Cited by 165Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentMental Health Treatment and AccessMaternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum

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Prevalence of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents in China: A meta-analysis of observational studies

Rao, Wen-Wang, Xu, Dan-Dan, Cao, Xiao-Lan, Wen, Si-Ying, Che, Weng-Ian, Ng, Chee H., Ungvari, Gabor S., He, Fan, Xiang, Yu-Tao·2019·Psychiatry Research

DOI 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.133

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Abstract

Depressive symptoms are common in children and adolescents. The prevalence of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents in China vary significantly across studies. A meta-analysis of the prevalence of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents in China was conducted. Literature search was performed in both English (PubMed, PsycINFO and EMBASE) and Chinese (China National Knowledge Internet, WANFANG Data and SinoMed) databases. Random-effects model was used to synthesize the prevalence of depressive symptoms. Eighteen studies covering 29,626 participants were identified and analyzed. All these studies used the same measurement to identify depressive symptoms. The reported point prevalence of depressive symptoms ranged between 4% and 41% in the studies; the pooled prevalence of depressive symptoms was 19.85% (95% confidence interval: 14.75%-24.96%). In the subgroup analyses the prevalence of depressive symptoms was significantly associated with the region where the study was conducted: 17.8% in eastern, 23.7% in central, 22.7% in western, and 14.5% in northeast regions of China (P < 0.001). Considering the adverse impact of depressive symptoms on health outcomes, regular screening and effective interventions should be implemented in this population.

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Bao, Q., Peng, X., & QIAN, Y. (2026) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-026-10103-x
“In China, the pooled prevalence of depressive symptoms among adolescents has reached 19.85% (Rao et al., 2019 ).”
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Li, X., & Zhong, L. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1881351
“Meta-analyses also indicate high detection rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and sleep disorders across educational stages (Rao et al., 2019).”
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Wang, J., Yang, L., Guo, R., Liu, D., & Li, M. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1917988
“In the Chinese context, epidemiological studies have reported prevalence rates among Chinese adolescents ranging from 19.85% to 22.2% (6, 7), and national trends have indicated both a steady annual increase and an increasingly early age of onset.”
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Authors: Rao, W.-W., Xu, D.-D., Cao, X.-L., Wen, S.-Y., Che, W.-I., Ng, C. H., Ungvari, G. S., He, F., & Xiang, Y.-T.
Affiliations: University of Macau (MO)
Harbin University (CN)
Shenzhen KangNing Hospital (CN)
Karolinska Institutet (SE)
The University of Melbourne (AU)
The University of Western Australia (AU)
Capital Medical University (CN)
Corresponding author: He, Fan
Xiang, Yu-Tao
ORCID: Rao, Wen-Wang
Ng, Chee H.
Ungvari, Gabor S.
He, Fan
Xiang, Yu-Tao
Venue: Psychiatry Research
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 2019-02
Volume: 272
Pages: 790-796
ISSN: 0165-1781 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.133
OpenAlex: W2906196871
Cited by: 165
References: 34
Citations by year: 2026: 24 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 4
FWCI: 1.39
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations: Psychiatry Research (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion)
Funders: niversity of Macau (MYRG2015-00230-FHS, MYRG2016-00005-FHS)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Keywords: depressive symptoms, childhood depression, adolescent depression, prevalence, China, regional variation, depression screening, mental health
MeSH terms: Adolescent, Child, China, Depression, Female, Humans, Male, Mass Screening, Prevalence, Databases, Factual, Observational Studies as Topic, Neurodevelopmental Disorders

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Prevalence of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents in China: A meta-analysis of observational studies

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