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Childhood depression may encourage ecstasy use
February 24, 2006Symptoms of anxiety and depression in childhood and use of MDMA: Prospective population based study; BMJ online first
Children with symptoms of anxiety and depression may have an increased tendency to use ecstasy in adolescence or young adulthood, finds a study published online by the BMJ today.
The use of ecstasy is associated with emotional health problems, such as depression, psychotic symptoms, and anxiety disorders. But it's not clear whether emotional problems are a consequence of using ecstasy or emotional problems lead to ecstasy use.
Researchers in the Netherlands investigated whether use of ecstasy is preceded by symptoms of behavioural and emotional problems in childhood and early adolescence.
They assessed ecstasy use in 1580 individuals from childhood into adulthood. The first assessment took place in 1983, before ecstasy appeared as a recreational drug in the Netherlands. Use of the drug was then assessed 14 years later, providing a unique opportunity to investigate if a pathway from behavioural and emotional problems leading to ecstasy use exists.
Individuals with signs of anxiety and depression in 1983 showed an increased risk of starting to use ecstasy.
Ecstasy's effects are supposed to include enhanced feelings of bonding with other people, euphoria, or relaxation, say the authors. Individuals with signs of anxiety or depression may be particularly susceptible to these positive effects and may therefore use ecstasy to relieve their symptoms.
However, long term exposure to ecstasy may result in increased depressive symptoms. Individuals with signs of anxiety or depression in childhood are at risk of using ecstasy and may develop depressive symptoms. This may explain part of the link that has been found between ecstasy use and later depression in other studies, add the authors.
Other factors not tested in this study may account for the increased tendency to use ecstasy in some individuals. They include the social environment, novelty seeking, or substance use of parents.
"Focusing on these vulnerable individuals in future studies will increase our insight into the potential harmful effects of ecstasy on brain neurotransmitter systems and associated psychopathology," they conclude.
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Researchers in the Netherlands investigated whether use of ecstasy is preceded by symptoms of behavioural and emotional problems in childhood and early adolescence.
They assessed ecstasy use in 1580 individuals from childhood into adulthood. The first assessment took place in 1983, before ecstasy appeared as a recreational drug in the Netherlands. Use of the drug was then assessed 14 years later, providing a unique opportunity to investigate if a pathway from behavioural and emotional problems leading to ecstasy use exists.
Individuals with signs of anxiety and depression in 1983 showed an increased risk of starting to use ecstasy.
Ecstasy's effects are supposed to include enhanced feelings of bonding with other people, euphoria, or relaxation, say the authors. Individuals with signs of anxiety or depression may be particularly susceptible to these positive effects and may therefore use ecstasy to relieve their symptoms.
However, long term exposure to ecstasy may result in increased depressive symptoms. Individuals with signs of anxiety or depression in childhood are at risk of using ecstasy and may develop depressive symptoms. This may explain part of the link that has been found between ecstasy use and later depression in other studies, add the authors.
Other factors not tested in this study may account for the increased tendency to use ecstasy in some individuals. They include the social environment, novelty seeking, or substance use of parents.
"Focusing on these vulnerable individuals in future studies will increase our insight into the potential harmful effects of ecstasy on brain neurotransmitter systems and associated psychopathology," they conclude.
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Gene protects adults abused as children from depression
Some forms of a gene that controls the body's response to stress hormones appear to protect adults who were abused in childhood from depression, psychiatrists have found.
Smoking and depression often co-occur in new mothers
Smoking and depression often go hand-in-hand for new mothers, according to a study in the November 2007 issue of Preventive Medicine by Temple University researcher Dr. Robert Whitaker.
Parents' depression can weigh on children
A parent's struggle with stress or depression can lower a child's quality of life -- and it could hinder an overweight youngster's attempts to lose weight, too, University of Florida researchers say.
PAPER OF THE YEAR 2004 (p 2166)
THE LANCET Paper of the Year 2004 has been won by Craig Whittington and colleagues' for their systematic review of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors in childhood depression published in the April 2004 issue.
Data from unpublished trials suggest that most SSRI antidepressant drugs unsuitable for children (pp 1335, 1341)
A UK study in this week's issue of THE LANCET suggests that reliance on published studies alone to guide the treatment of childhood depression could be inappropriate. A systematic review including published and unpublished data shows that only one drug, fluoxetine (Prozac), was not associated with negative outcomes for children with depression. There is a clear need for effective treatment for childhood depressive disorders; up to 6% of children and adolescents are thought to suffer from depression, and suicide is the third largest cause of death among 10-19 year-olds in developed countries. The class of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has pre
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