adolescent

The HEADSSS assessment is an internationally recognised tool used to structure the assessment of an adolescent patient, encompassing Home, Education/Employment, Activities, Drugs, Sex and relationships, Self harm and depression, Safety and abuse. The assessment starts with simple and easy questions about life to allow a rapport to be built, before delving into more personal and embarrassing aspects.

The assessment does not necessarily have to be completed in one sitting, it may take multiple conversations to build up the trust for the young person to disclose such personal information to you. Once a HEADSSS assessment is completed, it is important to document your findings in the notes and communicate appropriate information to other members of the healthcare team. Follow through on any offers of help or support you have made.

If concerns about the young person’s safety have been raised, you must explain to them that you need to pass that information on to the relevant agency. Reassure them that the main priority is their safety and establish what they will do in the meantime to help keep themselves safe.

Author/s:

Dr Nicola Martin, Dr Louise Ingram, Adam Bonfield

Addictive Screen Use Trajectories and Suicidal Behaviors, Suicidal Ideation, and Mental Health in US Youths

Megan George — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 13:43:37 +0000

Date Added:

July 25, 2025

Journal/Publication:

JAMA

Publication Date:

June 18, 2025

URL:

Addictive Screen Use Trajectories and Suicidal Behaviors, Suicidal Ideation, and Mental Health in US Youths

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

Format:

Article

DOI (1):

10.1001/jama.2025.7829

Keywords

PMID (1):

40531519

MeSH

adolescent

Adolescent Behavior / psychology

Addictive* / epidemiology

Behavior, Addictive* / psychology

A review of the adverse consequences of addictive screen use behaviors by adolescents. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Importance: Increasing child and adolescent use of social media, video games, and mobile phones has raised concerns about potential links to youth mental health problems. Prior research has largely focused on total screen time rather than longitudinal addictive use trajectories.

Objectives: To identify trajectories of addictive use of social media, mobile phones, and video games and to examine their associations with suicidal behaviors and ideation and mental health outcomes among youths.

Design, setting, and participants: Cohort study analyzing data from baseline through year 4 follow-up in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (2016-2022), with population-based samples from 21 US sites.

Exposures: Addictive use of social media, mobile phones, and video games using validated child-reported measures from year 2, year 3, and year 4 follow-up surveys.

Main outcomes and measures: Suicidal behaviors and ideation assessed using child- and parent-reported information via the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. Internalizing and externalizing symptoms were assessed using the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist.

Results: The analytic sample (n = 4285) had a mean age of 10.0 (SD, 0.6) years; 47.9% were female; and 9.9% were Black, 19.4% Hispanic, and 58.7% White. Latent class linear mixed models identified 3 addictive use trajectories for social media and mobile phones and 2 for video games. Nearly one-third of participants had an increasing addictive use trajectory for social media or mobile phones beginning at age 11 years. In adjusted models, increasing addictive use trajectories were associated with higher risks of suicide-related outcomes than low addictive use trajectories (eg, increasing addictive use of social media had a risk ratio of 2.14 [95% CI, 1.61-2.85] for suicidal behaviors). High addictive use trajectories for all screen types were associated with suicide-related outcomes (eg, high-peaking addictive use of social media had a risk ratio of 2.39 [95% CI, 1.66-3.43] for suicidal behaviors). The high video game addictive use trajectory showed the largest relative difference in internalizing symptoms (T score difference, 2.03 [95% CI, 1.45-2.61]), and the increasing social media addictive use trajectory for externalizing symptoms (T score difference, 1.05 [95% CI, 0.54-1.56]), compared with low addictive use trajectories. Total screen time at baseline was not associated with outcomes.

Conclusions and relevance: High or increasing trajectories of addictive use of social media, mobile phones, or video games were common in early adolescents. Both high and increasing addictive screen use trajectories were associated with suicidal behaviors and ideation and worse mental health.

Author/s:

Yunyu Xiao, PhD, Yuan Meng, PhD, Timothy T. Brown, PhD

Beyond Screen Time—Addictive Screen Use Patterns and Adolescent Mental Health

Megan George — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 13:35:26 +0000

Date Added:

July 25, 2025

Journal/Publication:

JAMA

Publication Date:

June 18, 2025

URL:

Beyond Screen Time—Addictive Screen Use Patterns and Adolescent Mental Health

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

DOI (1):

10.1001/jama.2025.8135

Keywords

PMID (1):

40531495

MeSH

A review of the characteristics and identification of addictive screen use patterns among adolescents. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Screen use, the time spent engaging with electronic devices such as mobile phones and tablets, can become addictive when individuals experience difficulty stopping despite attempts to do so, as well as symptoms of withdrawal, tolerance, conflict, and relapse.

