adolescence

Access to safe public spaces to meet, employment, education and public health are some of the main measures recommended to make cities more friendly to the mental health of young people and adolescents. The analysis, based on surveys of 518 people in several countries, is published in the journal Nature and is intended to serve as a guide for urban planning policies that reduce inequalities and take into account the needs of young people.

The largest meta-analysis to date that studies the risk of children of people with a mental disorder also suffering from some type of mental disorder during their lifetime has been published, with Spanish participation. According to the study, the risk is more than double that of the rest of the population. To explain the study and resolve any doubts that may arise, the Science Media Centre Spain organised an information session with one of the authors, psychiatrist Joaquim Raduà.

A meta-analysis by the University of Valencia has studied the links between leisure reading habits on digital devices and the reading comprehension of students of different ages. The research - which is based on 25 studies published between 2000 and 2022 involving some 470,000 students from different countries - concludes that in the early stages (primary and 1st and 2nd ESO in the Spanish case) there were small negative relationships between digital leisure reading and reading comprehension, while in later stages (3rd and 4th ESO, baccalaureate and university) the relationship became slightly positive. The research is published in Review of Educational Research.

A review including 126 studies shows an association between the use of social networking sites by 10-19 year olds and increased risk behaviours, including alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, risky sexual behaviour, gambling and antisocial behaviour. According to the authors, who acknowledge that their research does not establish causality, "precautions may need to be taken in academia, government, health and education before the risks of adolescent use of social networking sites are fully understood". The findings are published in The BMJ.

A study published in JAMA Pediatrics has analysed bone density in 75 transgender youth who underwent hormone blockade in adolescence, followed by hormone treatment.

A meta-analysis, pooling the results of 40 previous studies - involving more than 310,000 children and adolescents in total - concludes that treatment rates for mental disorders in these age groups are "generally low, especially for depression and anxiety". The research, published in JAMA Network Open, shows that the treatment rate for any mental disorder is 38%, ranging from 31% for anxiety, 36% for depression, 49% for conduct disorders and 58% for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The time adolescents spend on social media is one of the least influential factors for their mental health, according to a study published in Nature Mental Health. The analysis attempts to untangle the complex web of risk factors and protective factors, using data from more than 12,000 young people in the UK. Among the factors studied, it concludes that bullying, lack of family support and school work dissatisfaction are more influential than time spent on social media. According to the study, life dissatisfaction and lack of family support are the most influential factors for girls and boys, respectively. 

A journalistic investigation by BMJ reporter Jennifer Block finds that more and more children and adolescents identify as transgender and are offered medical treatment, in particular in the United States. The reporter analyses scientific evidence showing this increase in the number of treatments, as well as the guidelines of US medical bodies. She also interviews experts from different countries, laying out the controversy among professionals about the scientific evidence used to make decisions about the initiation of treatment.   

22% of children worldwide have signs of disordered eating behaviours, a figure that rises to 30% for girls alone, according to an analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics led by researchers from the University of Castilla-La Mancha. The research brings together 32 previous studies that used the same diagnostic tool (the SCOFF questionnaire). It includes in total more than 60,000 children aged 6 to 18 in 16 countries. The article also states that the risk of disordered eating behaviour increases with age and Body Mass Index (BMI).  Disordered eating behaviours include behaviours such as ‘weight loss dieting, binge eating, self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, and the use of laxatives or diuretics (although not to the level to warrant a clinical diagnosis of an eating disorder)’.

A Swedish study has found an association between lack of sleep or poor quality sleep during adolescence and an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis later in life. They put the relative increased risk at 40 %. The results are published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.