25% of teenage girls at risk of depression

Main Category: Depression
Article Date: 04 Feb 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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According to research carried out at the University of Alberta, a quarter of all females (aged 16-19) will experience major depression (an episode of it). Smokers are at a higher risk.

More than 1300 teenagers (12 to 19 years old) were studied, this was a rare long-term study (a national study carried out in Canada).

The team, from the University of Alberta (Canada) was lead by Dr. Nancy Galambos. The University of Victoria (Bonnie Leadbeater) also helped in the research.

They investigated the differences between male and female teens in risk factors for depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes (MDEs). The research was recently published in the International Journal of Behavioral Development (UK spelling: behavioural).

The number of females who experience an episode of depression was twice as high for females than for males. The team said that there must be a substantial number of females who need treatment (and have not had it).

The study also found that decreases in social support and increases in smoking were both linked to increases in depressive symptoms.

'A link between smoking and depression has hardly ever been studied,' said Galambos.

'It might be that some people are smoking to self-medicate because they already feel bad. It's an interesting two-way relationship between smokers and depression that needs further investigation.'

Depression in adolescence has been linked to problems with work, stressful life events, early pregnancy, smoking and substance abuse.

These adolescents are also at risk for anxiety, eating and conduct disorders, as well as academic failure and problems in interpersonal relationships.

Because the consequences for adolescents can be severe, understanding the development of depression in males and females during adolescence is critical to its treatment, said Galambos.