Investigation of the symptom profile of major depressivedisorder in adolescents,

This is a descriptive and crosssectional study in which the depressive symptom profile of adolescents presenting to an outpatient clinic with at least one Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) symptom was examined. The study included 191 adolescents (137 girls, 54 boys) aged 11-18 years. All adolescents were administered the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version DSM-5 (KSADS-PL) which is a psychiatric diagnostic interview, as well as the Depression Rating Scale for Children-Revised Version (CRS-R) and the Sociodemographic and Clinical Data Form. Of the adolescents, 73 (38.3%) were diagnosed with MDD and 118 (61.7%) were not. Age, age of the father, and frequency of psychiatric illness in the father were found to be significantly higher in adolescents diagnosed with MDD compared to those who were not diagnosed. In adolescents diagnosed with MDD, symptoms of impaired school functioning, difficulty in enjoying life, social withdrawal, sleep disturbance, appetite disturbance, physical complaints, excessive guilt, low self-esteem, depressive feelings and suicidal thoughts were significantly more frequent than those who were not diagnosed. In those diagnosed with MDD, the severity of the disease was found to be associated with the appetite disturbance among the vegetative symptoms. In the whole sample, two sub latent classes, which we named as "High Symptom Class" and "Low Symptom Class", were identified by latent class analysis (LCA) method. Age, duration of symptoms, frequency and severity of MDD were significantly higher in the High Symptom Class. The irritability, which is one of the most common complaint of parents, is significantly more frequent in the Low Symptom Class than in the High Symptom Class. Symptoms of fatigue, irritability and morbid ideation did not differ between the two classes. It is thought that irritability may not be a distinctive diagnostic criterion in adolescents presenting with MDD symptoms and studies with larger samples should be conducted in which depressive symptoms, especially vegetative symptoms, are examined. Only through such studies will it be possible to make the diagnosis of MDD, which is a heterogeneous diagnosis, easily recognizable by identifying more homogeneous latent classes in adolescents and to prioritize the treatment of these classes. Keywords: Depression, adolescents, symptoms, latent class analysis, profile.