Computer Test on the Way to Detect Teen Depression Early

Depression is one of the common and serious mental health problems faced by children, mainly adolescents around the world. Treating depression early is crucial as  delayed treatment worsens the situation and leads to self-destructive behavior.

To help parents in identifying their children's mental condition and providing an early intervention, a team of researchers has developed a computer test that gives an accurate diagnosis of the condition, before symptoms start appearing. Depression is an outcome of chemical changes in the brain caused by stress or hormonal changes. According to federal reports, one out of every eight teens suffers from depression. A team of researchers, including Barbara Sahakian, a professor of clinical neuropsychology at Britain's Cambridge University and Ian Goodyer, a child and adolescent psychiatrist  worked together to develop the new test.

Details of the study, presented at a briefing in London recently, have been published in the PLOS ONE journal.

"When you think that the burden of mental illness is more than cancer, more than heart disease - so why on earth don't we try to do something more proactive," Sahakian told Reuters. "Why are we not doing anything to pick it up early? To me it's a no-brainer."

The computer test gives an accurate idea about a teen's mental condition by deriving positive, negative or neutral attitude  through  terms like" joyful," failure" and "range."

For the study, researchers subjected adolescents aged between 15 and 18, to genetic testing.  They found teens exposed to parental conflicts at an early age, before six years, having variations in a gene associated with brain chemical serotonin and experiencing difficulty in expressing their emotions.

"The evidence is that both our genes and our early childhood experiences contribute," Goodyer told Reuters. "Before there are any clinical symptoms of depression or anxiety, this test reveals a deficient ability to ... perceive emotion processes ... which may lead to mental illnesses."

The test comes at a time when more and more U.S. teens were found experiencing depression in the recent past. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in August found a drastic increase in children aged between 12 and 17 experiencing a major depressive episode (MDE) in the recent past. During a major depressive episode, a person experiences severe, highly persistent depression and a loss of interest in everyday activities, often followed by problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration and self-image.