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Sunday 22 December 2024

Peer Reviewed

Psychological medicine

When should I worry about the sad or anxious adolescent patient?

Philip Hazell

Recent articles on:
Adolescent mental health

Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents

Body dysmorphia in boys and young men

Long-term opioid use: assessment of mental health issues

‘headspace’ and GPs – working together to improve young people’s lives

Self-harm. Intervening early can save a life

Recent articles on:
Depression

What to do when SSRI and SNRI antidepressants don’t work – a guide for GPs

The impact of depression on diabetes – an inextricable relationship

The impact of depression on diabetes: an inextricable relationship

Depression: recognising the signs in older people and in dementia

Managing cardiac-related mental health problems: challenges and solutions

Abstract

Each year about 5% of adolescents will experience a clinically significant level of depression, and a larger percentage will experience problems of anxiety. Here are some useful tips on assessing and managing young patients with these conditions.

Key Points

Remember

Rates of anxiety remain relatively constant throughout childhood and adolescence, but there is a notable increase in depression in the mid-teens. In addition, during the teen years depression becomes more common in girls than boys, suggesting that neurobiological changes during this period may be linked to the causes of the disorder.
Severe and incapacitating depression is relatively rare in adolescents. Mild to moderate depression is more common, typically has a gradual onset and may persist for months or years (see the box on this page for definitions of severity).