ANALYSIS OF DEPRESSION LEVEL IN THE ADOLESCENT AGE GROUP OF RAIPUR, CHHATTISGARH

India has the largest adolescent population in the world, and every fifth person is between 10 and 19 years old.Adolescence is the phase between childhood and adulthood.It is a dramatic period showing drastic physical and mental changes.To study the level of depression in the adolescent age group this is a cross-sectional study.This questionnaire-based study was conducted on 325 students, among whom 215 girls and 110 boys aged 12 to 18 years, who were selected from 9th to 12th classes from different higher secondary schools in Raipur.The patient health questionnaire modified for teens (PHQ-9 modified) is used and takes less than five minutes to complete and score.The scale consists of 9 questions with a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day).The level of depression was categorized into 5 groups: minimal, mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe based on scoring in the range of 0-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, and 20-27, respectively.The data collected during the study will be analyzed numerically and processed using MS Excel Worksheets.A total of 325 students were included in the study, 147 had depression, which represents 45 % of the total population.According to the PHQ-9 scale,30% had mild depression, 14% had moderate depression, and 1% had severe depression.In this study sample, depression was found to be mild to moderate, which affects the cognitive performance of adolescents.These results show depression is common in adolescents and highlight the need for awareness.Hence, active measures are to be initiated to prevent depression.