Laura P. Richardson

Asthma symptom burden: relationship to asthma severity and anxiety and depression symptoms.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this work was to examine the relationship between youth-reported asthma symptoms, presence of anxiety or depressive disorders, and objective measures of asthma severity among a population-based sample of youth with asthma. METHODS. We conducted a telephone survey of 767 youth with asthma (aged 11–17 years) enrolled in a staff model health maintenance organization. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children was used to diagnose Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, anxiety and depressive disorders; the Child Health Status-Asthma questionnaire (modified) was used to assess asthma symptoms; and automated administrative data were used to measure asthma treatment intensity and severity. Analyses of covariance were performed to determine whether the number of anxiety and depressive symptoms was related to the number of asthma symptoms. Logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the strength of association between individual symptoms of asthma and the presence of an anxiety or depressive disorder and objective measures of asthma severity. RESULTS. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, objective measures of asthma severity, medical comorbidity, and asthma treatment intensity, youth with ≥1 anxiety or depressive disorder (N = 125) reported significantly more days of asthma symptoms over the previous 2 weeks than youth with no anxiety or depressive disorders. The overall number of reported asthma symptoms was significantly associated with the number of anxiety and depressive symptoms endorsed by youth. In logistic regression analyses, having an anxiety or depressive disorder was also strongly associated with each of the 6 asthma-specific symptoms, as well as the 5 related nonspecific somatic symptoms contained in the Child Health Status-Asthma questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS. The presence of an anxiety or depressive disorder is highly associated with increased asthma symptom burden for youth with asthma.

Youth in Foster Care With Adult Mentors During Adolescence Have Improved Adult Outcomes

OBJECTIVE. The goal of this study was to determine whether youth in foster care with natural mentors during adolescence have improved young adult outcomes. METHODS. We used data from waves I to III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (1994–2002). Individuals who reported that they had ever been in foster care at wave III were included. Youth were considered mentored when they reported the presence of a nonparental adult mentor in their life after they were 14 years of age and reported that the relationship began before 18 years of age and had lasted for at least 2 years. Outcomes were assessed at wave III and included measures of education/employment, psychological well-being, physical health, and participation in unhealthy behaviors as well as a summary measure representing the total number of positive outcomes. RESULTS. A total of 310 youth met the inclusion criteria; 160 youth were mentored, and 150 youth were nonmentored. Demographic characteristics were similar for mentored and nonmentored youth. Mentored youth were more likely to report favorable overall health and were less likely to report suicidal ideation, having received a diagnosis of a sexually transmitted infection, and having hurt someone in a fight in the past year. There was also a borderline significant trend toward more participation in higher education among mentored youth. On the summary measure, mentored youth had, on average, a significantly greater number of positive outcomes than nonmentored youth. CONCLUSIONS. Mentoring relationships are associated with positive adjustment during the transition to adulthood for youth in foster care. Strategies to support natural mentoring relationships for this population should be developed and evaluated.

Collaborative Care for Adolescents With Depression in Primary Care A Randomized Clinical Trial

IMPORTANCE Up to 20% of adolescents experience an episode of major depression by age 18 years yet few receive evidence-based treatments for their depression. OBJECTIVE To determine whether a collaborative care intervention for adolescents with depression improves depressive outcomes compared with usual care. DESIGN Randomized trial with blinded outcome assessment conducted between April 2010 and April 2013. SETTING Nine primary care clinics in the Group Health system in Washington State. PARTICIPANTS Adolescents (aged 13-17 years) who screened positive for depression (Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item [PHQ-9] score ≥10) on 2 occasions or who screened positive and met criteria for major depression, spoke English, and had telephone access were recruited. Exclusions included alcohol/drug misuse, suicidal plan or recent attempt, bipolar disorder, developmental delay, and seeing a psychiatrist. INTERVENTIONS Twelve-month collaborative care intervention including an initial in-person engagement session and regular follow-up by masters-level clinicians. Usual care control youth received depression screening results and could access mental health services through Group Health. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was change in depressive symptoms on a modified version of the Child Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R; score range, 14-94) from baseline to 12 months. Secondary outcomes included change in Columbia Impairment Scale score (CIS), depression response (≥50% decrease on the CDRS-R), and remission (PHQ-9 score <5). RESULTS Intervention youth (n = 50), compared with those randomized to receive usual care (n = 51), had greater decreases in CDRS-R scores such that by 12 months intervention youth had a mean score of 27.5 (95% CI, 23.8-31.1) compared with 34.6 (95% CI, 30.6-38.6) in control youth (overall intervention effect: F2,747.3 = 7.24, P < .001). Both intervention and control youth experienced improvement on the CIS with no significant differences between groups. At 12 months, intervention youth were more likely than control youth to achieve depression response (67.6% vs 38.6%, OR = 3.3, 95% CI, 1.4-8.2; P = .009) and remission (50.4% vs 20.7%, OR = 3.9, 95% CI, 1.5-10.6; P = .007). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among adolescents with depression seen in primary care, a collaborative care intervention resulted in greater improvement in depressive symptoms at 12 months than usual care. These findings suggest that mental health services for adolescents with depression can be integrated into primary care. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01140464.

