Teenagers who have minor¹ depression are at a higher risk of mental health problems later in life, a study says.

一线调查称，有轻度抑郁症的青少年在以后的生活中患心理健康问题的危险很大。

Specialist services are needed for teenagers, say charities

Psychiatrists² at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute spoke³ to 750 people.

Anxiety, severe depression and eating disorders⁵ were all far more common in 20 and 30-year-olds who had had minor depression as adolescents, they found.

The British Journal of Psychiatry⁶ report said further research was needed to unpick the reasons for the link.

UK charities said specialist services for young people were vital.

The study was based on interviews with 750 14 to 16-year-olds who were then assessed again as adults.

It found that 8% of participants had minor depression as teenagers.

By the time they got to their 20s and 30s, the risk of them having major depression was four times higher than those who did not have signs of minor depression at the first interview.

There was a two-and-a-half times increased risk of agoraphobia（广场恐怖症）, anxiety and obsessive⁷（强迫性的，分神的） compulsive disorder⁴ and a threefold（三倍的） risk of anorexia⁸（厌食症） or bulimia（易饿病）.

Early help

The researchers defined minor depression as milder than clinical depression but lasting⁹ at least two weeks and including symptoms such as feeling down, losing interest in activities, sleeping problems and poor concentration.

Study leader Dr Jeffrey Johnson said more research was needed to see if depression problems in teenagers were an early phase of major depressive disorder or if minor depression earlier in life contributed to the development of more serious problems later on.

Lucie Russell, director of campaigns at Young Minds, said the study highlighted the importance of giving teenagers the right support when problems first arise.

"Ensuring teachers, social workers and the rest of the children's workforce¹⁰ have the appropriate skills and knowledge to identify when a child is showing signs of depression will enable young people to get help early before problems escalate¹¹（扩大，升高） to crisis point."

But she added that access to specialist services was a problem with some parts of the country having year-long waiting lists.