Featured Articles
Predictors and Patterns of Physical Activity From Transportation Among United States Youth, 2007-2016
Physical activity is strongly associated with health benefits in youth, although wide disparities in physical activity persist across sex, race/ethnicity, and income. Active transportation is an important source of youth physical activity. We aimed to describe active transportation patterns for United States adolescents and young adults ages 12–25 years across sociodemographic and weight status characteristics.Sexual Health Experiences Among High School Students With Disabilities
The purpose of this study was to investigate the sexual experiences of adolescents with and without disabilities.What Does Adolescent Substance Use Look Like During the COVID-19 Pandemic? Examining Changes in Frequency, Social Contexts, and Pandemic-Related Predictors
The overarching goal of this study was to provide key information on how adolescents' substance use has changed since the corona virus disease (COVID)-19 pandemic, in addition to key contexts and correlates of substance use during social distancing.Medication Treatment and Health Care Use Among Adolescents With Opioid Use Disorder in Ohio
The opioid epidemic impacts both adolescents and adults, and overdose deaths continue to rise. Two medication treatments (buprenorphine and naltrexone) are effective for treating opioid use disorder (OUD) in office-based settings but are seldom prescribed to adolescents. The present study describes medication treatment for OUD and other care received by adolescents with OUD in a state at the center of the opioid epidemic.Caring for Children and Adolescents With Eating Disorders in the Current Coronavirus 19 Pandemic: A Singapore Perspective
Our public pediatric tertiary hospital in Singapore has been a part of a robust public health response to coronavirus 19 that has been calibrated in a timely manner to the evolving international situation. As of mid-March, Singapore remains in a containment mode with enhanced surveillance and limited community spread. Within this context, our service for pediatric eating disorder care has had to make significant adaptations to our models of service delivery as well as respond to the changing psychosocial needs of our patients.Initiation Age, Cumulative Prevalence, and Longitudinal Patterns of Handgun Carrying Among Rural Adolescents: A Multistate Study
Adolescent handgun carrying is a behavioral marker for youth interpersonal conflicts and an intervention point for violence prevention. Our knowledge about the epidemiology of adolescent handgun carrying mainly pertains to urban settings. Evidence on the initiation age, cumulative prevalence, and longitudinal patterns of this behavior and on handgun-related norms and peer behavior among male and female rural adolescents is scant.Providers' Perspectives on Adolescent Confidentiality and the Electronic Health Record: A State of Transition
Electronic health records (EHRs) have led to more transparency and improvements in patient safety, yet electronic access to personal health information can pose significant threats to maintaining confidentiality for adolescents. To date, no studies have explored clinicians' perspectives on EHR functionality and institutional policies related to confidentiality and health information sharing for adolescents aged <18 years.Confidentiality Matters but How Do We Improve Implementation in Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Care?
Confidentiality protections are a key component of high-quality adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care. Research has shown that adolescents value confidentiality and are more likely to seek care and provide honest information when confidentiality protections are implemented. However, many adolescents do not receive confidential SRH care. We synthesize studies of adolescents, parents, and providers to identify confidentiality-related factors that may explain why adolescents do not seek care or receive confidential services when they do access care.Adolescents' E-Cigarette Use: Increases in Frequency, Dependence, and Nicotine Exposure Over 12 Months
This study examined changes in e-cigarette and dual-use frequency, levels of nicotine exposure and e-cigarette dependence, and device and e-liquid preferences over 12 months.Meningococcal Vaccination Among Adolescents in the United States: A Tale of Two Age Platforms
Despite recommended routine vaccination with meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY) at ages 11–12 years with a booster at age 16 years, national estimates indicate MenACWY uptake is lower in older adolescents than younger adolescents. This study aimed to identify factors associated with MenACWY uptake among adolescents.A Multisite 2-Year Follow Up of Psychopathology Prevalence, Predictors, and Correlates Among Adolescents Who Did or Did Not Undergo Weight Loss Surgery
We aimed to characterize prevalence, change, predictors, and correlates of psychopathology and associations with weight loss in adolescents with severe obesity 24 months after weight loss surgery (WLS) utilizing a controlled multisite sample design.Impact of Marijuana Legalization in Colorado on Adolescent Emergency and Urgent Care Visits
Approximately 6%–8% of U.S. adolescents are daily/past-month users of marijuana. However, survey data may not reliably reflect the impact of legalization on adolescents. The objective was to evaluate the impact of marijuana legalization on adolescent emergency department and urgent cares visits to a children's hospital in Colorado, a state that has allowed both medical and recreational marijuana.The Role of Pharmacists in Caring for Young People With Chronic Illness