The Effect of Comorbid Anxiety and Depressive Disorders on Health Care Utilization and Costs among Adolescents with Asthma

OBJECTIVE To assess whether youth with asthma and comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders have higher health care utilization and costs than youth with asthma alone. METHODS A telephone survey was conducted among 767 adolescents (aged 11 to 17 years) with asthma. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-4th Version (DSM-IV) anxiety and depressive disorders were assessed via the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children. Health care utilization and costs in the 12 months pre- and 6 months post-interview were obtained from computerized health plan records. Multivariate analyses were used to determine the impact of comorbid depression and anxiety on medical utilization and costs. RESULTS Unadjusted analyses showed that compared to youth with asthma alone, youth with comorbid anxiety/depressive disorders had more primary care visits, emergency department visits, outpatient mental health specialty visits, other outpatient visits and pharmacy fills. After controlling for asthma severity and covariates, total health care costs were approximately 51% higher for youth with depression with or without an anxiety disorder but not for youth with an anxiety disorder alone. Most of the increase in health care costs was attributable to nonasthma and non-mental health-related increases in primary care and laboratory/radiology expenditures. CONCLUSIONS Youth with asthma and comorbid depressive disorders have significantly higher health care utilization and costs. Most of these costs are due to increases in non-mental health and nonasthma expenses. Further study is warranted to evaluate whether improved mental health treatment and resulting increases in mental health costs would be balanced by savings in medical costs.

Collaborative care for adolescent depression: a pilot study

OBJECTIVE The main objectives of this study were to explore the preliminary outcomes and assess the feasibility and acceptability of a collaborative care intervention designed to improve treatment and outcomes of depression among youth seen in primary care settings. METHODS We conducted a pilot intervention study at three clinics in a university affiliated primary care clinic network. The intervention model was designed to support the provision of depression treatment by primary care providers using methods adapted from the IMPACT study developed for the improvement of depression among older adults. Specific components include the provision of regular case management by a nurse depression care manager (DCM), enhanced patient and parent education about depression and its treatment, encouragement of patient self-management with a choice of starting medications or therapy or both, and oversight of the DCM by a mental health specialist. Study participants were assessed regularly by the DCM for 6 months and completed written self-report assessments at baseline, 3, and 6 months after starting the intervention. RESULTS 40 youth (12-18 years) with major and minor depression enrolled in the intervention. Study participants were predominantly female (90%). The baseline Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score was 14.2 (SD=4.5). Patients were similarly divided among initiating medications (n=12), therapy (n=15), or combination therapy (n=8). Five patients withdrew prior to initiating treatment. The mean number of in person and telephone contacts with the DCM was 9 (range=5 to 17). Eighty-seven percent of youth completed the 6-month intervention. At 6 month follow-up, 74% of youth had a 50% or more reduction in depressive symptoms as measured by the PHQ-9. Parents, youth and physicians indicated high levels of satisfaction with the intervention on written surveys and in qualitative exit interviews. CONCLUSION The collaborative care model is feasible and highly acceptable to adolescents and parents as demonstrated both by self-report and by engagement in the intervention. It is also associated with improved depressive outcomes at similar levels to adult interventions. Future studies should evaluate these models in a randomized controlled trial.

