The prevalence of depressive disorders in school students aged 6-16 years in Beijing / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the prevalence of depressive disorders among school students aged 6-16 years in Beijing, the effect of age and gender on the prevalence, and the behavioral and emotional profiles of identified students with depressive disorders.Methods:The prevalence of depressive disorders in primary and secondary school students aged 6-16 years in Beijing from January 2012 to December 2014 was examined by a multistage stratified random sampling method.In the first stage, the Achenbach′s Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used to identify high-risk children and adolescents.In the second stage, the high-risk group was further screened by Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI-KID), and then two psychiatrists made the final diagnosis according to the diagnostic criteria of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-Ⅳ). This study was a prospective epidemiological investigation.The effect of age and gender on the disease prevalence was analyzed by Chi- square test. Results:About 2.29% (234/10 215 cases) of the school students aged 6-16 years in Beijing had depressive disorders.The incidence of depressive disorders was 1.80% (106/5 866 cases) in boys and 2.94% (128/4 349 cases) in girls.There is an age effect on the prevalence of depression.As the age increases, the morbidity of depressive disorders increases.The age of 12 years was a critical turning point, and the peak incidence was reached at around the age of 15 years.The emotional and behavioral problems of patients with depressive disorders mainly include social problems, withdrawal depressed, anxiety and depressed, somatic complaints, and aggressive behavior.Conclusions:The prevalence of depressive disorders among school students aged 6-16 years in Beijing is 2.29%.Depressive disorders occur in primary and middle school students of all ages.More attention should be paid to the mood of students before and after the entrance exams for junior high school and senior middle school, especially the girls′ mood.In the process of screening, diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorders, the atypical symptoms of depression need to be paid more attention.