Prevalence of depression and it’s influencing factors among Indian children over a decade: a systematic review

Introduction: Prevalence of depression is increasing among children throughout the world as well as in India. Globally, one in every seven children and adolescent (10-19-year) experiences a mental disorder and childhood depression is common among them. It reduces the capacity for logical reasoning, concentration, memory, delaying or interrupting the development of cognitive, psychomotor and learning skills. Childhood depression is associated with low quality of life and it is not disappeared during adulthood. Depression is also a significant cause of suicide and suicidal attempt in children and adolescent. The digitalized world with significant demographic and socio-cultural changes demand adaptation in children’s life also. The systematic review of literature is aimed in finding prevalence of depression and related factors among Indian children in the last decade. Method: Published literature of English data bases from 2017 to 2026 were reviewed. Articles related to childhood depression and influencing factors among Indian children and adolescent aged under 19 years were reviewed. Out of 98 articles 21 articles were assessed, summarized, categorized and interpreted. Results: The prevalence of depression among Indian children is ranged from 0.1% to 68% and it is higher among girls than boys. Number of personal, Interpersonal and sociodemographic factors has influence on developing depression in children.