Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To systematically evaluate the prevalence of depressive symptoms among children and adolescents in China. METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wanfang Data, China Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and VIP Database for literature published from January 2015 to May 2024 regarding the prevalence of depressive symptoms among Chinese children and adolescents. Stata 16.0 software was used for Meta analysis, and Egger's test and funnel plot analysis were performed to assess publication bias. RESULTS: A total of 53 studies were included, encompassing 314 867 children and adolescents, with 65 324 exhibiting depressive symptoms, resulting in a prevalence rate of 23.3% (95%CI: 21.4%-25.1%). Subgroup analysis revealed higher prevalence rates among females, those in rural areas, vocational high school students, individuals from the eastern region, those assessed using the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, with rates of 24.9%, 29.5%, 28.1%, 25.6%, 27.2%, and 27.7%, respectively. The distribution of studies in the funnel plot was roughly symmetrical, but Egger's test indicated potential publication bias (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of depressive symptoms among children and adolescents in China is relatively high, particularly among females, those in rural areas, vocational high school students, and those in the eastern regions. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted the incidence of depressive symptoms in this population.