Prevalence of major depressive disorder in children and adolescents in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
Background Prevalence figures of major depressive disorder (MDD) in children and adolescents across various epidemiological studies have been inconclusive. This is a systematic review and meta-analysis of the pooled prevalence of MDD and its associated factors in children and adolescents in China.Method A systematic review and literature search were conducted covering PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE and Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Internet, WANFANG Data and SinoMed) to identify studies reporting the prevalence of MDD in children and adolescents in China. The pooled prevalence estimates and associated factors were examined using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis program, Version 2.Results Fourteen studies involving 82,592 subjects were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled point prevalence of MDD in Chinese children and adolescents was 1.3% (95% CI: 0.8%-2.0%). Subgroup and meta-regression analyses revealed that diagnostic criteria, age, year of survey and study quality were significantly associated with the prevalence of MDD.Conclusions The point prevalence of MDD in children and adolescents in China is similar to worldwide figures. Further national epidemiological studies with the view of developing effective intervention strategies should be considered.
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Chinese children and adolescents have a high prevalence of depressive symptoms or major depressive disorders.
“has a high prevalence of depressive symptoms or major depressive disorders30–32”
From Physical activity and health in Chinese children and adolescents: expert consensus statement (2020) (2020) · cites this paper as [32]
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Physical activity and health in Chinese children and adolescents: expert consensus statement (2020)
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- Authors
- Xu, D.-D., Rao, W.-W., Cao, X.-L., Wen, S.-Y., Che, W.-I., Ng, C. H., Ungvari, G. S., Du, Y., Zhang, L., & Xiang, Y.-T.
- Affiliations
- Harbin University (CN)
- University of Macau (MO)
- Shenzhen KangNing Hospital (CN)
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Capital Medical University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Zhang, Ling
- Xiang, Yu-Tao
- Venue
- Journal of Affective Disorders
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-12
- Volume
- 241
- Pages
- 592-598
- ISSN
- 0165-0327 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2887880034
- Cited by
- 74
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 4
- FWCI
- 1.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Affective Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Universidade de Macau (MYRG2016-00005-FHS, MYRG2015-00230-FHS)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
- Keywords
- major depressive disorder, childhood depression, adolescent depression, prevalence, China, risk factors, diagnostic criteria, age differences, study quality
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Child, China, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Prevalence, Epidemiologic Studies, Databases, Factual, Qualitative Research, Asian People
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