title: Prevalence and comorbidities of adolescent depression in Germany. An analysis of Health Insurance Data.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Data on the prevalence of depressive disorders in adolescents are scarce. We aimed to examine the administrative prevalence of depressive disorders and related comorbidities in German adolescents. A second objective of was to assess potential regional (East vs. West Germany) differences in depression prevalence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data of a statutory health insurance company were analysed and outpatients from 12 to 18 years of age with diagnosed depression during a one-year-period (2009) were identified.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The population at risk consisted of 140,563 adolescents. Of these, 4,295 (41.2% male; mean age: 15.5 years) had a diagnosis of depression. This equates to a prevalence of 3.1% (females: 3.7%, males: 2.5%). There were no significant differences between East and West Germany. Of all adolescents with depression, 62.5% had at least one comorbid psychiatric diagnosis, with anxiety and emotional disorders (23.7%), somatoform disorders (16.8%), hyperkinetic disorders (16.2%) and posttraumatic stress disorder (10.0%) being most frequently diagnosed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The depression prevalence in this sample was lower than that in studies of clinical samples. There was a marked prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities, especially of internalizing disorders. In adolescents, the risk of depression seems to be comparable in both East and West Germany.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Social Policy Research, University of Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: Falk
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Petermann
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Glaeske
authors.forename: Christian J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Bachmann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012922:Social Change; D012931:Social Environment; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology