Prevalence and influence factors of depression among 10-15 years old children in China

Objective To examine the prevalence of depression among children aged 10-15 years in China and to provide evidences for improving child health care strategies.Methods From the dataset of Chinese Family Panel Study in 2010, we selected 2257 children of 10-15 years old with multi-stage stratified sampling and surveyed them using Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale(CES-D).Results The average score of depression symptoms was 27.17 among the children.The results of univariate analysis indicated that age, maternal education, quarrelling with parent during previous one month, absence from school due to illness, and getting accommodation in school were influencing factors of depression among the children(all P<0.05).The results of mutivariate analysis showed that low maternal education(odds ratioOR=11.761, 95% confidence interval95% CI:2.052-67.418), not living with father(OR=1.224, 95% CI:1.020-1.468), and quarrelling between parents(OR=1.017, 95% CI:1.004-1.030) were risk factors(all P<0.05) and no absence from school due to illness in the previous one month(OR=0.517, 95% CI:0.337-0.793) was a protective factor of depression in the children(P<0.05).Conclusion We should pay more attentions to the children with mothers having low education, not living with their fathers, having parents of quarrelling with each other, and with physical conditions.