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A new study has implicated early onset of puberty in depression among teenagers.

According to The Times of India, early puberty affects both sexes. However researchers at University of Illinois showed that boys and girls were affected differently. Until now, depression was only associated with early maturation among teen girls.

"It is often believed that going through puberty earlier than peers only contributes to depression in girls. We found that early maturation can also be a risk for boys as they progress through adolescence, but the timing is different than in girls," said lead researcher Karen D Rudolph in a press release.

The research involved study of 160 teenagers over a four-year period. Researchers found that while early maturation caused high levels of depression among girls compared to their peers and the effect remained consistent through the study, boys were not affected immediately after maturity. However by the end of the study, there were no significant differences in the ill-effects.

"While early maturation seemed to protect boys from the challenges of puberty initially, boys experienced an emerging cascade of personal and contextual risks - negative self-image, anxiety, social problems and interpersonal stress - that eventuated in depression as they moved through adolescence," Rudolph said.

The researchers said teens experiencing depression were more likely to have troubled relationships with peers and family, poor self image and befriend others who were likely to get into trouble.

As a caveat, researchers pointed out that the effect of early puberty is not same for all teens. Teens with troubled families for instance were more experience higher levels of depression.

"But it's important to note, as we find in our work, that only some teens are vulnerable to the effects of early maturation, particularly those with more disruption in their families and less support in their peer relationships," Rudolph said.