SAMHSA study shows most adolescents with depression don't receive treatment
May 1, 2011 by Dr. Margolis
A new national report released in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month and Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day indicates that 8.1 percent of America’s adolescents aged 12 to 17 (2 million youth) experienced at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year. The report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) also shows that only 34.7 percent of these adolescents suffering from major depressive episodes received treatment during this period.
An MDE is defined as a period of two weeks or longer during which there is either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure and at least four other symptoms that reflect a change in functioning, including problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration, and self-image.
“Depression among adolescents is a serious public health problem that is all too often overlooked and the consequences can be devastating,” said SAMHSA Administrator, Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. “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.”
One of the study’s most notable findings was that adolescents who had suffered from an MDE in the past year were more than three times as likely as those without a past year MDE to have had a substance use disorder in the past year (18.9 percent versus 6 percent).
The study also found significant differences in the rates of past year MDE experiences among subgroups of adolescents. For example, adolescent females were twice as likely as their male counterparts to have experienced a past year MDE (11.7 percent versus 4.7 percent). Rates of past year MDE experience also rose as adolescents grew older with rates increasing from 3.6 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 10.4 percent of adolescents aged 15.
Among the nearly 700,000 adolescents who suffered from MDE and received treatment, more than half (58.5 percent) saw or met with a medical doctor or other health professional only — without being prescribed medication. The next largest segment of adolescents receiving treatment — 34.7 percent — met with a medical doctor or other heath professional and were also prescribed medication. The remaining 6.7 percent receiving treatment used prescription medication only.
Tagged: adolescents depression