Yin Chunyu, Xu Mengting, Zong Zhiyuan
Department of Neonatal Medical Center, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
School of Basic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2025 May 6;16:1574574. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1574574. eCollection 2025.
Depression is a psychological condition in adolescents caused by various factors. Many serious consequences can be associated with depression, such as irritability, emotional instability, and suicide. Meanwhile, the incidence of depression and suicide among adolescents was also affected during the pandemic of COVID-19 in 2019. This phenomenon of adolescent depression should be drawn extensive concern by the community, which affects their physical and mental health.
This review describes the epidemiology, high-risk factors, and treatment of adolescent depression. The onset of depression is probably attributable to preterm birth, growth environment, genetic. We also identify that the COVID-19 pandemic, initiated in late 2019,affects adolescent mental health. Antidepressants and psychotherapy are conventional treatments for depressive disorders. However, it is controversial whether antidepressants are as effective and safer as psychotherapy, and a combination of the two could provide more benefit to this population than antidepressants alone. We also summarize some antidepressants developed for novel targets. Improving the efficacy and safety of treatment to reduce the suicide rate among adolescents is the primary goal of clinical research. Existing treatment modalities and drugs are not sufficient to achieve clinical demands, so that new therapeutic targets will be promising for such patients.
A variety of factors can contribute to depression in adolescents. Adolescent depression should be mainly treated with non-pharmacological. A combination of guideline-recommended antidepressants should be used if uncontrolled with non-pharmacological, but adverse drug reactions and suicidal ideation should be closely monitored.
抑郁症是青少年中由多种因素引起的一种心理状况。抑郁症可能会引发许多严重后果，如易怒、情绪不稳定和自杀。同时，2019年新冠疫情大流行期间，青少年抑郁症和自杀的发生率也受到了影响。青少年抑郁症这一现象应引起社会的广泛关注，因为它会影响青少年的身心健康。
本综述描述了青少年抑郁症的流行病学、高危因素及治疗方法。抑郁症的发病可能归因于早产、生长环境、遗传因素。我们还发现，始于2019年末的新冠疫情大流行影响了青少年的心理健康。抗抑郁药和心理治疗是治疗抑郁症的传统方法。然而，抗抑郁药是否与心理治疗一样有效且更安全，以及两者联合使用是否比单独使用抗抑郁药能为这一人群带来更多益处，仍存在争议。我们还总结了一些针对新靶点研发的抗抑郁药。提高治疗的有效性和安全性以降低青少年自杀率是临床研究的主要目标。现有的治疗方式和药物不足以满足临床需求，因此新的治疗靶点对这类患者来说很有前景。
多种因素可导致青少年抑郁症。青少年抑郁症应以非药物治疗为主。如果非药物治疗无法控制病情，则应联合使用指南推荐的抗抑郁药，但应密切监测药物不良反应和自杀意念。
