Depressive symptoms in young people: Causes, consequences, and transparent scientific reporting

Background and objective Depressive symptoms often occur at a young age. The health consequences range from impaired well-being to suicide. My colleagues and I investigated the possible causes and consequences of elevated depressive symptoms in children and adolescents and assessed the quality of research reports in depression prevention research. Methods In a cross-national study, we used self-reported cross-sectional data from university students in twelve countries collected for the Social Capital and Student Health Study (2018-2019; N= 4,228). We ran multilevel logistic regression models, with random effects for country economic development, to quantify associations between social capital (simplified Beck Depression Inventory) and depressive symptoms (Integrated Questionnaire for the Measurement of Social Capital). In a meta-epidemiological study, we searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, PsycArticles and CENTRAL for trial reports on depression prevention research published between January 2003 and August 2020. Following the screening of 4,279 trial reports, we extracted the extent to which abstracts met CONSORT guidelines from 169 eligible trial reports. In a prospective cohort study, we used longitudinal data from the BELLA study (N= 1,460 at baseline). We applied linear regression models with inverse probability weighting to estimate the causal effect of elevated depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children) at baseline, 1- and 2-year follow up on physical health-related quality of life (Short Form 36 Health Survey) at 6-year follow-up. Results In the cross-national study, we showed that students with low social capital were more likely to report elevated depressive symptoms compared to those with high social capital (cognitive social capital: adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 1.65, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.25 to 2.20; structural social capital: adjusted OR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.23 to 1.77). In the meta-epidemiological study, we found that adherence to CONSORT guidelines varied widely across the 169 trial abstracts, with particularly poor reporting of blinding (0.0%), harms (0.6%) and randomization (2.4%). In the prospective cohort study, we found that repeatedly elevated depressive symptoms during adolescence reduced physical health-related quality of life in young adulthood (adjusted beta-coefficient: -1.71, 95% CI: -3.51 to -0.04). Conclusions Our cross-national study results suggest that universities may consider strategies that aim to enhance students’ social capital in order to decrease depressive symptoms. From our meta-research perspective, editors, reviewers and authors working in the field of depression prevention research need to take effective measures that support adherence to reporting guidelines. Finally, our cohort study findings indicate that interventions known to reduce depressive symptoms in adolescents could improve physical health-related quality of life years later.