BMJ  2004;329:1394-1396 (11 December), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7479.1394

Education and debate

Rethinking childhood depression

¹ Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust, South Rauceby, Sleaford, Lincolnshire NG34 8QA stimimi@talk21.com

Unhappiness among children seems to be rising, but labelling it as depression and prescribing antidepressants is ineffective and possibly harmful. It is time to focus on the underlying reasons

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Introduction

Increasing numbers of children are being treated for depression. At the end of 2003, over 50 000 children were prescribed antidepressants, and over 170 000 prescriptions a year for antidepressants were issued to people under 18 years old in the United Kingdom.¹ Recent evidence has suggested that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are largely ineffective and may be dangerous in this age group.^{2 3} Older antidepressants have already been shown to have no beneficial effect in people under 18.⁴ So how did we get into this mess? Undoubtedly part of the problem is with pharmaceutical industry tactics, designed to enable greater consumption of their products.³ However, the gateway diagnosis to prescribing antidepressants to under 18s is that of childhood depression. In this article I discuss the notion of childhood depression and suggest that the medicalisation of children's unhappiness is hindering our ability to respond effectively to this problem.

Meaning of childhood

Western society's ideas about . . . [Full text of this article]

-->

Childhood depression

How good is the scientific evidence?

Utility of childhood depression in treatment decisions

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    StumbleUpon    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Articles

Should young people be given antidepressants? No

Sami Timimi
BMJ 2007 335: 751. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Rethinking childhood depression: Does childhood depression exist?

D B Double
BMJ 2005 330: 418. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Rethinking childhood depression: Consider what it means to be a child these days

Kate Walker
BMJ 2005 330: 418. [Extract] [Full Text]

Rethinking childhood depression: Treatment options may be limited by resources

Christopher I Pelton
BMJ 2005 330: 418. [Extract] [Full Text]

Rethinking childhood depression: Summary of responses

Birte Twisselmann
BMJ 2005 330: 418-419. [Extract] [Full Text]

Think again about childhood depression
BMJ 2004 329: 0. [Full Text]

abandoning the diagnosis will endanger severely depressed children

Quentin Spender
BMJ 2004 329: 1396. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

a controversy too far?

Paul Wilkinson
BMJ 2004 329: 1397. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Shearer, M C, Bermingham, S L (2008). The ethics of paediatric anti-depressant use: erring on the side of caution. J. Med. Ethics 34: 710-714 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Tsapakis*, E. M., Soldani*, F., Tondo, L., Baldessarini, R. J. (2008). Efficacy of antidepressants in juvenile depression: meta-analysis. Br. J. Psychiatry 193: 10-17 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Timimi, S. (2007). Should young people be given antidepressants? No. BMJ 335: 751-751 [Full text]  
• Double, D B (2005). Rethinking childhood depression: Does childhood depression exist?. BMJ 330: 418-418 [Full text]  
• Walker, K. (2005). Rethinking childhood depression: Consider what it means to be a child these days. BMJ 330: 418-418 [Full text]  
• Pelton, C. I (2005). Rethinking childhood depression: Treatment options may be limited by resources. BMJ 330: 418-418 [Full text]  
• Spender, Q. (2004). abandoning the diagnosis will endanger severely depressed children. BMJ 329: 1396-1396 [Full text]  
• Wilkinson, P. (2004). a controversy too far?. BMJ 329: 1397-1397 [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

re: Rethinking childhood depression

Kate Walker
bmj.com, 10 Dec 2004 [Full text]

For the season that's in it...

K D'Arcy
bmj.com, 10 Dec 2004 [Full text]

An awesome responsibility

AMARASINGHE A.W. AMARASINGHE,MD,
bmj.com, 11 Dec 2004 [Full text]

Ignorance of Freud and Klein

Anthony C Walsh, et al.
bmj.com, 11 Dec 2004 [Full text]

Read On - please

Ian P Palmer
bmj.com, 12 Dec 2004 [Full text]

such a fine balance

Christine Singh
bmj.com, 13 Dec 2004 [Full text]

Why only childhood depression?

John Stone
bmj.com, 13 Dec 2004 [Full text]

pathologising the normal range of human emotion

R E Laube
bmj.com, 13 Dec 2004 [Full text]

Does childhood depression exist?

D B Double
bmj.com, 14 Dec 2004 [Full text]

Childhood depression is not a myth; the management may be problematic.

Albert M. E. Coleman
bmj.com, 14 Dec 2004 [Full text]

Depression and nutritional deficiencies in children

Ellen C G Grant
bmj.com, 14 Dec 2004 [Full text]

The generalist's perspective

Christopher I Pelton
bmj.com, 14 Dec 2004 [Full text]

medicalizing morality

NANCY K OCONNOR, et al.
bmj.com, 14 Dec 2004 [Full text]

Rethinking childhood depression

Alan W Fowler
bmj.com, 19 Dec 2004 [Full text]

Linear versus Circular Thinking

Mark Vettraino
bmj.com, 20 Dec 2004 [Full text]

Family Life is an education for relationships

Anne M Williams
bmj.com, 31 Dec 2004 [Full text]

Rethinking Childhood Depression AND Abandoning the Diagnosis

Herzl Lowenstein
bmj.com, 22 Jan 2005 [Full text]

Online poll

Find out more >>