Ongoing (II): Recruitment and data collection ongoing
Major depression (MD) is a severe mental disorder often beginning in adolescence. The development of MD is caused by an interplay of environmental factors and a genetic predisposition. The genetic predisposition moderates the impact of environmental factors. However, life events and epigenetic changes can also impact on the vulnerability for developing depression. So far, there are no longitudinal studies examining epigenetic changes at a constant interval of several years after the illness. Such an approach would allow to investigate whether epigenetic changes are reversible. This project is a long-term follow-up of our study on genetics of youth depression ("Molecular genetics of affective disorders in childhood and adolescence"). Formerly depressed children and adolescents are invited to a catamnesis appointment 5 years after the participation in the genetics study. In the current project, clinical (e.g. comorbidities, severity of the first depressive episode), demographic factors (e.g. sex, socioeconomic status), (epi-) genetic factors and life events (e.g. traumatic life events, stressors) are examined in regards to their influence on the course of depression in childhood and adolescence. Outcome variables are for example a recurrent MD diagnosis, time until the first relapse, the severity of further depressive episodes, the amount of time without depressive symptoms, quality of life and comorbidity. Next to the research question on influence factors on the course, epigenetic changes are assessed 5 years after the first study participation.