The relations of age, sex and symptom characteristics of childhood depression in a Hungarian clinical sample

*Ildikó Baji^{1, 3}, Nestor L. Lopez-Duran², Maria Kovacs², Charles J. George², László Mayer³, Krisztina Kapornai³, Enikő Kiss³, Marike Vuga⁴, Julia Gádoros¹, Ágnes Vetró³

Summary
Objective.We examined age, sex, and age-by-sex interaction effects in depressive symptoms in a clinical sample of children and adolescents.
Method. The sample included 559 children (247 females) with major depressive disorder (mean age = 11.69 years; range = 7 to 14). Participants were recruited from 23 mental health facilities in Hungary. Symptom rates were obtained via the Interview Schedule for Children and Adolescents – Diagnostic Version (ISCA-D). Final diagnosis was rendered via the best-estimate diagnostic procedure based on DSM-IV diagnostic criteria.
Results. Six symptoms increased with age: depressed mood (OR=1.01 p <.05), hypersomnia (OR=1.17 p <.05), psychomotor retardation (OR=1.11 p <.05), fatigue (OR=1.13 p <.01), thoughts of death (OR=1.11 p <.05), and suicidal ideation (OR=1.18 p <.01). Only psychomotor agitation decreased with age (OR=0.91 p <.05). Three symptoms were less common in males: anhedonia (OR=0.95 p <.05), insomnia (OR=0.96 p <.05), and hypersomnia (OR=0.93 p <.05). Only psychomotor agitation was more common in males (OR=2.24 p <.01). No age-by-sex interactions were noted.
Conclusion. The symptom profile of depression appears to become more neurovegetative as children get older, and girls display more affective and atypical symptoms across all age groups.

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