Depression in young adolescents may be more easily treated than adults because their symptoms are still flexible and not fixed, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh found that in early adolescence, symptoms of depression such as sadness, fatigue, and lack of interest are lower, but gradually become more stable and grow with age. This shift may explain why depression often becomes more difficult to treat during adulthood.
The study analyzed data from more than 35,000 young people and used a physics-inspired approach to understand the symptoms’ interactions. Just as heat causes substances to move and change their state, the team measured a “network temperature” to assess symptoms of fluid or rigid depression. They found that symptoms tend to fluctuate more during early adolescence, but over time, symptoms tend to become patterns.
“Depression is a complex disease and current treatments usually do not consider how symptoms interact or change.”
said the researchers. Their findings suggest that early intervention (still while symptoms are still metastatic) may be key to preventing long-term, drug-resistant depression.
