ABSTRACT
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 53 Overview of the Discipline of Epidemiology ................................................... 54
Defi nition and Goals...................................................................................... 54 Application of Epidemiology to Psychiatry ................................................. 55
Epidemiology of Mood Disorders in Adults ..................................................... 55 Magnitude of Depression in Adolescents ......................................................... 55
Prevalence Estimates of Depressive Disorders ............................................ 56 Age and Sex Patterns of Prevalence ............................................................. 60 Social Class, Race, Ethnicity, Culture .......................................................... 61
Impact of Mental Disorders ............................................................................... 61 Help Seeking and Treatment ............................................................................. 66 Summary and Future Research ........................................................................ 67 References .......................................................................................................... 67
There has been a substantial increase in public awareness of the high prevalence and serious consequences of depression in youth, par-ticularly suicide. Black box warnings, direct consumer marketing of antidepressant medications, reports that depression in youth has reached epidemic proportion, and a fortyfold increase in the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children have led to widespread debate about appropriate defi nitions and treatments of depression in children and adolescents. These controversies have highlighted the lack of information from population-based samples of youth that could address some of these issues. This chapter provides (1) background on the defi nition, methods, and goals of epidemiology; (2) a comprehensive review of population-based studies of the prevalence of depression in adolescents; (3) the population impact of depression in youth; and (4) a summary of service patterns for adolescent depression in the community.
