Teen Health News

December 28, 2024

Top Headlines

Almost Three Quarters of Adolescents Experience Depression or Anxiety

Dec. 17, 2024 — Almost three quarters of adolescents in Australia experience clinically significant depression or anxiety symptoms, with most being chronic, according to a new study. And preventive strategies outside our clinics are urgently required to address ...

Persistent Tobacco Smoking from Childhood May Cause Heart Damage by the Mid-Twenties

Dec. 11, 2024 — The majority of children who started smoking tobacco at age 10 years or in their later teens continued to smoke until their mid-twenties. Continuous smoking from childhood significantly increased the ...

Perceptions of Parent Cannabis Use Shape Teen Attitudes

Dec. 4, 2024 — Teens who think their parents use cannabis are more likely to hold favorable attitudes toward the drug and to consider trying it themselves, according to a new study. The research also reveals that parental monitoring and the closeness of ...

Home and Neighborhood Environments Impact Sedentary Behavior in Teens Globally

Dec. 3, 2024 — Adolescents worldwide are spending an average of 8 to 10 hours per day engaging in sedentary activities such as watching television, using electronic devices, playing video games and riding in ...

Latest Headlines

updated 4:52pm EST

Teens With a Reduced Response to Rewards Are More Susceptible to Depression

Dec. 17, 2024 — Novel research shows that a reduced neural response to receiving rewards in teens predicts the first onset of depression, but not anxiety or suicidality. This is independent of pre-existing ...

Long-Term Benefits of Weight-Loss Surgery in Young People

Oct. 30, 2024 — Young people with severe obesity who underwent weight-loss surgery at age 19 or younger continued to see sustained weight loss and resolution of common obesity-related comorbidities 10 years later, ...

Cannabis Use During Pregnancy Can Impact Thinking and Learning Skills, Increase Aggression Among Children, Study Shows

Oct. 28, 2024 — As cannabis is legalized and is more accessible in various forms across the country, there is increasing concern among health care providers about ...

New Study Highlights the Dangers of Handheld Cellphone Use Among Teen Drivers

Oct. 17, 2024 — A new study found a strong association between handheld cellphone use and risky driving behaviors among newly licensed teen drivers. The study used a ...

Good Physical Fitness from Childhood Protects Mental Health

Oct. 15, 2024 — A recent study found that good physical fitness from childhood to adolescence is linked to better mental health in adolescence. These results are significant and timely, as mental health problems are ...

Fear of Childbirth Is Associated With Shorter Duration of Breastfeeding

Oct. 7, 2024 — The duration of breastfeeding is shorter than average among mothers with a fear of childbirth -- regardless of the mode of delivery, a new study from Finland ...

Study Identifies Link Between Prediabetes During Adolescence and Young Adulthood With the Likelihood of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes

Sep. 24, 2024 — A new article finds that prediabetes before conception may significantly increase the likelihood of gestational diabetes during first ...

Research Reveals Reality of Ice Age Teen Puberty

Sep. 12, 2024 — Landmark new research shows Ice Age teens from 25,000 years ago went through similar puberty stages as modern-day ...

COVID-19 Lockdowns Prematurely Aged Teenage Brains, Study Shows

Sep. 9, 2024 — New research has found that lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unusually accelerated brain maturation in adolescents. This maturation was more pronounced in ...

Pregnant Women Exposed to PFAS May Be at Risk for Obesity, Heart Disease Later in Life

Sep. 5, 2024 — Women with higher levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during pregnancy may experience long-term weight gain and heart problems later ...

Nearly 6 Percent of Pregnant Women Report Marijuana Use, U.S. Study Finds

Oct. 30, 2024 — A new study, using responses from the U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, has found that about 6 percent of pregnant women reported using marijuana during the last month, and many did not ...

Dramatic Drop in Marijuana Use Among U.S. Youth Over a Decade (2011 to 2021)

Oct. 28, 2024 — Using a national survey of 88,183 adolescents in grades nine to 12, findings show marijuana use declined from 23.1% in 2011 to 15.8% in 2021, with first-time use before age 13 dropping from 8.1% to ...

