Trends in depressive symptoms among high school students with and without health-risk behaviors in the United States: A population-based study

Abstract Background: Despite the recent rise in depressive symptoms among adolescents, trends in at-risk groups remain poorly understood. This study estimated national trends in depressive symptoms among high school students with and without health-risk behaviors. Methods: Data were analyzed from the 2007 to 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a biennial cross-sectional survey of US high school students (n = 119,654). Depressive symptoms were defined as past-year feelings of sadness/hopelessness almost every day for ≥2 weeks impacting usual activities. 24