Children who get depression are SIX times more likely to die prematurely in adulthood, study finds

Children who get diagnosed with depression between the ages of five and 19 are six times more likely to die young, according to a study.

Researchers in Sweden followed 1.4million people to test whether there was a link between childhood or teenage depression and worse health in adulthood.

They found that sleeping problems, hepatitis and premature death were all more likely among people who suffered the mental health disorder.

Depression is one of the most common mental health problems and is found increasingly often among children and teenagers, studies have found. 

The study, led by Stockholm’s Karolinska Institutet, said that around 2.8 per cent of eight to 13-year-olds get the condition, along with 5.6 per cent of 14 to 18-year-olds.