Frequency, comorbidity, and psychosocial impairment of depressive disorders in adolescents

The frequency, comorbidity, and psychosocial impairment of depressive disor ders among adolescents was estimated from a survey of 1,035 students aged 1 2 to 17 years. The adolescents were randomly selected from 36 schools in th e province of Bremen, Germany. Depressive disorders and other psychiatric d isorders were coded based on DSM-IV criteria using the computerized Munich version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. A high proport ion of our adolescents met the lifetime criteria for depressive disorders a ccording to DSM-IV criteria, with a rate of 17.9%. Depressive disorders wer e significantly higher in females than in males. The rates for all of the d isorders increased with age, with the greatest increase occurring mostly be tween the ages of 14 and 15; such increase was more prominent in females th an in males. Our results imply the importance of identifying depressive dis orders in adolescence and the need for preventive and intervention strategi es.