Depression signs found in 15 per cent of preschoolers

In a five-year study published in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, researchers conclude that 15 per cent of infants and preschoolers have symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Children at a young age are usually worry-free and enjoy their life but a recent study of 1,758 children suggest even infants suffer from high levels of anxiety and depression, reports the CBC. The researchers do state, however, that feelings of depression and anxiety is normal among the development of children but it is the high levels that should grow concern, 'We found that children with difficult temperaments and maternal depression were the most important risk factors. These risk factors can be helped by interventions,' according to professor at the University of Montreal's department of social and preventive medicine, study author Sylvana Cote. During the process of the study, researchers asked the mothers of the children if their child felt nervous, tense, anxious, worried or fearful and if they were less happy or had difficulty in having fun. Researchers also concluded that mothers who had depression also affected the child's high levels of anxiety and depression during his or her years in preschool. Funding of this study was by Quebec's ministry of health, the Fond quebecois de la recherche sur la societe et la culture, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center and the University of Montreal.