14 DAY TRIAL // Though episodes of major depression affect a relatively large number of teenagers in the United States, less than a third of them seek treatment for their condition. Official statistics estimate that 8 percent of all teens in the country experienced at least once such episode in the past year alone.
These conclusions belong to a new government report, which defines a major depressive episode as a bout lasting two weeks or more, during which time patients go on to experience numerous mental and physical problems.
Some of these include trouble eating, sleeping or concentrating, less of interest and pleasure in once-enjoyable activities, loss of energy, a bad mental image and perception of one's self, and a depressed moon to top it all off.
The new research was carried out by experts with the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), who were lead by Administrator Pamela S. Hyde. She expanded on some of the conclusions in a statement released recently.
“Depression among adolescents is a serious public health problem that is all too often overlooked and the consequences can be devastating,” the official explained, quoted by LiveScience.
“If depression among young people is identified and treated early we can turn a life around and reduce the impact of mental illness and substance abuse on America’s communities,” she went on to say.
The research was carried out on about 22,626 teens around the country, all of whom were aged between 12 and 17. Experts established that those who had experienced at least one major depressive episode were 300 percent more likely than their healthy peers to exhibit substance abuse-related disorders.
Interestingly, it was also established that girls tend to be depressed twice as often as boys, whereas only 3.6 percent of young adults (aged 12 or 13) tended to be depressed. In older teens, aged 16 to 17, the rate umped to 10.4 percent.
A broader analysis reveals that only 35 percent of all depressed teens went for a medical consult. Of these, only 6.7 percent received any form of medication. Nationwide, about half of depressed teens were not prescribed any form of therapy or medication.
The SAMHSA report shows that authorities should get more involved in this issue. The Department of Health should try to develop public awareness campaigns that encourage at-risk teens to visit the doctor's office when exhibiting symptoms that may be related to a major depression episode.