According to a new study published in the medical journal Pediatrics, doctors believe there may be a connection between teens with hypertension (high blood pressure) and a lack of quality sleep. The major risk factors for hypertension in kids and teens typically include being overweight, not getting enough physical activity, and a poor diet. However, not getting enough sleep has also been linked to numerous heart problems, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, obesity, diabetes, and stroke. Dr. Amy Kogon, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, says health officials typically focus on diet and exercise but rarely consider how sleep might play a role in a teen’s cardiovascular health. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 7 young people ages 12 to 19 have hypertension, and nearly 60 percent of middle school students and more than 70 percent of high school students aren’t getting enough sleep.

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 thoughts and other depressive symptoms two years later. The findings highlight the importance of early identification and treatment of social anxiety in young people.

In a recent study published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open, Wenquan Niu, a professor at the Capital Institute of Pediatrics in Beijing, China, demonstrated that a measurement known as the body roundness index (BRI) offers a more accurate method for assessing obesity than the traditional body mass index (BMI).

While BMI relies solely on height and weight measurements to gauge body fat, BRI takes into account additional factors such as hip and waist circumferences. This method gives a more detailed estimate of total fat and visceral fat (the deep belly fat around organs that can lead to greater health risks). A significant criticism of BMI is that it doesn’t look at how much of a person’s weight is fat, and where the fat is distributed around the body. BMI also overlooks various other components that contribute to a person’s body composition, such as muscle, bone, water, and organs.

A new study found that drowsy driving by teenagers is a common threat to public safety on U.S. roadways.

A new study found that household chaos and sleep hygiene are important factors in the relationship between sleep quality and ADHD symptoms in teens.

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 processing.

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 those taking newer epilepsy drugs.

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 examined the long-term mental health impact of early-life exposure to air and noise pollution.

The U.S. National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), recently conducted a survey with teens ages 12–17 about their mental health. The majority of the teens surveyed said they felt comfortable talking to people close to them, but only 48 percent talk regularly with their parents about mental health concerns and only 22 percent talk regularly with their friends. The teens also said they wanted their schools to play a bigger role in their mental health, including where and how to seek treatment, and 67 percent thought their school should offer days off for mental health.

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

Sixteen-year-old Aniston Barnette of Bristol, Tennessee, is a student-athlete and the American Heart Association’s 2024 National Teen of Impact Winner. Barnette got involved with the American Heart Association because she had family members who had suffered and died from heart disease. She earned a CPR certification, raised funds for heart disease research and education, and led Hands-Only CPR activities in her community.

Now, Barnette plans to use her Teen of Impact platform to raise awareness about cardiac arrest, the leading cause of death for student-athletes. "Embracing this opportunity was a natural choice," Barnette said. “I look forward to advocating for CPR education and access to AEDs [automated external defibrillators] in schools to ensure the next generation—my peers—become part of a Nation of Lifesavers and know what to do in the event of a cardiac emergency.”

Earlier this year, Breiny Lipskier, 18, of Glendale, Wisconsin, launched her podcast Wish You Knew as part of her internship at Friendship Circle of Wisconsin, a nonprofit organization. Helping those who feel lonely or isolated is one of Friendship Circle’s missions, and Lipskier’s podcast provides a platform where teens can share their stories with their peers. “I think that for a teen who struggles alone, which is unfortunately very common, they have this as an outlet to hear that they are not alone,” Lipskier said. “Something that I’ve gained—and I think a lot of people gain—is that you realize how much you don’t know about what’s going on in other people’s lives... I think that when everybody really realizes that, it just creates so much more kindness and empathy towards people.” Wish You Knew episodes are reviewed by mental health professionals before they are released and are available on Friendship Circle of Wisconsin’s site and most podcast apps.

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 research.

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 diseases. In light of the findings, increasing moderate and vigorous physical activity from childhood onwards is particularly important in preventing heart diseases.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) recently announced that it is seeking to downgrade cannabis from its current classification as a Schedule I drug (alongside drugs like heroin, LSD, and ecstasy) to a Schedule III controlled substance (alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids). This change, recommended by U.S. health regulators, would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and make it easier to conduct research on cannabis products, but wouldn’t legalize marijuana for recreational use at the federal level. It would also lessen or potentially do away with the criminal penalty for possession.

A recent study funded by the sportswear brand ASICS found a direct link between exercising in teenage years and improved mental wellbeing in adulthood. The study, which included more than 26,000 people, examines the relationship between exercise and state of mind across the world.

Researchers found that the ages between 15–17 are critical for establishing lifelong exercise habits. Fifty-eight percent of study participants who exercised regularly between those ages still exercised regularly in later life, versus 53 percent of participants who did not. People who stopped exercise before the age of 15 displayed the lowest mental wellbeing later in life, including being less focused, less confident, less calm, and less composed as adults, than those who were regularly active during ages 15–17. The study also found that each additional year a teenager remained engaged in exercise was associated with improved mental health in adulthood.

Source: National Library of Medicine -

Source: National Library of Medicine

Source: National Library of Medicine -