Adolescent depression and reduced cognitive performance

The economic burden of mental disorders in Canada is estimated at 51 billion dollars per year. Psychopathology in adolescents carry high economic costs in terms of loss of productivity and poorer quality of life in relation to health, rehabilitation and incarceration. In better understanding the correlation that exists between mental disorders at adolescence and cognitive performance, the research team hopes to implement an early intervention program with young people who are at risk. The sooner these vulnerable young people are provided with preventative interventions, the more we can protect them from the negative consequences of depression on neuropsychological outcomes. In light of the findings of our study entitled “Effect of depressive symptoms on the evolution of neuropsychological functions over the course of adolescence”, the researchers are highlighting the need for an in-depth examination of the neuropsychological correlates of depressive symptoms in adolescents. However, adolescence is a time of great physical and emotional changes, and important neuromaturation. Our findings suggest that depression has real, potentially long-term consequences on the child’s neuropsychological functioning. They highlight the need to increase early and preventive interventions in childhood depression. The full press release is published here.