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Two-Thirds of Adolescents With Depression Did Not Receive Treatment

A new national report indicates that 8.1% of America’s adolescents aged 12 to 17 (2 million youths) 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% of these adolescents suffering from MDEs 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,” says SAMHSA Administrator, Pamela S. Hyde, JD. “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% vs. 6%).

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% vs. 4.7%). Rates of past year MDE experience also rose as adolescents grew older, with rates increasing from 3.6% of adolescents aged 12 to 10.4% of adolescents aged 15. 

Among the nearly 700,000 adolescents who suffered from MDE and received treatment, 58.5% 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%, met with a medical doctor or other heath professional and were also prescribed medication. The remaining 6.7% receiving treatment used prescription medication only.

— Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration