Stress as a teenager could double the risk of developing depression in early adulthood, according to new research.
Stress as a teenager can lead to depression in later life, scientists said Photo: Alamy
The pressures of modern life may be more hazardous to our mental health than previously believed after scientists found there may be a link between the recent rise in mood disorders and the increase of daily stress.
Professor Mark Ellenbogen, of Concordia University, Montreal, said: "Major depression has become one of the most pressing health issues in both developing and developed countries."
His team is evaluating the stress of children living in families where at least one parent is affected by a mood disorder. They are measuring the levels of cortisol in their saliva. Children from at-risk families have higher cortisol levels and it seems to persist into adulthood.
Prof Ellenbogen said: "Although there may be many causes to the rise in cortisol, this increase may be in part due to exposure to family stress and parenting style.
"We have not yet confirmed that these children then go on to develop mood disorders of their own. However, we have some exciting preliminary data showing that high cortisol levels in adolescences doubles your risk for developing a serious mood disorder in young adulthood."
He added: "Cortisol is something you secrete when faced with situations that are hard to deal with or challenging situations beyond your ability to cope."
His study is looking at offspring of parents who have a bipolar disorder but who do not have mental health issues themselves. It is already known from previous studies that such offspring are at higher risk of developing depression and bipolar disorders.
He said: "But they dont yet have the disorder. That is the beauty of what we have been doing - we have been doing this research specifically to address this question."
The team has been following 150 children age 4 to 12 for a decade, half with parents without mental health issues, the other half with at least one parent with bipolar disorder.
What Prof Ellenbogen found is a link between high levels of stress and cortisol in the early environment and a correlation with later depression. The research suggests they may have vulnerability for depression.
He said: "They adapt by producing high levels of cortisol, which is a good thing, but it may have a negative side effect down the line. What starts out as adaptive (high levels of cortisol), ends up being maladaptive. That is my suspicion and we have some evidence that is the case."
But parenting style had much to do with reducing the stress of life events and early hormone secretion. Children from homes with lots of stress combined with chaotic parenting - inconsistent eating and sleeping habits, job loss, hospitalisation, single parents, marital distress, or divorce showed higher levels of stress and cortisol.
Children from homes with lower stress, a better parental structure and consistent organisation showed normal hormone levels.
Prof Ellenbogen said: "I would like to highlight the fact that parents who do their best to be consistent parents, that really looks like it makes a huge difference regardless of what mental disorders they have that is what I found astounding.
"It is not a small thing having a bipolar disorder. Its quite a significant handicap in many ways. The flipside is that many of our sample is doing incredibly well."
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