Prevalence and correlation of early life stress and depression among adolescents in Wuhan city

Objective To examine the prevalence of depression and early life stress and the relationship between the two disorders among adolescents in Wuhan city,Hubei province.Methods By using cluster random sampling,2 950 students were recruited from 2 primary schools,2 junior and 2 senior high schools in Wuhan city and surveyed with a self-designed general information questionnaire,Children's Depression Inventory,and Personal Report of Childhood Abuse in 2011.Results Among the adolescents,the prevalence rate of depression was 14.3%;there were no gender and between grade differences in the prevalence rate,but there were differences in the prevalence rate among the adolescents with different parental education and familial depression history.The prevalence rate of early life stress for the adolescents was 51.9% and the prevalence rate was significantly higher in the male students (56.6%)than in the female students (46.1%)(χ²=31.416,P<0.01).The male adolescents reported significantly higher rates of physical,emotional,and sexual abuse (64.4%,57.6%,and 72.3%) than the female adolescents (35.7%,42.4%,and 27.7%)(χ²=42.493,6.430,and 10.537;all P<0.05).The students with depression had a significantly higher detection rate of early life stress (83.0%) than the students without depression (63.4%)(χ²=54.46,P<0.01; odds ratio OR=2.277,95% confidence interval 95%CI:1.822-2.845).Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that after demographic adjustment,the top 4 stronger impact factors for depression among the adolescents were primary school education of the father (OR=2.429,95%CI:1.384-4.265),neglect (OR=1.911,95%CI:1.468-2.488),emotional abuse (OR=1.742,95%CI:1.325-2.291),and physical abuse (OR=1.433,95%CI=1.117-1.839).Conclusion Early life stress is closely associated with depression and physical abuse,emotional abuse,and neglect are risk factors for depression among adolescents.