Ungdomshelse

Abstract

Background Adolescents are generally healthy, but are in a period of life of great change and development, physically, mentally and socially. Their tendency to risk taking and sensation seeking is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. This is also a window of opportunity to establish good health behavior, and “plotting a good course” is a prime focus in adolescent medicine. Material and methods In 2004, a survey was performed among 3748 adolescents aged 18-19 years old among 12th grade students and as a mail survey as a follow up to a similar survey performed three years earlier. The overall response rate was 88,3 %. The purpose was to collect a broad range of data to examine multiple health variables, this paper is a cross sectional analysis of select topics; assessment of own health, use of health services, mental health and sexuality. Results Adolescents generally perceive their health as good. The general practitioner is the health sevice that is used by the most participants. There is a high prevalence of symptoms of mental problems, also girls are almost three times more likely to have consulted a psychiatrist/psychologist or report symptoms of mental distress. Median age of first intercourse is 17,8 and 17,9 years for girls and boys respectively. Discussion The results in this paper generally confirm that adolescents perceive theis health as good. Many report symptoms of mental distress, which may be an indicator of later mental problems. A large discrepancy between reported and official prevalence of abortion remains unexplained.