Depression increased among adolescents and young adults between 2005 and 2014, according to a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics.
For the study, researchers examined data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health for 2005 to 2014. Participants included 172,495 adolescents aged 12 to 17 and 178,755 adults aged 18 to 25.
They found the 12-month prevalence of major depressive episodes increased from 8.7 percent in 2005 to 11.3 percent in 2014 in adolescents and from 8.8 percent to 9.6 percent in young adults. They also found adolescents with MDE also were less likely to be boys than girls and non-Hispanic black than non-Hispanic white.
"Adolescent girls may have been exposed to a greater degree to depression risk factors in recent years. For example, cyberbullying may have increased more dramatically among girls than boys," wrote the study's authors. "As compared with adolescent boys, adolescent girls also now use mobile phones with texting applications more frequently and intensively and problematic mobile phone use among young people has been linked to depressed mood. Interestingly, the sex differences in trends were not consistent across age groups, as the prevalence of depression followed similar temporal trends in young men and women."
Additionally, researchers said mental healthcare treatment changed little over time. However, the use of specialty mental health providers increased in adolescents and young adults, and the use of prescription medications and inpatient hospitalizations increased in adolescents.
"In the context of little change in mental health treatments, trends in prevalence translate into a growing number of young people with untreated depression. The findings call for renewed efforts to expand service capacity to best meet the mental healthcare needs of this age group," the study's authors concluded.
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