Relationship Between Household Social Risk and Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in Adolescents: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Research suggests that household social risks are associated with worse mental health in adolescents, but prior studies have been limited. We evaluated the association between social risks and symptoms of depression and anxiety in adolescents 1 year later by conducting a retrospective cohort study at an integrated health system with 45 practices. Adolescents were screened for depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) and anxiety using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2). Of the 4748 adolescents, 1220 (25.7%) had at least 1 social risk, 226 (5.7%) reported symptoms of depression, and 410 (10.2%) reported symptoms of anxiety. Adolescents in households with at least 1 social risk were more likely to report symptoms of depression (β = 0.15, 95% confidence interval CI = 0.07-0.23) and anxiety (β = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.11-0.31) and had greater odds of a positive PHQ-2 (odds ratio OR = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.12-2.01) and positive GAD-2 (OR = 1.57; 95% CI = 1.32, 1.87).