IEPA 11

Kelly Allott1,2, Joanne Goodall1,3, Caroline Fisher4, Sarah Hetrick5, Emma Parrish6, Lisa Phillips3; 1Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Australia, 2Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Australia, 3School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Australia, 4Department of Psychology, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne Health, Australia, 5Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland, New Zealand, 6Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
               
Depression is among the most common mental health problems for young people. In adults, depression is associated with neurocognitive deficits that reduce the effectiveness of treatment and impair educational and vocational functioning. Compared to adults, less is known about the neurocognitive functioning of young people with depression, and existing research has reported inconsistent findings. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized the literature on neurocognitive functioning in currently depressed youth aged 12-25 years in comparison to healthy controls. Following a systematic review of the literature, 23 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Poorer performance in the domains of attention (SMD: .50, 95% CI: .18-.83, p=.002), verbal memory (SMD: .78, 95% CI: .50-1.0, p<.001), visual memory (SMD: .65, 95% CI: .30-.99, p<.001), verbal reasoning/knowledge (SMD: .46; 95% CI: .14-.79; p <0.001) and IQ (SMD: .32; 95% CI: .08-.56; p=0.01) were identified in depressed youth. Relative weaknesses in processing speed/reaction time and verbal learning were also evident; however these findings disappeared when the quality of studies was controlled for. Moderator analysis showed a tendency for poorer set-shifting ability in younger depressed participants relative to controls (although non-significant; p=.05). Moderator analysis of medication status showed taking medication was associated with poorer attentional functioning compared to those not taking medication. The findings suggest that currently depressed young people display a range of neurocognitive weaknesses which may impact treatment engagement and outcome. The findings support the need to consider neurocognitive functioning when treating youth with depression.