Depressive symptoms in adolescence: the association with multiple health risk behaviors

OBJECTIVE Although multiple studies of adolescents have examined the association of depression with individual health risk behaviors such as obesity or smoking, this is one of the few studies that examined the association between depression and multiple risk behaviors. METHODS A brief mail questionnaire, which screened for age, gender, weight, height, sedentary behaviors, physical activity, perception of general health, functional impairment and depressive symptoms, was completed by a sample of 2291 youth (60.7% response rate) aged 13-17 enrolled in a health care plan. A subset of youth who screened positive on the two-item depression screen and a random sample of those screening negative were approached to participate in a telephone interview with more in-depth information obtained on smoking and at-risk behaviors associated with drug and alcohol use. RESULTS Youth screening positive for high levels of depressive symptoms compared to those with few or no depressive symptoms were significantly more likely to meet criteria for obesity, had a poorer perception of health, spent more time on the computer, got along less well with parents and friends, had more problems completing school work and were more likely to have experimented with smoking and a wide array of behaviors associated with drug and alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS Because many adverse health behaviors that develop in adolescence continue into adulthood, the association of depressive symptoms with multiple risk behaviors and poor functioning suggest that early interventions are needed at an individual, school, community and primary care level.

Prevalence of diagnosed depression in adolescents with history of concussion.

PURPOSE Previous studies in adults have suggested concussion and other brain injury presents a risk factor for depression. The goal of our study was to analyze the association between previous concussion and current depression diagnosis in a large nationally representative adolescent data set. METHODS Retrospective cohort study using the National Survey of Childrens Health 2007-2008, a nationally representative survey conducted via random digit dialing. Data were obtained by parental report. We included youth 12-17 years old without a current concussion (N = 36,060), and evaluated the association between previous concussion (binary) and current depression diagnosis (binary) using multiple logistic regression to control for age, sex, parental mental health, and socioeconomic status. RESULTS After controlling for age, sex, parental mental health, and socioeconomic status, history of concussion was associated with a 3.3-fold greater risk for depression diagnosis (95% CI: 2.0-5.5). Other factors significantly associated with depression diagnosis included poor or fair parental mental health (OR: 3.7, 95% CI: 2.8-4.9), and older age (15-17 years vs. 12-14 years, OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1-1.8). Sex of the subject was not significantly related to depression diagnosis. Being above 200% of the poverty level was associated with approximately a 50% decreased risk of depression diagnosis (95% CI: 35%-70%). CONCLUSIONS History of concussion was associated with a higher prevalence of diagnosed depression in a large nationally representative adolescent data set. Clinicians should screen for depression in their adolescent patients with concussion. Future studies should confirm this association using prospective methodology and examine potential treatment approaches.

Common and Costly Hospitalizations for Pediatric Mental Health Disorders

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Inpatient pediatric mental health is a priority topic for national quality measurement and improvement, but nationally representative data on the patients admitted or their diagnoses are lacking. Our objectives were: to describe pediatric mental health hospitalizations at general medical facilities admitting children nationally; to assess which pediatric mental health diagnoses are frequent and costly at these hospitals; and to examine whether the most frequent diagnoses are similar to those at free-standing children’s hospitals. METHODS: We examined all discharges in 2009 for patients aged 3 to 20 years in the nationally representative Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) and in the Pediatric Health Information System (free-standing children’s hospitals). Main outcomes were frequency of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification–defined mental health diagnostic groupings (primary and nonprimary diagnosis) and, using KID, resource utilization (defined by diagnostic grouping aggregate annual charges). RESULTS: Nearly 10% of pediatric hospitalizations nationally were for a primary mental health diagnosis, compared with 3% of hospitalizations at free-standing children’s hospitals. Predictors of hospitalizations for a primary mental health problem were older age, male gender, white race, and insurance type. Nationally, the most frequent and costly primary mental health diagnoses were depression (44.1% of all mental health admissions;

Association between childhood sexual abuse and transactional sex in youth aging out of foster care

1.33 billion), bipolar disorder (18.1%;

Anxiety and Depression Screening for Youth in a Primary Care Population

702 million), and psychosis (12.1%;