Childhood maltreatment & depression

People who have experienced maltreatment as children are twice as likely to develop both multiple and long-lasting depressive episodes as those without a history of childhood maltreatment, according to a new study. The research, led by a team at King's College London Institute of Psychiatry, also found that maltreated individuals are more likely to respond poorly to pharmacological and psychological treatment for depression. The results, published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry , have emerged from a combined analysis of 16 epidemiological studies involving more than 20,000 participants and of 10 clinical trials involving more than 3,000 participants. Depression ranks among the most common psychiatric disorders worldwide, with one in ten children exposed to maltreatment including psychological, physical or sexual abuse or neglect. By 2020, depression is predicted to be the second leading contributor to the global burden of disease across all ages, according to the World Health Organisation. The societal impact of depression is largely accounted for by individuals who develop multiple and long-lasting depressive episodes. Previous research has shown that maltreated individuals are more likely to show abnormalities in biological systems sensitive to psychological stress - such as the brain, the endocrine, and the immune system - both in childhood and in adult life, which could have important clinical implications.