America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2009
Adolescent Depression
Depression has a significant impact on adolescent development and well being. Adolescent depression can adversely affect school and work performance, impair peer and family relationships, and exacerbate the severity of other health conditions such as asthma and obesity.121,122,123,124,125 Depressive episodes often persist, recur, or continue into adulthood.126 Youth who have had a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in the past year are at greater risk for suicide and are more likely than other youth to initiate alcohol and other drug use, experience concurrent substance use disorders, and smoke daily.127,128,129
Indicator HEALTH4: Percentage of youth ages 12–17 who experienced a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in the past year by age and gender, 2004–2007
NOTE: Major Depressive Episode (MDE) is defined as a period of at least 2 weeks when a person experienced a depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities plus at least 4 additional symptoms of depression (such as problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration and feelings of self-worth) as described in the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).130
SOURCE: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
- In 2007, 8 percent of the population ages 12–17 had a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) during the past year, a lower rate than that reported in 2004 (9 percent).
- From 2004 to 2007, the prevalence of MDE among youth was more than twice as high among females (12 percent to 13 percent) as among males (4 percent to 5 percent).
- The past-year prevalence of MDE in 2007 was lowest in youth ages 12–13 (4 percent), compared to youth ages 14–15 (8 percent) and youth ages 16–17 (12 percent).
- In 2007, 67 percent of youth with MDE (5.5 percent of the population ages 12–17) reported that the MDE caused severe problems in at least one major role domain (home, school/work, family relationships, social life).
- The percentage of youth with MDE receiving treatment for depression, defined as seeing or talking to a medical doctor or other professional about the depressive episode and/or using prescription medication for depression in the past year, remained stable from 2004 to 2007 (40 percent in 2004 and 39 percent in 2007).
HEALTH4.A HTML Table, HEALTH4.B HTML Table, HEALTH4.C HTML Table
121 Birmaher, B., Brent, D.A., and Benson, R.S. (1998). Child and adolescent depression: A review of the past 10 years. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 1427–1439.
122 Bhatia, S.K., and Bhatia, S.C. (2007). Childhood and adolescent depression. American Family Physician, 75, 73–80.
123 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. (2008). The NSDUH report: Major depressive episode among youths aged 12 to 17 in the United States: 2004 to 2006. Rockville, MD: Author.
124 Van Lieshout, R.J., and MacQueen, G. (2008). Psychological factors in asthma. Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology, 4(1), 12–28.
125 Goodman, E., and Whitaker, R.C. (2007) A prospective study of the role of depression in the development and persistence of adolescent obesity. Pediatrics, 110 (3), 497–504.
126 Weissman, M.M., Wolk, S., Goldstein, R. B., Moreau, D., Adams, P., Greenwald, S., Klier, C. M., Ryan, N. D., Dahl, R. E., and Wickramaratne, P. (1999). Depressed adolescents grown up. Journal of the American Medical Association, 282, 1701–1713.
127 Shaffer, D., Gould, M.S., Fisher, P., Trautman, P., Moreau, D., Kleinman, M., and Flory, M. (1996). Psychiatric diagnosis in child and adolescent suicide. Archives of General Psychiatry, 53, 339–348.
128 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. (2007). The NSDUH report: Depression and the initiation of alcohol and other drug use among youths aged 12 to 17. Rockville, MD: Author.
129 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2008). Results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-32, DHHS Publication No. SMA 08-4343). Rockville, MD: Author.
130 American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV) (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.