As family physicians, we have tremendous influence on the health of adolescents and young adults. The AAFP encourages you to talk with the parents of your adolescent and young adult patients about the importance of one-on-one discussions with patients, and to help parents guide their children toward making their own health decisions. In addition, the AAFP provides multiple resources to help family physicians care for their adolescent and young adult patients. Clinical Preventive Service Recommendations Scoliosis. Tobacco Addiction familydoctor. Read the Letter.
The health needs of young adults as they transition from adolescence to adulthood have received increased attention in recent years. Young or emerging adulthood focuses on the years from approximately 18 to the mids, recognizing these ages as distinct from the preceding adolescent years as well as the young adult years that follow. Because these health problems are largely preventable, primary care visits can present a key opportunity for improving the health of young adults through preventive screening and intervention, with evidence supporting the efficacy of clinical preventive services. Screening rates were especially low in the areas critical to young adult morbidity and mortality, such as injury prevention, mental health, sexually transmitted infections, and obesity, ranging from a low of 2. There are no specific clinical preventive guidelines for young adults.
However, mental health problems remain prevalent in the younger population. In a recent report, mental health and obesity were listed as the most common problems in young adults. Teams set up specifically for the needs of younger adults, such as early intervention in psychosis services are shown to work better than traditional care and have also proven to be cost effective.
Check out our interactive infographic to see progress toward the Adolescent Health objectives and other Healthy People topic areas. Improve the healthy development, health, safety, and well-being of adolescents and young adults AYAs. Although adolescence and young adulthood are generally healthy times of life, some important health and social problems either start or peak during these years.