In a groundbreaking study, British researchers have isolated biomarkers that provide a clear indication of susceptibility to depression in teenage boys. Commissioned by the Wellcome Trust, researchers tested a total of 1858 teenagers for the stress hormone, cortisol, and evaluated reported symptoms of depression. The study, which was conducted over three years, also suggests a clear disparity between the onset of depression in teenage boys and teenage girls, with boys accounting for some 81 percent of suicides between the ages of 10 and 24.
The leader of the study, Professor Ian Goodyer of the University of Cambridge's Department of Psychiatry, noted that adolescent boys with the tell-tale symptoms were approximately fourteen times more likely to develop clinical depression than those who didn't present such symptoms. Unlike their male counterparts, however, girls with comparable indicators were found to be just four times more likely to develop depression than their symptom- free cohort. Of the study, Goodyer said, "We now have a very real way of identifying those teenage boys most likely to develop clinical depression. This will help us strategically target preventions and interventions at these individuals and hopefully help reduce their risk of serious episodes of depression and their consequences in adult life."
Cortisol levels were measured via saliva tests, with the newly developed and non- invasive method offering health practitioners a quantifiable means of gauging levels of mental illness. A co-author of the study, Joe Herbert, also of the University of Cambridge, likened the test to similar methods that identify bodily symptoms, such as those conducted for heart disease and diabetes. "You don't have to rely simply on what the patient tells you, but what you can measure inside the patient," Herbert told The Associated Press. Indeed, the perception of mental illness has changed dramatically over several years, with the disease now recognized as one that requires the same level of treatment and support as physical illnesses.
It's thought that susceptible teens, if identified prior to depression developing, would benefit from talk- based therapies and 'brain fitness' exercises to lessen or evade depressive symptoms altogether. The preventative measures wouldn't simply be a boon to likely sufferers, but indeed to society at large - with mental illness treatments and facilities proving to be a financial drain on several national economies. In Europe, depression and its ilk typically runs at around $150 billion per year. Further, in U.S. workplaces alone, depression-related absenteeism and decreased productivity costs employers in excess of $34 billion annually.
Scientists are continuing to search for additional conclusive indicators to amplify efforts towards easing the strain of depression. News of the Cambridge study has been welcomed by researchers, who believe that the newly- discovered biomarkers will likely provide the foundation for similar breakthroughs in the future, particularly for identifying similar risk factors in women. The Wellcome Trust's John Williams, head of neuroscience and mental health, was particularly effusive about the development. "Progress in identifying biological markers for depression has been frustratingly slow, but now we finally have a biomarker for clinical depression," he said. "The approach taken by Professor Goodyer's team may yet yield further biomarkers. It also gives tantalizing clues about the gender differences in the causes and onset of depression."
The study was published in the online journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
