Teens and Depression: What You Should Know.

Depression is on the rise amongst teens and effective treatment options remain daunting. Depression affects approximately 6% of female teenagers and about 4.6% of male teens. Young people who suffer from depression also suffer from functional impairment (poor academic performance or poor self-care), higher suicide (or suicide attempt) rates, and higher rates of depression in their adulthood. A new study dampens expectations of successful depression treatment for teenagers — finding that depression returns in most teens that undergo treatment.

John Curry, Ph.D. of the Duke University Medical Center and colleagues found that 46.6% of teenagers treated for depression using three different (short-term) treatment interventions including medication, cognitive behavioral therapy, and a combination of the two are expected to experience a recurrence of depression.  

  

Dr. Curry and his colleagues also discovered that teens who experienced a combination of depression with anxiety disorder were 61.9% more likely to have clinical levels of symptom recurrence. These teens also had higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, alerting all of us that anxiously depressed young people are at greater suicide risk.   

The study also found that teens who received no treatment or short-term treatment were more likely to have a relapse of depression after a two year period. The results of this research impress upon parents and practitioners, a need to include recurrence prevention in the discharge planning for these young people. Prevention efforts would include symptom/medication monitoring and cognitive behavioral booster sessions beyond an 18-week maintenance period.  

If you are a teenager suffering from depression, talk to your parents or a trusted adult. They can help you find the help you need to get through this difficult time. If you are a parent concerned about your child, seek professional help if symptoms persist beyond two weeks or if you have any reason to believe your child is considering suicide.

If you live in the Sacramento area you can contact Dr. Leona Kashersky at (916) 595-7233 or email her at lkashersky@live.com
visit our website at http://www.sacramentocounseling.net/

The article appears in the Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Source: JAMA