Explaining Major Depression in Young Adults

CAMH-led Blue Sky Project First to Focus on First-episodes

The transition to adulthood is a time of great stress as young people take on the pressure and heightened responsibility of independent living, professional employment, and adult relationships. While most young people negotiate this transition successfully, many do not.

Young adulthood is the period of greatest risk for the onset of serious mental illness, including major depression. As many as one in seven young people aged 18-25 have experienced a first onset of depression, with the vast majority of them going without treatment. And an alarming 50-60 percent of these young people will go on to suffer recurrent episodes throughout their adult lives. Major depression in young adulthood seriously impacts education, work, physical health, and interpersonal relationships.

A five-year study led by CAMH scientists Dr. Michael Bagby, Dr. James Kennedy, Dr. John Strauss, Dr. Arun Ravindran, and Queen’s University scientist Dr. Kate Harkness will help in the early identification and treatment of young people at risk by examining the factors that cause their very first onset of depression. This CIHR-funded study, called Blue Sky Project, is the first to focus specifically on uncovering the initial causes of the very first episode of depression.

Although depression runs in families, the impact of genes is not direct, but instead acts through the environment. In particular, people with a specific genetic marker in their serotonin system are much more likely to get depressed in the face of stress in their environment. This makes them more sensitive to relatively minor stressors.

Dr. Bagby and his colleagues believe that this model can help explain why young people get depressed the very first time. The Blue Sky Project will look at 18 to 29 year-olds currently suffering from depression for the first time within the GTA. These young adults will be thoroughly assessed and closely monitored while receiving anti-depressant medication.

Links to:

Blue Sky Project

Information on depression