Almost one in two depressed adult patients report maltreatment in childhood and are at increased risk of early onset, chronic or treatment-resistant depression, a meta-analysis has found. Maltreated individuals were between 2.45 times (childhood physical neglect) and 3.73 times (childhood emotional abuse) more likely than those who had not been maltreated to become depressed as adults. Childhood emotional abuse and neglect were most strongly associated with both risk of depression and depression severity.