Infants and preschoolers often appear to have a carefree life but a study suggests almost 15 per cent may have high levels of depression and anxiety.

In the five-year study of 1,758 children born in Quebec and their mothers, 15 per cent of preschoolers suffered from atypically high levels of depression and anxiety, researchers reported in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Feelings of depression and anxiety are a normal part of a child's develoment that increase over the preschool years, the researchers said. It's abnormally high levels of depression and anxiety that are of concern.

"We found that children with difficult temperaments and maternal depression were the most important risk factors. These risk factors can be helped by interventions," said study author Sylvana Côté, a professor at the University of Montreal's department of social and preventive medicine.

The signs can be spotted as early as the first year of life, the researchers found.

'Difficult temperament at five months was the most important predictor of depression and anxiety in the children.'— Sylvana Côté, study author

For the study, mothers were interviewed about whether the child was nervous, high strung or tense, fearful or anxious, worried, less happy than other children or had difficulty having fun. The questions are considered a reliable way of determining whether children are at risk for depression and anxiety.

Infant temperament and a mother's history of depression were important predictors of atypically high depressive and anxiety problems during preschool years, the researchers found, after controlling for low education and maternal antisocial behaviour.

Support for Mom

Supporting mothers who are depressed or have infants with difficult temperaments through cognitive behaviour or talk therapy and parenting training could help, Côté said.

While children who are hyperactive always attract attention, those with high levels of depression and anxiety may be discreet and quiet. People should be aware of these signs and symptoms for children who may be at high risk, she suggested.

Child psychiatrists have suggested teaching coping strategies to help older children showing anxiety. But even the youngest children can be taught how to express and deal with their emotions better, Côté said.

One limitation of the study is that genetics were not taken into account.

Researchers from the Laval University and McGill University, as well as Inserm in France, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and University College Dublin in Ireland also helped to conduct the study.

The study was funded by Quebec's ministry of health, the Fond québécois de la recherche sur la société et la culture, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center and the University of Montreal.