Abstract
BackgroundAlcohol is associated with depression among adolescents, but variations in the association by age and sex are relatively unexplored. This study aims to assess variations in the association between alcohol consumption and depressed mood among adolescents by age and sex.MethodsWe analyzed data from a school-based survey of 38,186 students in junior high school (Year 7 and 9) and senior high school (Year 11). The mean age of the participants was 15.2 (SD = 1.9) years. We used multivariate logistic regression to measure the association between self-reported alcohol drinking (past-year, past-month, and binge-drinking) and history of depressed mood for two weeks or more during the past year. We stratified the analyses by school level (as proxy for age group) and sex of the respondent.ResultsApproximately 1% of students in surveyed schools refused to answer the questionnaires and fewer than 5% of all questionnaires were invalid. Prevalence of depressed mood was 13.2%. Prevalence of past-year alcohol drinking was 41.0% among those with depressed mood vs. 24.6% among those with no depressed mood (Adj OR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.60, 1.98). The association was strongest among girls in junior high school (Adj OR = 2.38, 95% CI = 2.03, 2.79) and weakest among boys in senior high school (Adj OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 0.99, 1.42).ConclusionAssociations between alcohol drinking and depressed mood were particularly strong among junior high school girls. Youth mental health and alcohol programs should consider prioritizing this sub-group accordingly.
Highlights
Depressive disorder is a medical illness that causes feelings of sadness and/or loss of interest in activities with symptoms lasting at least two weeks[1]
The association was strongest among girls in junior high school (Adj OR = 2.38, 95% CI = 2.03, 2.79) and weakest among boys in senior high school (Adj OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 0.99, 1.42)
Associations between alcohol drinking and depressed mood were strong among junior high school girls
Summary
Depressive disorder is a medical illness that causes feelings of sadness and/or loss of interest in activities with symptoms lasting at least two weeks[1]. Depressive disorder is strongly associated with suicide[3], which is the third most common cause of death among adolescents[2]. Alcohol is the most commonly used substance among adolescents in the Western world: among students aged 15–16, the prevalence of having five or more drinks (binge drinking) within last 30 days varied from 11% in the United States to 56% in Denmark[5]. In Thailand, the prevalence of binge-drinking among adolescents within the past 30 days is low (4%), but the prevalence of past-year drinking (26%) is between that of the United States and Denmark [6]. This study aims to assess variations in the association between alcohol consumption and depressed mood among adolescents by age and sex
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