Teenagers who have minor depression are at a higher risk of mental health problems later in life, a study says.
Psychiatrists spoke to 750 14 to 16-year-olds who were then assessed again as adults. Anxiety, severe depression and eating disorders were all far more common in 20 and 30-year-olds who had had minor depression as adolescents.
Eight percent of the study participants had minor depression as teenagers. By the time they got to their 20’s and 30’s, their risk of them having major depression was four times higher. There was also a two-and-a-half times increased risk of agoraphobia, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder, and a threefold risk of anorexia or bulimia.