In a
recent article on
MedicalNewsToday, the idea of analyzing the genetic makeup of adults with depression is being used to predict which children are at risk for developing the illness. Several researchers have come together to work on creating a
gene map of children who they believe are likely to develop depression. Data was analyzed from over 460,000 adults and they were able to calculate risk scores for children. In the group of children participants of ages seven to eighteen, 279 had symptoms of depression and 187 were healthy. The researchers also looked at the effect of early experiences of abuse on the young participants' mental health. Using the
polygenic risk score calculations and exposure to childhood abuse helped the researchers to predict children at risk for depression.
After reading this article, I truly find the research to be very interesting and important. If researchers can accurately predict which children are going to develop depression, it can help reduce the amount of people that suffer from the illness. Depression can take over a person's life and knowing ahead of time who might develop the illness may help to prevent it.
I looked up statistics in the US and as per the CDC its estimated that 16.2 million adults in the US are diagnosed with depression and about 1.9 million children are diagnosed with depression. Working in the medical field I have learned that depression can be passed down from family members to children.
ReplyDeleteI read an article that general depression is 40% heritable and I think that studies like this are important because of the raising number of people that are diagnosed with depression. I found this article interesting because the research considers other factors as well. For instance, the environmental factor is an important factor because factor to consider because a child who has had a history of trauma, abuse, or neglect could also have a big impact on the an individual's chances of falling into depression.
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