[Affective disorders in the child]

The existence of a depressive syndrome in childhood has been ignored or minimized until recently. In Geneva, a transversal study of the consulting population has confirmed the presence of a depressive syndrome, taking different clinical forms. It has also allowed us to describe an hypomaniac syndrome in children. An epidemiological study we did shows that a large proportion of adults suffering from cyclo-thymic disorders had consulted a doctor during their childhood or adolescence and that they already presented pathological signs related to this disorder. Moreover, children diagnosed as suffering from depressive and manic disorders showed similar symptoms, when adult, in an equally significant proportion.