Association between depression diagnosis and educational attainment trajectories: an historical cohort study using...

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Educational Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Depression symptoms are linked to lower educational attainment, but trajectory changes in attainment following a childhood/adolescent depression diagnosis are not well understood.
• Existing research lacks clarity on how educational progress evolves for individuals diagnosed with depression during formative years.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between depression diagnosis in childhood/adolescence and patterns of educational attainment over time.
• To identify specific educational trajectories associated with early-onset depression.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of linked UK educational and electronic health records (2007-2013) for 222,027 pupils.
• Growth Mixture Modelling (GMM) to identify educational attainment trajectories (Years 2, 6, 11).
• Multinomial logistic regression to assess the link between depression diagnosis (pre-18) and trajectory membership.

Main Results:

• Five distinct educational attainment trajectories were identified: average/high-stable, average-modest declining, average-steep declining, low-improving, and low-stable.
• A depression diagnosis before age 18 was significantly associated with membership in the average-modest declining (RRR=2.80) and average-steep declining (RRR=3.54) trajectories compared to the average/high-stable trajectory, after covariate adjustment.
• These associations remained significant even after accounting for clinical and sociodemographic factors.

Conclusions:

• Early depression diagnosis (pre-18) correlates with a relative decline in educational attainment during schooling.
• Findings underscore the importance of providing timely mental health and educational interventions for students with depression.
• While causality cannot be inferred, the results emphasize the critical link between mental well-being and academic progress in youth.