Probiotics During Pregnancy Shown to Help Moms and Babies

Aug. 15, 2024 — Giving probiotics to pregnant mice can enhance both the immune system and behavior of the mothers and their ...

Losing a Loved One May Speed Up Aging

July 29, 2024 — Losing someone close, like a family member, can make you age faster. The study found that people who lost a parent, partner, sibling, or child, showed signs of older biological age compared to those ...

Innovative Modeling Aims to Curb Teen Drunken Driving Fatalities

July 29, 2024 — New research is shedding new light on the complex issue of drinking and driving among teens and young adults in the ...

Last Decade Saw Big Decrease in Teens Who Used Commonly Prescribed and Misused Prescription Drugs

July 25, 2024 — Since 2009, U.S. high school seniors have reported steep declines in medical use, misuse and availability of the three most commonly prescribed and misused controlled substances for teens, a new ...

Decline in Global Adolescent Fertility Rates Is Counteracted by Increasing Teen Births in Sub-Saharan Africa, Study Finds

July 16, 2024 — A new report highlights a troubling trend: while global adolescent fertility rates have significantly declined, sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing an increase in teen births. This region's share ...

Researchers Find Biological Clues to Mental Health Impacts of Prenatal Cannabis Exposure

July 5, 2024 — Researchers outline some of the intermediate biological steps that could play into how prenatal cannabis exposure leads to behavioral issues down the ...

Just 4% of Teen Academy Prospects Play Elite Soccer (Football)

June 27, 2024 — Just four per cent of talented teen academy prospects make it to the top tier of professional football, a new study has shown. A sample of nearly 200 players, aged between 13-18, also revealed only ...

New Study Reveals Links Between Social Anxiety, Depression and Suicidal Thoughts in Adolescents

June 10, 2024 — A longitudinal study using a big dataset of 2,400 young people recruited from the UK found that social anxiety symptoms (measured at the outset) were significantly associated with more suicidal ...

Study Reveals High Rate of Drowsy Driving by Teens

June 4, 2024 — A new study found that drowsy driving by teenagers is a common threat to public safety on U.S. ...

Study Links Household Chaos With Sleep Quality Among Teens With ADHD Symptoms

May 31, 2024 — A new study found that household chaos and sleep hygiene are important factors in the relationship between sleep quality and ADHD symptoms in ...

Social Media Use and Sleep Duration Connected to Brain Activity in Teens

May 30, 2024 — A new study found a distinct relationship between sleep duration, social media usage, and brain activation across brain regions that are key for executive control and reward ...

Do Epilepsy Medications Taken During Pregnancy Affect a Child's Creativity?

May 29, 2024 — While older drugs for epilepsy, taken while pregnant, have been shown in previous research to affect the creative thinking of children, a new study finds no effects on creativity for children born to ...

Prenatal Exposure to Air Pollution Associated With Increased Mental Health Risks

May 28, 2024 — A baby's exposure to air pollution while in the womb is associated with the development of certain mental health problems once the infant reaches adolescence, new research has found. The study ...

1 in 4 Parents Say Their Teen Consumes Caffeine Daily or Nearly Every Day

May 20, 2024 — A quarter of parents report that caffeine is basically part of their teen's daily life, according to a new national ...

Teens Who View Their Homes as More Chaotic Than Their Siblings Have Poorer Mental Health in Adulthood

May 8, 2024 — Adolescents who view their households as more unstructured, disorganized, or hectic than their siblings develop more mental health and behavioral problems in early adulthood, according to new ...

Sedentary Lifestyle Puts Strain on Young Hearts

May 7, 2024 — According to a recent study, high levels of sedentary behavior and physical inactivity from childhood strain the heart in adolescence. High cardiac workload predicts heart failure and other heart ...

Family and Media Pressure to Lose Weight in Adolescence Linked to How People Value Themselves Almost Two Decades Later

Apr. 15, 2024 — People who as teenagers felt pressure to lose weight from family or from the media, females, people who are not heterosexual, and people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage, are most at risk of ...

Low Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Youth Is Associated With Decreased Work Ability Throughout Adulthood

Apr. 8, 2024 — A study confirms the concerns raised in the public domain about how young people's decreased fitness may affect their future work ability. The association of low youth cardiorespiratory fitness ...