Elsevier

Journal of Adolescent Health

Volume 41, Issue 3, September 2007, Pages 256-262
Journal of Adolescent Health

Original article
Health Outcomes Related to Early Adolescent Depression

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.03.015Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the present study was to examine whether early adolescent major depressive disorder was associated with negative health outcomes in young adulthood after controlling for depression at the time of follow-up. In addition, indicators of medical and social costs associated with these health consequences were measured.

Methods

A total of 705 adolescents participating in a longitudinal study of children varying in risk for depression due to maternal depression were assessed for a history of depression at age 15 years, depressive disorders at age 20, and a variety of health outcomes at age 20.

Results

Results showed that even after controlling for the effects of concurrent depression at age 20, early adolescent depression continued to be associated with poorer interviewer-rated health, poorer self-perceived general health, higher health care utilization and increased work impairment due to physical health, although not with limitations to physical functioning or the presence of chronic medical conditions.

Conclusions

Depression during early adolescence has consequences for health and associated costs during young adulthood. The implications of these findings for screening and treatment of adolescent depression are discussed.

Section snippets

Participants

The sample for the present analyses consisted of 705 adolescents (342 males and 363 females) involved in a study of maternal and offspring depression. The participants were selected from a study of children born between 1981 and 1984 at Mater Misericordiae Mothers Hospital in Brisbane, Queensland, the Mater-University Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) [20]. When the children were 15, the present investigators selected 900 families with diverse experiences in severity and chronicity of maternal

Data Analysis

Hierarchical ordinary least-squares and logistic regression analyses were used to investigate hypotheses regarding continuously distributed and dichotomous outcomes, respectively. Given that childhood health problems have been shown to predict the development of depression during late adolescence and early adulthood [27], all analyses controlled for chronic illness at age 5 years, as reported contemporaneously by the mother. The effects of socioeconomic status were controlled by including

Discussion

Building on prior research, this paper addressed the question of whether adolescents with a history of depressive disorders remain at risk for negative health outcomes in young adulthood even when current depression is taken into account. The analyses suggested that both objectively rated and self-rated general health during the transition to adulthood may be compromised among individuals who have experienced depressive disorders, and that these detriments to health are associated with higher

Acknowledgment

This research was supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health Ruth L. Kirschenstein National Research Service Award T32- MH14584 (to D.K.-M.). This research was supported by NIMH R01MH5223901 (to C.H. and P.B.). We are grateful to the project staff in Brisbane, coordinated by Robyne Le Brocque, Ph.D., and Sascha Hardwicke, and to MUSP collaborators Jake Najman, William Bor, M.D., Michael O’Callaghan, M.D., and Gail Williams, Ph.D., of the University of Queensland.

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