The Quebec Child Mental Health Survey (QCMHS) was conducted in 1992 on a representative sample of 2400 children and adolescents aged 6 to 14 years from throughout Quebec. Prevalences of nine Axis-I DSM-III-R (American Psychiatric Association, 1987) mental health disorders were calculated based on each informant (for 6-11-year-olds: child, parent, and teacher; for 12-14-year-olds: child and parent). Informant parallelism allows the classification of results of the demographic variables associated with disorders in the logistic regression models. This strategy applies to group variables (correlates of disorders) whereas informant agreement applies to individual diagnoses. Informant parallelism implies that results for two informants or more are in the same direction and significant. In the QCMHS, informant parallelism exists for disruptive disorders, i.e. in two ADHD regression models (child and parent) higher rates among boys and young children, and in three oppositional/conduct disorders regression models (child, parent, and teacher) higher rates among boys. No informant parallelism is observed in the logistic regression models for internalizing disorders, i.e. the patterns of association of demographic variables with anxiety and depressive disorders vary across informants. Urban-rural residence does not emerge as a significant variable in any of the logistic regression models. The overall 6-month prevalences reach 19.9% according to the parent and 15.8% according to the child. The implications of the results for policy makers and clinicians are discussed.

The Quebec Child Mental Health Survey (QCMHS) was conducted in 1992 on a representative sample of 2400 children and adolescents aged 6 to 14 years from throughout Quebec. Prevalences of nine Axis-I DSM-III-R (American Psychiatric Association, 1987) mental health disorders were calculated based on each informant (for 6-11-year-olds: child, parent, and teacher; for 12-14-year-olds: child and parent). Informant parallelism allows the classification of results of the demographic variables associated with disorders in the logistic regression models. This strategy applies to group variables (correlates of disorders) whereas informant agreement applies to individual diagnoses. Informant parallelism implies that results for two informants or more are in the same direction and significant. In the QCMHS, informant parallelism exists for disruptive disorders, i.e. in two ADHD regression models (child and parent) higher rates among boys and young children, and in three oppositional/conduct disorders regression models (child, parent, and teacher) higher rates among boys. No informant parallelism is observed in the logistic regression models for internalizing disorders, i.e. the patterns of association of demographic variables with anxiety and depressive disorders vary across informants. Urban-rural residence does not emerge as a significant variable in any of the logistic regression models. The overall 6-month prevalences reach 19.9% according to the parent and 15.8% according to the child. The implications of the results for policy makers and clinicians are discussed.

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Prevalence, symptoms, and treatment of depression suggest that major depressive disorders (MDD) present sex differences. Social stress-induced neurovascular pathology is associated with depressive symptoms in male mice; however, this association is unclear in females. Here, we report that chronic social and subchronic variable stress promotes blood-brain barrier (BBB) alterations in mood-related brain regions of female mice. Targeted disruption of the BBB in the female prefrontal cortex (PFC) induces anxiety- and depression-like behaviours. By comparing the endothelium cell-specific transcriptomic profiling of the mouse male and female PFC, we identify several pathways and genes involved in maladaptive stress responses and resilience to stress. Furthermore, we confirm that the BBB in the PFC of stressed female mice is leaky. Then, we identify circulating vascular biomarkers of chronic stress, such as soluble E-selectin. Similar changes in circulating soluble E-selectin, BBB gene expression and morphology can be found in blood serum and postmortem brain samples from women diagnosed with MDD. Altogether, we propose that BBB dysfunction plays an important role in modulating stress responses in female mice and possibly MDD.

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BackgroundIn a previous report, we hypothesized that responses to placebo were high in child and adolescent depression because of specific psychopathological factors associated with youth major depression. The purpose of this study was to compare the placebo response rates in pharmacological trials for major depressive disorder (MDD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and other anxiety disorders (AD-non-OCD).Methodology and Principal FindingsWe reviewed the literature relevant to the use of psychotropic medication in children and adolescents with internalized disorders, restricting our review to double-blind studies including a placebo arm. Placebo response rates were pooled and compared according to diagnosis (MDD vs. OCD vs. AD-non-OCD), age (adolescent vs. child), and date of publication. From 1972 to 2007, we found 23 trials that evaluated the efficacy of psychotropic medication (mainly non-tricyclic antidepressants) involving youth with MDD, 7 pertaining to youth with OCD, and 10 pertaining to youth with other anxiety disorders (N = 2533 patients in placebo arms). As hypothesized, the placebo response rate was significantly higher in studies on MDD, than in those examining OCD and AD-non-OCD (49.6% [range: 17–90%] vs. 31% [range: 4–41%] vs. 39.6% [range: 9–53], respectively, ANOVA F = 7.1, p = 0.002). Children showed a higher stable placebo response within all three diagnoses than adolescents, though this difference was not significant. Finally, no significant effects were found with respect to the year of publication.ConclusionMDD in children and adolescents appears to be more responsive to placebo than other internalized conditions, which highlights differential psychopathology.