Gender Differences in Depressive Disorders in Children and Adolescents: Results from a Clinical Sample

Objectives: Adolescence is a unique period of significant neurodevelopmental changes that can increase vulnerability to mental health problems. We are currently witnessing an increase in depressive symptoms among adolescents, with suicide being among the top three causes of death for young people aged 10-25 years. In depressive disorders (DD) there are significant differences between genders in terms of symptomatology, risk factors, evolution and prognosis. Thus, the objective of our study is to investigate gender differences among children and adolescent patients admitted for evaluation of depressive symptomatology to our clinic. Material and method:The current study is an analytical, non-experimental, retrospective study on children and adolescents admitted to the Pediatric psychiatry clinic at "Prof. Dr. Al. Obregia" Clinical Psychiatry Hospital in Bucharest, Romania, between 1 January 2020 and 30 June 2024, who were diagnosed with DD. Descriptive analysis of the qualitative and quantitative variables was performed. The variables were processed and analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel 2007 and Microsoft Power BI 2024. Results:The present study included 915 patients (77.04% females, 22.96% males) aged 9-17 years, with a mean age of 15.42 ± 1.79. Most patients [43.83% (34.21% females, 9.62% males)] were diagnosed with severe depressive episode without psychotic symptoms. Suicidal ideation or suicidal attempts at admission were identified in 30% of our patients (24% females, 6% males). In the analyzed time period, pediatric patients have been increasingly diagnosed with depressive disorders: from 120 patients diagnosed in 2020 to 265 in 2023 and 120 in the first half of 2024. Conclusions:Our study shows an increase in DD and suicidality in pediatric patients, with important differences among genders in terms of clinical aspects, severity and evolution, thus highlighting the need for early identification and targeted therapeutical interventions.