First-born children and only children have a higher risk of depression.
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Research has shown that people who grow up as firstborn or only children can experience anxiety and depression from childhood. [사진=게티이미지뱅크]There are a variety of factors known to affect the likelihood of childhood mental health conditions, including preterm birth, gender, BMI, maternal history of mental health disorders, and trauma. So could birth order and sibling relationships also be factors?
ABC News in the U.S. reported that a study showed that children who are the eldest among siblings or only children can suffer from anxiety and depression starting at age 8.
Researchers at Epic, the company that manages most of the nation’s electronic health records, studied American children who received routine checkups at age 8, the age at which pediatricians should begin screening for anxiety, according to guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. . The study population included 182,477 children born between 2009 and 2016. The researchers analyzed the children’s age, gender, race, ethnicity, history of other mental health disorders, mother’s history of anxiety or depression, type of insurance coverage, preterm birth, social vulnerability index, rural-urban commuter classification, and BMI.
The study found that first-born children were 48% more likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and 35% more likely to be diagnosed with depression during regular checkups over an eight-year period compared to second-born or later children. Additionally, only children without siblings were 42% more likely to suffer from anxiety and 38% more likely to suffer from depression compared to children with siblings. “We do not know exactly why eldest children and only children are more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety and depression,” researchers said.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that children be screened for anxiety starting at age 8 by 2022, noting that approximately 8% of children ages 3 to 17 currently suffer from an anxiety disorder, and that children under 18 with an anxiety disorder will have an anxiety disorder in the future. They said they were more likely to suffer from anxiety disorders or depression. In children, symptoms of anxiety may include disruption of sleep patterns or difficulty sleeping, excessive emotionality in terms of anger, irritability, and obsessive behavior. Additionally, physical symptoms such as stomachache or headache may appear.
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