olds who filled out the same assessment tool in 1986 and 2006. In 1986 4,524 children and 7,120 parents filled out the assessment tool and in 2006 719 adolescents and 734 parents completed it. The study found that girls and their parents reported more emotional difficulties in 2006 than in 1986 and boys' parents did too. Twice as many young people reported frequent feelings of depression and anxiety in 2006 as in 1986. Some symptoms were more prevalent in 2006 than in 1986 such as worry, irritability and fatigue while others - loss of enjoyment and worthlessness - stayed the same. Social class, family breakdown and ethnicity all had no effect on children's increasing gloom and anxiety.

Collishaw, Stephan ... [et al] - Trends in adolescent emotional problems in England: a comparison of two national cohorts twenty years apart Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry August 2010, 51(8), 885-894

Malnutrition, mothers and depression

Malnutrition early in life has been linked to the later development of psychological problems in childhood and adolescence such as decreased attention, bad behaviour and a lower IQ. Researchers from Harvard Medical School studied 171 children aged between 11 and 17 from Barbados comparing those who had suffered from malnutrition in childhood with a healthy control group; they also looked into the effects of maternal depression. The study found that even taking into account the effects of maternal depression the children who had suffered from infant malnutrition were more likely to be depressed. But, regardless of whether children had suffered from malnutrition or not having a depressed mother was more likely to make children depressed.

Galler, J.R. ... [et al] - Early childhood malnutrition predicts depressive symptoms at ages 11-17 Journal of Child Psychology and PsychiatryJuly 2010, 51(7), 789-798

Boys, girls, weight and depression

Healthy-weight girls who think they are fat are more likely to be depressed than fatter girls who realise they are overweight. Researchers from Penn State University studied 12,683 adolescents taking part in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The children were asked about their actual weight, whether they thought they were over-, under- or the right weight and their levels of depression were assessed. 80% of the girls were overweight knew they were too fat whereas 40% of the overweight boys thought that they were at a healthy weight. The girls who thought they were overweight but were actually at a healthy weight were more depressed than girls who were overweight and knew they were. Boys who were actually underweight were more likely to be depressed than boys who were heavier with the researchers describing them as 'extremely distressed.'

http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/06/29/misperception-of-weight-ups-teen-depression-risk/15189.html

Depression, obesity and stress

Cortisol is a hormone that is produced in reaction to stress. It is also produced more when people are depressed and plays a role in regulating people's metabolisms. There is thought to be a link between depression, cortisol and obesity but no-one is quite sure how this works. A team of researchers from Penn State University in the U.S. looked into this issue in a sample of 111 boys and girls between 8 and 13. The children were assessed for their levels of depression, weighed and measured and had their cortisol levels taken before and after an assessed maths test designed to raise their stress levels. The children who were more depressed showed a higher increase in their levels of cortisol after being stressed but this was only associated with obesity in the case of the girls.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100223154342.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Depression in teenage girls

It is thought that between 10% and 18.5% of people suffer from major depression during their adolescence. The peak age of onset is 15 with the average length of an episode of depression being about 6 months. Girls are thought to be particularly vulnerable and a team of researchers from Oregon Research Institute and the University of Texas, Austin looked into this issue by following a sample of 496 girls over 7 years, between the ages of 12 and 20. About 1 in 6 of the girls experienced major depression which lasted for an average of 5.3 months and peaked at age 16. Being white and younger were associated with greater feelings of worthlessness and wanting to kill oneself during periods of depression. 1 in 5 girls suffered from minor depression and adolescents from minority groups were more at risk from this.

Rohde, Paul ... [et al] - Major and minor depression in female adolescents: onset, course, symptom presentation and demographic associations Journal of Clinical Psychology December 2009, 65(12), 1339-1349

Depression treatment benefits long lasting for teenagers

Scientists often follow people who take part in research studies to see how they are getting on later. Researchers from Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina did exactly this with 327 depressed teenagers who had taken part in a 36-week study into methods of treating depression. The follow-up found that even a year after the end of active treatment the teenagers still felt benefits in terms of lower levels of depression and suicidal thoughts.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5A25IU20091103?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Depression, asthma and E.T.

Stressful and depressing events could make certain children's asthma worse. Researchers from the State University of New York at Buffalo showed 90 children with asthma scenes from E.T. The children were 7-17 years old and half of them had depression as well as asthma. The children with asthma and depression consistently showed breathing difficulties after watching distressing scenes from the film whereas the children with asthma but no depression were unaffected.

