Current comorbidity among consecutive adolescent psychiatric outpatients with DSM-IV mood disorders.
OBJECTIVE
To compare selected characteristics (age, sex, age of onset for depression, impairment, severity of depression, somatic comorbidity, and treatment status) of adolescents with currently comorbid and non-comorbid depression.


METHODS
A sample of 218 consecutive adolescent (13-19 years) psychiatric outpatients with depressive disorders, and 200 age- and sex-matched school-attending controls were interviewed for DSM-IV Axis I and Axis II diagnoses.


RESULTS
Current comorbidity, most commonly with anxiety disorders, was equally frequent (>70%) in outpatients and depressed controls. Younger age (OR 0.20; 95% CI 0.08, 0.51) and male gender (OR 0.02; 95% CI 0.09, 0.55) were associated with concurrent disruptive disorders. Current comorbidity with substance use disorders (SUD) was independent of age (OR 1.13; 95% CI 0.51, 2.49) and sex (OR 0.51; 95% CI 0.22, 1.17). Personality disorders associated with older age (OR 2.06; 95% CI 1.10, 3.86). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, impairment (GAF <or=60) was associated with current comorbidity (OR 3.13; 95% CI 1.53, 6.45), while severity of depression and lifetime age of onset for depression were not.


CONCLUSIONS
Adolescent depression presents with age- and sex-dependent patterns of multiple co-occurring problem areas. While many clinical characteristics of adolescent depression are not affected by comorbidity, comorbidity associates with increased impairment.
Karlsson
Linnea
L
The National Public Health Institute, Dept. of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, , Helsinki, Finland. linnea.karlsson@utu.fi
Pelkonen
Mirjami
M
Ruuttu
Titta
T
Kiviruusu
Olli
O
Heilä
Hannele
H
Holi
Matti
M
Kettunen
Kirsi
K
Tuisku
Virpi
V
Tuulio-Henriksson
Annamari
A
Törrönen
Johanna
J
Marttunen
Mauri
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors