More than 2 million U.S. teenagers have suffered a serious bout of depression in the past year, including nearly 13 percent of girls.
According to a government survey, 8.5 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 described having had a major depressive episode. But there were striking differences between boys and girls, with 12.7 percent of girls and 4.6 percent of boys affected.
Depression is the leading cause of suicide, which is itself the third-leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds in the United States.