The search for novel treatments Selected serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which boost serotonin levels in the brain and improve emotion and mood, are the most popular treatment for anxiety and depression worldwide. However, their limited efficacy and significant side effects have prompted researchers to investigate alternative physiological processes involved in juvenile depression and anxiety to create new treatments.
Experimenters have looked into the potential links between depression and inflammatory illnesses like asthma, cardiovascular disease, and inflammatory bowel disease. This is because many adults with depression also suffer from anxiety disorders. Furthermore, there is evidence that altering the gut microbiota during development in mice reduces behaviors linked to anxiety and depression in humans.
This shows that focusing on the gut microbiota throughout adolescence could be a possible way to help young people cope with stress. Kathrin Cohen Kadosh and colleagues from the University of Surrey in Guildford, UK, analyzed existing therapies that changed diets to target the gut microbiome. These were found to have a negligible effect on young people’s anxiety. However, the authors advise caution before drawing such a conclusion, citing methodological flaws (small sample sizes) in the research they examined.
On the other hand, researchers have discovered that, under certain conditions, boosting young people’s cognitive and interpersonal abilities can be more helpful in avoiding and treating anxiety and depression – the explanation for this is unknown. According to Marc Bennett of the University of Cambridge, UK, and colleagues6, a concept is known as ‘decentring’ or ‘psychological distancing’ (encouraging a person to adopt an objective perspective on negative thoughts and feelings) can help prevent and alleviate depression and anxiety. However, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are unknown.
Furthermore, Alexander Daros and colleagues from the Campbell Family Mental Health Institute in Toronto, Canada, present a meta-analysis of 90 randomized controlled studies. They discovered that assisting young people in improving their emotion-regulation abilities, which are required to moderate emotional responses in challenging situations, helps them cope with anxiety and depression.
Two such young people are co-authors in a review from Karolin Krause at the Centre for Dependence and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada, and colleagues. The study explored whether training in problem-solving helps to alleviate depressive symptoms. The two youth partners, in turn, assembled a panel of 12 other youth counselors, and together they delivered input on shaping how the review of the evidence was carried out and on interpreting and contextualizing the findings. The investigation concluded that, although problem-solving training could help with personal challenges when combined with other treatments, it doesn’t on its own measurably reduce depressive symptoms.
Two of these young individuals are co-authors of an examination by Karolin Krause and colleagues from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada. The study looked into whether problem-solving training can aid depression symptoms8. The two youth partners, in turn, assembled a panel of 12 additional young advisers, who collaborated on defining the evidence review process as well as analyzing and contextualizing the findings. The study found that, while problem-solving training can help with personal issues when used in conjunction with other treatments, it did not significantly reduce depressed symptoms on its own.
The overriding conclusion of these reviews is that there is no “silver bullet” for preventing and treating anxiety and depression in young people; instead, prevention and treatment will require a combination of medicines that take individual needs and circumstances into consideration. Large-scale experiments employing established methodologies, as well as higher-quality evidence, are needed.
Together with the UNICEF report, the findings highlight the critical role that funders must play and why academics, physicians, and communities must collaborate on more studies that truly incorporate young people as co-investigators. Together, we can create a more promising tomorrow for a generation of young people who confront more challenges than ever before.
This release is articulated by Prittle Prattle News in the form of an authored article.
