Ongoing (II): Recruitment and data collection ongoing
Major depression (MD) is a severe mental disorder often beginning in adolescence. The illness is one of the most prevalent disorders in this age group and has a high recurrence rate. MD is caused by a complex interplay between biological vulnerability, negative life events and environmental stressors. So far, it has not been thoroughly examined in children and adolescents which factors contribute to the fact that some people experience only one depressive episode and others develop several depressive episodes in their lifetime. 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. In the current project, children and adolescents with a current first episode of MD or children and adolescents who currently started their first treatment of MD are included in the project. For a period of 5 years participants are invited annually to take part in the study. 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 annually over a period of 5 years.