News / Health & Wellness
Ecstasy and Amphetamines Cause Depression in Teens
They may seem like uppers, but these popular party drugs can be a serious downer in the weeks and months following use.
It may sound contradictory, but a new study founds that Ecstasy can trigger depression. While the club drug (aka MDMA) as well as amphetamines definitely do produce a high, they can also be followed by a longer-lasting and lower low – especially in teens.
Health magazine recently reported on the study, which found researchers in Canada interviewing 3,880 teenagers from low-income neighborhoods in Quebec. Compared to their peers who used neither drug, teens who reported taking MDMA or amphetamines at least once in the tenth grade had 60-70 percent higher odds of experiencing depression symptoms in the eleventh grade. Using both drugs nearly doubled the odds of depression.
While the findings don't show a specific cause-and-effect relationship between drug use and later depression, they point to a clear connection. Unlike much previous research, the study controlled for a wide range of factors that might influence both drug use and depression, including problems at school and at home, a prior history of depression and anxiety, the strength of a teen's social networks, smoking and alcohol use.
Other researchers have reported similar links between MDMA and amphetamine use and subsequent depression, but this latest study adds to the argument that there is a direct connection to MDMA or amphetamine use and depression in teens.
The study was published this week in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
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