Topic: Assessment, Treatment & Prevention of Depression in Children and Adolescents Population: Children and adolescents through 17 years of age with a DSM-5 depression diagnosis or with elevated risk of developing depression. Questions:

1. What is the comparative accuracy of approaches that can be used to screen for and/or diagnose depression?
2. What are the comparative efectiveness and safety of pharmacologic and/or nonpharmacologic treatments for depression in improving outcomes associated with depression? How do these outcomes vary by patient characteristics, disorder characteristics, treatment characteristics, history of previous treatment, and comorbid conditions?
3. What factors convey excess risk for the development of DSM-5 depressive disorders?
4. What is the efectiveness and safety of pharmacologic and/or nonpharmacologic approaches to the prevention of DSM-5 depressive disorders?

Depressive disorders are among the more common mental illnesses in the world, with an estimated 121 million suferers. Depressive disorders are currently the single most important cause of years lost due to disability. It is projected that by the year 2020, depressive disorders will also become the second most important cause of loss of disability-adjusted life years. Depressive disorders can arise early in life: it is estimated that 3% of prepubertal children and 6% of post pubertal youth are afected. These disorders manifest themselves in episodes of varying duration and are often chronic or recurrent. The depressive disorders markedly impair psychosocial development, including difculties with interpersonal relationships, poor vocational attainment and achievement, legal problems, exposure to negative life events, physical illness, early pregnancy, and increased risks of self-harm and suicide. Even sub-clinical symptoms of depression are associated with adverse long-term sequelae, including lower parenting abilities, less successful relationships with life partners, and greater loneliness in adulthood. The most recent US clinical practice guidelines addressing the assessment and treatment of depression in children and adolescents were published in 2007 by the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. These parameters were developed in advance of the new guidelines for guidelines developed by the Institute of Medicine, which greatly increased the standards of rigor and transparency for clinical practice guidelines. As such, there is an urgent need to critically assess the extant literature to serve as the basis for updated rigorous and transparent clinical practice guidelines pertaining to the assessment, treatment, and prevention of depression in children and adolescents

The answers to the research questions will serve as the basis for updated clinical practice guidelines pertaining to the assessment, treatment, and prevention of depression in children and adolescents that will be published by the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and on the AACAP website as an AACAP Official Action.

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