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Cited by 145Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentMental Health Treatment and AccessTreatment of Major Depression

Age of onset and course of major depressive disorder: associations with psychosocial functioning outcomes in adulthood

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Wilson, S., Hicks, B. M., Foster, K. T., McGue, M., Iacono, W. G.·2015·Psychological Medicine
DOI 10.1017/s0033291714001640PMC PMC4289461
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Abstract

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) that onsets by adolescence is associated with various deficits in psychosocial functioning. However, adolescent-onset MDD often follows a recurrent course that may drive its associated impairment. Method: To tease apart these two clinical features, we examined the relative associations of age of onset (adolescent versus adult) and course (recurrent versus single episodes) of MDD with a broad range of psychosocial functioning outcomes assessed in early adulthood. Participants comprised a large, population-based sample of male and female twins from the Minnesota Twin Family Study (MTFS;n = 1252) assessed prospectively from ages 17 to 29 years. Results: A recurrent course of MDD predicted impairment in several psychosocial domains in adulthood, regardless of whether the onset was in adolescence or adulthood. By contrast, adolescent-onset MDD showed less evidence of impairment in adulthood after accounting for recurrence. Individuals with both an adolescent onset and recurrent episodes of MDD represented a particularly severe group with pervasive psychosocial impairment in adulthood. Conclusions: The negative implications of adolescent-onset MDD for psychosocial functioning in adulthood seem to be due primarily to its frequently recurrent course, rather than its early onset,per se. The results highlight the importance of considering both age of onset and course for understanding MDD and its implications for functioning, and also in guiding targeted intervention efforts.

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  • Psychological disorders in children and adolescents often show long-term impacts on adult life.

    “Psychological disorders in these age groups often show long-term impacts on adult life as well [2,5].”

    From Effectiveness of Online and Remote Interventions for Mental Health in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2024) · cites this paper as [5]

    The Results and Discussion report long-term psychosocial impairment in adulthood for recurrent adolescent-onset major depressive disorder. The claim extends that finding to psychological disorders generally and to childhood as well as adolescence; the Discussion also says single-episode adolescent-onset depression showed little evidence of adult impairment. The supplied passages have section labels but no page numbers. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • 75% of psychiatric disorders begin before 24 years; median age of onset for anxiety is around 11-15 years; 10% of adolescents begin to experience recurrent major depression before 17 years.

    “However, 75% of psychiatric disorders begin before 24 years95.”

    From Decentering as a core component in the psychological treatment and prevention of youth anxiety and depression: a narrative review and insight report (2021) · cites this paper as [97]

    The Background passage discusses adolescent onset of major depressive disorder, and the Method > Diagnostic Assessment passage defines onset groups for that disorder. Neither gives the proportion of all psychiatric disorders beginning before age 24; searches for “75%” and the age-24 onset claim found no supporting passage. No page numbers were provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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Authors
Wilson, S., Hicks, B. M., Foster, K. T., McGue, M., & Iacono, W. G.
Affiliations
  • University of Minnesota (US)
  • University of Michigan (US)
Corresponding author
Wilson, S.
ORCID
Venue
Psychological Medicine
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2014-07-10
Volume
45
Issue
3
Pages
505-514
ISSN
  • 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-8978
DOI
10.1017/s0033291714001640
PMC
PMC4289461
OpenAlex
W2143271226
Cited by
145
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3
FWCI
4.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R01AA009367, R01AA09367, R37AA009367)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (T32MH015755)
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01 DA05147, K01DA025868, R01DA005147, R37DA005147)
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, adolescent-onset depression, age of onset, recurrence, course of depression, psychosocial functioning, early adulthood, Minnesota Twin Family Study, twins, depression severity
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Major Depressive Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Major, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Minnesota, Peer Group, Psychological Tests, Recurrence, Twins, Age of Onset, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Young Adult

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