TOPLINE:

Past-year major depressive episodes (MDEs) among US adolescents aged 12-17 years had a relative reduction of 38.5% from 2021 to 2024, a new study showed. However, disparities persisted. Girls had more than threefold higher odds of an MDE than boys, and older teens had higher odds than younger peers.

METHODOLOGY:

• Pooled cross-sectional data from the 2021-2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and included nearly 44,000 adolescents aged 12-17 years.
• The diagnosis of an MDE in the past year was assessed and the analysis was adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and past-year use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana.

TAKEAWAY:

• The prevalence of a past-year MDE decreased from 20.5% in 2021 to 14.8% in 2024 (relative reduction, 38.5%). Decreasing odds of an MDE occurred over time, with adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of 1.00 in 2021, 0.92 in 2022, 0.82 in 2023, and 0.65 in 2024.
• MDEs were significantly higher in girls than in boys (aOR, 3.35; P < .001) and in adolescents aged 16-17 years than in those aged 12-13 years (aOR, 1.62; P < .001).
• Compared with non-Hispanic White adolescents, non-Hispanic Black/African American (aOR, 0.66; P < .001), non-Hispanic Asian (aOR, 0.78; P < .01), and non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (aOR, 0.29; P < .001) adolescents had lower odds of an MDE in the past year, whereas non-Hispanic multiracial adolescents had higher odds (aOR, 1.23; P < .05).
• MDEs were significantly more common among adolescents who used alcohol or marijuana (aORs, 1.72 and 1.96, respectively; P < .001 for both), but there was no significant difference between those who used tobacco and those who didn’t.

IN PRACTICE:

The significant overall reductions in teen MDE from 2021-2024 indicated “partial recovery following pandemic-related increases,” the investigators wrote.

However, “ongoing disparities based on sex, age, race/ethnicity, and substance use highlight the continued need for targeted adolescent mental health prevention and early intervention efforts,” they added.

SOURCE:

The study was led by R. Andrew Yockey, PhD, School of Applied Sciences, University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi. It was published online on March 25 in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

LIMITATIONS:

Use of self-reported data led to potential recall or social desirability bias. MDE was evaluated only as a past-year diagnosis, and current clinically significant but subthreshold depressive symptoms may have been missed. Additionally, shifts in reporting, help-seeking behaviors, or sample composition may have influenced the observed trends.

DISCLOSURES:

Funding information for the study was not provided. The investigators reported having no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.