Incidence of major depressive disorder and dysthymia in young adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
An epidemiological study conducted between 1987 and 1989 in a single school district in the southeastern United States investigated the incidence, transition probabilities, and risk factors for major depressive disorder (MDD) and dysthymia in adolescents aged 11 to 16 years.


METHODS
Diagnoses were based on the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children, which was administered to 247 mother-adolescent pairs at 12-month intervals.


RESULTS
One-year MDD and dysthymia incidences were 3.3% (n = 11) and 3.4% (n = 9), respectively. Transition probabilities demonstrated movement from disorder to no disorder over time. Family cohesion (odds ratio = 0.95) was the only significant predictor of incident MDD. No factors were significant for dysthymia. While baseline MDD was a significant risk factor for depression at follow-up, 80% of subjects with baseline MDD did not meet the criteria for diagnosis at follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest perceived family support or cohesion may be more important to adolescent mental health than family structure.
Garrison
C Z
CZ
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistic, University of South Carolina, Columbia 29208, USA.
Waller
J L
JL
Cuffe
S P
SP
McKeown
R E
RE
Addy
C L
CL
Jackson
K L
KL
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012494:Sampling Studies; D015144:Southeastern United States / Q000453:epidemiology