Exploring the relationship between depression and school performance among youths aged 12-17 using NSDUH 2009 data

Background: In 2009, 8.1 percent of the population aged 12-17 who had major depressive episode (MDE) during the past year. An estimated 1.4 million youths' aged 12-17 (5.8 percent) had past year MDE with severe impairment in one or more role domains in 2009. Among youths aged 12-17 in 2009, past year MDE generally increased with age, from 3.6 percent among 12 year olds to 10.9 percent among those aged 17. Objective: The objective of this study is to explore the possible causal relationship between youths' depression as measured by MDE during the past year and youths' performance in the school in the previous term. Data and Methods: This research uses data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) 2009. To control the effect of complex survey design, unadjusted and adjusted weighted logistic regression models are estimated for examining the relationship between youths' depression and their school performance. Result: Results suggest that youths aged 12-17 who had MDE in the past year were more likely to be getting grade “C” or below compared with those who did not have MDE in the past year (33.3 vs. 27.0 percent). Multivariate results suggest that youths aged 12-17 who had MDE in the past year were 35% (OR=1.35) significantly (p<0.001) more likely to be getting grade “C” or below compared with those who did not have MDE in the past year. Conclusion: Timely treating youths' mental health may allow youths to enjoy mental peace and perform better in the school.