Psychiatria pre prax 3/2017

The current view of depression in childhood and adolescence

Depressive disorder is classified among mood disorders. It also occurs in childhood and adolescence. The prevalence of the depressive disorder is approximately 0.5-2.5% in prepubertal children and 5-8% in adolescents. Children are more likely to have depressive symptoms that do not fulfill the diagnostic criteria for depressive disorders. Genetic, neuroendocrine and neurochemical biological factors, as well as psychosocial factors, including negative life events, play a major role in depressive disorders in children. The nature of the disorder is genetic predisposition or vulnerability which leads to the changes in CNS functions, and to the psychological, vegetative and endocrine disorders. Currently there are no diagnostic criteria for depressive disorders or mood disorders for children´s and adolescent´s age. Therefore, we must use the current diagnostic criteria according to the International Classification of Diseases ICD 10 which do not distinguish between childhood and adulthood. The treatment of depression in children and adolescents should consist of psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy or their combination. Treatment should reflect the severity of the depression, patient´s preferences, patient‘s developmental level, associated risk factors, and service availability.

Keywords: depressive disorder, affective disorder, adolescence