Time trends in self-reported depressive symptoms, prescription of antidepressants, sedatives and hypnotics and the emergence of social media among Norwegian adolescents.

Autor: Lien L; Faculty of Social and Health Sciences, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Norway.; Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Concurrent Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Brumunddal, Norway., Bonsaksen T; Faculty of Social and Health Sciences, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Norway.; Department of Health, Faculty of Health Studies, VID Specialized University, Stavanger, Norway., Holte Stea T; Department of Health and Nursing Science, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway., Kleppang AL; Faculty of Social and Health Sciences, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Norway.; Department of Health and Nursing Science, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway., Steigen AM; Faculty of Social and Health Sciences, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Norway., Leonhardt M; Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Concurrent Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Brumunddal, Norway.; Faculty of Health Studies, VID Specialized University, Oslo, Norway.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2023 Dec 27; Vol. 18 (12), pp. e0295384. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Dec 27 (Print Publication: 2023).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295384
Abstrakt: Background: Research has shown increased mental health problems and use of prescription drugs among adolescents in recent years and social media use has been linked to poorer mental health. However, trend studies concerning these topics are scarce. The purpose of this study was to analyze gender-specific trends in a) symptoms of depression and loneliness, and b) prescription of antidepressants, hypnotics and sedatives, in relation to the emergence of social media among adolescents in Norway.
Methods: This is an ecological study using data from the 'Young in Oslo' surveys from 1996 to 2021. The surveys included approximately 110 000 students, 14-17 years of age, and yielded a response rate varying from 95% in 1996 to 64% in 2021. A self-report questionnaire was used to collect information on symptoms of depression and loneliness. Information on antidepressant and sleep medication prescription was retrieved from the Norwegian Prescription Database for the age group 15 to 19 years. A graphical approach and logistic regression models were used to examine gender-specific time-trends between 1996 to 2021.
Results: We found a doubling in self-reported symptoms of depression and loneliness among girls between 1996 and 2021, with the steepest increase in the period from 2006 to 2012, when Facebook and other social media were introduced. A similar trend was observed in the prescription of antidepressants among girls, with the steepest increase between 2011 and 2013. Among both boys and girls, 'worried too much about things' and 'had sleep problems' were the two symptoms with the greatest changes.
Conclusion: A significant upward trend in self-reported depressive symptoms and medication use was observed over the past 25 years, with variations in the rate of increase, including a steeper trajectory during certain periods immediately after the introduction of social media platforms in Norway.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2023 Lien et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz:
Nepřihlášeným uživatelům se plný text nezobrazuje