Depression dogs isle teenagers

Nearly 1 in 3 high school students in Hawaii report feeling depressed on a regular basis, and 1 in 6 students say they have seriously considered attempting suicide — statistics that haven’t improved in the past five years, according to new survey results released Thursday.

Thirty percent of students say they’ve felt sad or hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks in a row to the point that they’ve stopped doing some usual activities. Across the counties, the prevalence ranged from 29 percent on Oahu to 32 percent on the Big Island.

Meanwhile, 16 percent say they made a plan about how they would attempt suicide, and 10.5 percent attempted suicide in the past year, higher than the national average of 8 percent.

The figures are from the 2015 Hawaii Youth Risk Behavior Survey, part of a national survey administered every two years and overseen by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 12,000 Hawaii students last year participated in the survey, which is co-administered by the state Health and Education departments to a random sample of schools that is representative of youth who attend public school in Hawaii.

Officials say the statistics reflect ongoing challenges to address adolescent mental health needs.

“Any amount of attempted suicide is a serious cause for concern. It is concerning that nearly 1 in 10 Hawaii students are reporting through the survey that they have attempted suicide. It is not something to be taken lightly,” said Ranjani Starr, an epidemiologist with the Department of Health, whose branch supervised administration of the survey. “However, in the context of the nation, this is a national trend and a cause for concern across the country.”

The figures are among nearly 100 health behaviors tracked in the survey. It monitors six types of risky health behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth and adults: unintentional injuries and violence, tobacco use, alcohol and drug use, sexual behaviors, dietary behaviors and physical activity.

Overall, the results are mixed. The data show alcohol use is flat among Hawaii high-schoolers at 25 percent, well below the national average of 35 percent, as is marijuana use at 19 percent, below the national average of 23 percent. Fewer Hawaii high school students are smoking cigarettes and consuming sugary soda.

“It’s important to remember that sugar is an important contributor to obesity,” Starr said. “That is good news for us that our youth are less likely to engage in a behavior that contributes to obesity.”

But while traditional smoking is on the decline — 90 percent of Hawaii high school students do not smoke cigarettes — 45 percent of students have tried electronic vapor products such as e-cigarettes or vaping pens, and a quarter say they use the products regularly. The question about the use of e-cigarettes was asked for the first time on the 2015 survey.

“Forty-five percent means nearly half our students have tried electronic vapor products,” Starr said. “One in 4 students reported currently using a product that contains nicotine, which we know is an addictive substance. Our numbers are not different from the U.S. mainland, but just because they’re comparable doesn’t mean it isn’t pretty concerning.”

State Health Director Virginia Pressler said in a statement that while the overall data show Hawaii is “improving as a state in many areas … the sharp rise in the use of electronic cigarettes reminds us of the importance of continually monitoring student behavior. We will continue to work in partnership with (the Department of Education) to ensure that our programs and interventions target these emerging issues.”

Bullying in schools continues to be a challenge, the results show. Nineteen percent of students say they’ve been bullied on school property, unchanged from the 2013 survey results and just below the national average of 19.6 percent. The survey also found 14.7 percent of students were victims of cyberbullying through websites, emails or text messages — the same as the national average.

Meanwhile, the number of students who say they’re sexually active declined slightly to 22 percent from 25 percent in 2013 — below the national average of 34 percent. But condom use among Hawaii students engaging in sex continues to hover below 50 percent, compared with 59 percent nationally.

“While fewer are sexually active, we’ve seen a declining trend since we started monitoring this in 1993: Among those who are sexually active, fewer are using a condom than their U.S. mainland counterparts,” Starr said.

The survey also showed that the number of students meeting physical activity recommendations held steady, with 20 percent achieving the national recommendation of at least 60 minutes per day on each of the seven days before the survey. But sedentary time was unchanged, with 2 in 5 high school students spending three hours or more per day playing video games or using a computer for nonschool purposes.