You can find out more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE57H58220090818?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Sleep patterns, depression and cortisol

Sleep patterns and levels of the stress hormone cortisol could be used to predict which adolescents develop depression. It is known that adults with depression start having REM (rapid-eye-movement) sleep earlier in the sleep cycle than adults without depression but it is not clear whether the same relationship exists in adolescents. Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center studied 96 adolescents over five years and found that those with a familial history of depression but without a depression diagnosis started REM sleep earlier. Those who started REM sleep earlier in the sleep cycle were more likely to develop depression by the end of the five-year study than those who started it later. The researchers also looked into the effects of the stress hormone cortisol. In adults increased cortisol levels are linked to depression and when people are treated for depression cortisol levels are seen to fall even before people's symptoms improve. The study found that the teenagers with the highest cortisol levels at the start of the study were also more likely to develop depression.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090813083335.htm

Teenage pregnancy and depression

Researchers from the Institute of Behavioural Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder looked into the psychology of teenage pregnancy. They used data from two large, long-term U.S. surveys that followed thousands of teenaged girls and women. The researchers measured psychological distress by asking the participants how often they found things bothersome that would not normally affect them; how easily they could shake off feeling down and whether they had trouble concentrating. They found that poverty and psychological distress were good predictors of teenage pregnancy i.e. they already existed before the girls became pregnant. Other studies have shown high levels of depression among teenage mothers but this is the first to show that they may be suffering psychologically before they become pregnant.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727204829.htm

Social support, terrorism and depression

Teenagers who live in areas affected by terrorism can often become depressed. Researchers from Ben-Gurion University in Israel studied teenagers who had been indirectly affected by a suicide bombing. None of them had directly witnessed the bombing but some had heard it, others knew people who had suffered physical or emotional damage, or had seen media reports of the attack. Before the bombing the teenagers had already completed a questionnaire as part of another study and the researchers were able to use this data to see which factors existing before the bombing helped to prevent depression after it. The researchers found that the more socially happy the adolescents were before the bombing the less depressed they became afterwards.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720134554.htm

Stigma still a barrier for depressed teenagers

Researchers in the U.S. looked into the barriers teenagers face in getting treatment for depression. They interviewed 368 teenagers with and without depression and found that social stigma and worry over how their parents would react were among the biggest barriers. Those teenagers who felt the most social stigma about their condition and worry about their parents' reaction were less likely than other youngsters to have started counselling and drug therapy six months later. Parents tended to focus on more practical issues such as paying for treatment and physically getting their children to see a healthcare professional.

You can find out more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE5505LV20090601?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&sp=true

Drowning young sorrows is a danger sign

A study of 32,000 teenagers aged between 14 and 17 has found that those who try to drown their sorrows with drink are at a greater risk of trying to kill themselves. Drinking while down was associated with a 68% increase in risk among teenagers who had previously thought about killing themselves. Among teenagers who had not thought about suicide drinking while down was associated with a trebling in risk. Of the 12.2% of children who did drink to drown their sorrows nearly 18% had tried to kill themselves, compared to only 3% of those who did not drink when depressed. It is often difficult to predict which teenagers will make suicide attempts so this research could be very useful in helping healthcare workers to do this.

You can find out more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE54744T20090508?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&sp=true

Themes and feelings in teenage depression

Qualitative research aims to bring out and discover people's feelings by conducting interviews and analysing them later. In-depth interviews are carried out with small groups of people and researchers try and find themes in what the participants say. Researchers from Bristol and the University of Plymouth interviewed six adolescent girls about their depression. They found three main themes emerged: communication, 'hurt self', and difference. These themes were based on communication processes in the girls' families and with peers, issues relating to shifts in identity through adolescence and feelings of being damaged, distressed, and hurt. Attachment theory* was found to be particularly relevant and helpful in interpreting these themes.

Shaw, Samantha K., Dallos, Rudi and Shoebridge, Philip - Depression in female adolescents: an IPA analysis Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry April 2009, 14(2), 167-181

*For an explanation of attachment theory see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_theory

FDA approves Lexapro

The U.S. Food and Drugs Administration has approved the anti-depressant Lexapro to treat depression in children between 12 and 17 and as a 'maintenance' therapy to maintain control of symptoms in this age group.

You can find out more about the background to the licensing of this drug at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE52J5KZ20090320?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&sp=true