About half who recover are depressed again within five years
About half of all adolescents who recover from major depression suffer from it again within five years, no matter what treatment or therapy they originally received, the New York Times reports. In a new study, nearly 200 adolescents aged 12 to 17 got 12 weeks of Prozac, cognitive behavioural therapy, both, or a placebo pill. Researchers have previously found that those receiving Prozac and cognitive therapy together recover faster from a first depression, but in this study, they found those youths weren’t less prone to another depression. After 36 weeks, improvement for everyone was similar. By two years, most were completely recovered, but by five years, 47 per cent had another major depression, no matter what treatment they’d used. What’s more, 57 per cent of girls who recovered became depressed again, compared with 33 per cent of boys.