To explore the perceived and potential roles of pharmacists in the care of young people aged 10–24 years with chronic illness, through the exemplar of juvenile arthritis, from the perspectives of UK community and hospital pharmacists, health service commissioners, rheumatology health professionals, and lay advocates.The Mental Health of Transgender Youth: Advances in Understanding
This review provides an update on the growing body of research related to the mental health of transgender youth that has emerged since the 2011 publication of the Institute of Medicine report on the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. The databases PubMed and Ovid Medline were searched for studies that were published from January 2011 to March 2016 in English. The following search terms were used: transgender, gender nonconforming, gender minority, gender queer, and gender dysphoria.Sexually Transmitted Infection Services for Adolescents and Youth in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Perceived and Experienced Barriers to Accessing Care
Access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services is vital for sexually active adolescents; yet, their SRH care needs are often unmet.Eating Disorders in Adolescent and Young Adult Males: Presenting Characteristics
Data on the clinical characteristics of adolescent males with eating disorders are limited. The purpose of this study was to describe the demographic characteristics, presenting vital signs, laboratory results, and relevant risk factors for eating disorders among males presenting to an outpatient adolescent and young adult medicine practice.Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing Among Adolescents and Young Adults in the United States
Persons aged 15–25 years have high sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates and suboptimal screening. There has been limited research analyzing barriers to STI testing at a national level. We examined STI testing among 15–25 year olds and reasons for not testing.If You Do Not Ask, They Will Not Tell: Evaluating Pregnancy Risk in Young Women in Pediatric Hospitals
Adolescents experience some of the highest rates of unintended pregnancy among women of all reproductive age groups. And despite the fact that adolescents often receive care in pediatric hospital settings, evaluation of pregnancy risk is inconsistent. Pregnancy risk assessments can identify opportunities to deliver reproductive health services, allow earlier pregnancy diagnoses, and reduce morbidity and mortality for medically complex adolescent patients and their pregnancies. In this commentary we discuss some of the challenges and potential solutions to performing pregnancy risk assessments in pediatric hospital settings.A Practitioner's Guide to Electronic Cigarettes in the Adolescent Population
We present guidance on electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) for health care professionals who care for adolescents. ENDS provide users with inhaled nicotine in an aerosolized mist. Popular forms of ENDS include e-cigarettes and vape-pens. ENDS range in disposability, customization, and price. Growth of ENDS usage has been particularly rapid in the adolescent population, surpassing that of conventional cigarettes in 2014. Despite surging use throughout the United States, little is known about the health risks posed by ENDS, especially in the vulnerable adolescent population.Gender-Based Violence Against Adolescent and Young Adult Women in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a global health and human rights issue with individual and social determinants. Youth are considered high risk; national influences include norms, policies and practices. By age, nation, and region, we contrast key GBV indicators, specifically intimate partner violence (IPV) and forced sexual debut among adolescent and young adult women using Demographic and Health Surveys across low- and middle-income countries.Integrating Mental Health Into Adolescent Annual Visits: Impact of Previsit Comprehensive Screening on Within-Visit Processes
To evaluate how a comprehensive, computerized, self-administered adolescent screener, the DartScreen, affects within-visit patient–doctor interactions such as data gathering, advice giving, counseling, and discussion of mental health issues.Understanding Concussion Reporting Using a Model Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior
Athlete's report of concussion symptoms to coaching or medical personnel is an important component of concussion risk reduction. This study applies a model based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to the prediction of concussive symptom underreporting among late adolescent and young adult male ice hockey players.School-Located Vaccination of Adolescents With Insurance Billing: Cost, Reimbursement, and Vaccination Outcomes
To assess, in a school-located adolescent vaccination program that billed health insurance, the program costs, the proportion of costs reimbursed, and the likelihood of vaccination.Well-Being and Suicidal Ideation of Secondary School Students From Military Families
The mental health of children is a primary public health concern; adolescents of military personnel may be at increased risk of experiencing poorer well-being overall and depressive symptoms specifically. These adolescents experience individual and intrafamilial stressors of parental deployment and reintegration, which are directly and indirectly associated with internalizing behaviors.Flavored-Little-Cigar and Flavored-Cigarette Use Among U.S. Middle and High School Students
Flavors can mask the harshness and taste of tobacco, making flavored tobacco products appealing to youth. We assessed the prevalence and correlates of flavored-little-cigar and flavored-cigarette use among U.S. middle and high school students in 2011.
