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Biology, risky behaviors make teens more susceptible to some illnesses
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21st Annual IDC NY Symposium
Rates for infectious diseases such as toxic shock syndrome, meningococcal disease and STDs such as chlamydia and gonorrhea remain generally consistent but at times increasing among adolescents, according to Lawrence J. D’Angelo, MD, MPH, professor of Pediatrics, and Medicine at Children’s National Medical Center and George Washington University in Washington.
Newly emerging peer groups, behavior changes, a naive immune system, immature skeletal and central nervous systems and an immature genital tract all contribute to the high disease rates observed in this population, D’Angelo said.
He recommended that pediatricians recommend the following strategies:
- Encourage health advocacy.
- Endorse family values and parent–child communication.
- Promote sex education in the office and the community with an emphasis on barrier protection for sexually active teens.
- Educate female patients about appropriate tampon use.
- Emphasize the importance of adolescent vaccination.
“We need to be doing more things like counseling our adolescents about driving, screening them for mental health problems and working with our schools to develop violence prevention programs,” D’Angelo said. – by Nicole Blazek
For more information:
- D’Angelo LJ. Keynote address — Adolescents: How are they different and why are they at risk? Presented at: 21st Annual IDC NY Symposium; Nov. 22-23, 2008; New York.