Author/s:

Jason M Nagata, Christiane K Helmer, Abubakr A Al-Shoaibi

Adolescent-Centered Sexual and Reproductive Health Communication

Alex Haga — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 19:37:47 +0000

Date Added:

January 23, 2025

Journal/Publication:

JAMA

Publication Date:

January 21, 2025

URL:

Adolescent-Centered Sexual and Reproductive Health Communication

Type:

Best Local Practices

Format:

Article

DOI (1):

10.1001/jama.2024.24246

Keywords

contraception

adolescent

sexual behavior

PMID (1):

39693089

MeSH

adolescent

Reproductive Health

Sexual Behavior

sexually transmitted diseases

Contraception

Tips for talking with teens about sex and pregnancy. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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This JAMA Insights explores how clinicians can effectively communicate person-centered health care information to adolescents regarding sexual and reproductive health, contraception, and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment.

Author/s:

Bianca A Allison, Tracey A Wilkinson, Julie Maslowsky

Stimulant Management of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder for the Pediatric Prescriber: A Review of Stimulant-Dosing Strategies and An Overview of New Stimulants

Alex Haga — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 18:49:56 +0000

Date Added:

January 16, 2025

Journal/Publication:

Pediatric Annals

Publication Date:

January 1, 2025

Issue:

Volume:

Pages:

e22-e26

URL:

Stimulant Management of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder for the Pediatric Prescriber: A Review of Stimulant-Dosing Strategies and An Overview of New Stimulants

Type:

Clinical Decision Aids

Format:

Article

DOI (1):

10.3928/19382359-20241007-06

Keywords

Pediatricians

adolescent

ADHD

PMID (1):

39760345

MeSH

adolescent

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / drug therapy

Pediatricians

Central Nervous System Stimulants* / therapeutic use

A review of the use of stimulants for management of symptoms in children with ADHD. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Pediatricians are often the first providers to assess and treat attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder (ADHD) in youth. While a variety of pharmacological and psychosocial interventions exist for ADHD, stimulants remain the first-line medication treatment. Many stimulant formulations now exist, providing the pediatric prescriber with a diverse repertoire of treatment options. This article is tailored to the pediatric prescriber in the primary care setting and discusses stimulant management, with emphasis on dosing equivalencies, common stimulant-dosing strategies, and newer stimulants.

Author/s:

Courtney Romba, Jasleen Singh

Adolescent-Centered Sexual and Reproductive Health Communication

Alex Haga — Sun, 05 Jan 2025 21:43:38 +0000

Date Added:

January 5, 2025

Journal/Publication:

JAMA

Publication Date:

December 18, 2024

URL:

Adolescent-Centered Sexual and Reproductive Health Communication

Type:

Clinical Decision Aids, Patient Education Materials

Format:

Article

DOI (1):

10.1001/jama.2024.24246

Keywords

adolescent

sexuality

sexually transmitted diseases

PMID (1):

39693089

MeSH

sexually transmitted diseases

A useful list of internet sources for clinicians, parents, and adolescents regarding sexual and reproductive health concerns. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Author/s:

Bianca A Allison, Tracey A Wilkinson, Julie Maslowsky

Depression - Screening and Treating Depression in Adolescents

Alex Haga — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 21:10:05 +0000

Date Added:

June 20, 2024

Journal/Publication:

New England Journal of Medicine

Publication Date:

June 12, 2024

Issue:

Volume:

390

URL:

Depression - Screening and Treating Depression in Adolescents

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

Format:

Video

DOI (1):

10.1056/NEJMp2400711

Keywords

adolescent

psychotherapy

depression

PMID (1):

38865659

MeSH

adolescent

Antidepressive Agents* / therapeutic use

Depression* / diagnosis

Depression* / therapy

Depressive Disorder / diagnosis

Depressive Disorder / therapy

Psychotherapy

A 14-minute audio-video discussion of screening and treatment of depression in adolescents. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Drs. Crawford, Fallucco, and Scott-Vernaglia take a closer look at the prevalence of depression among teenagers. Recognizing the existing gaps in pediatricians’ training and resources to address this issue, the doctors describe signs and symptoms of depression and how to screen for the diagnosis in this patient population. They review available treatments and associated adverse effects, while also underscoring the importance of follow-up after antidepressants are started.

Author/s:

Christine M Crawford, Elise Fallucco, Maurizio Fava, Julie Ingelfinger, Shannon Scott-Vernaglia

Firearm-Related Violence in the Pediatric Population

Linda Fowler — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 21:39:50 +0000

Date Added:

January 26, 2024

Journal/Publication:

Pediatric Annals

Publication Date:

January 1, 2024

Issue:

Volume:

Pages:

e28 - e33

URL:

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

Format:

Article

DOI (1):

10.3928/19382359-20231114-02

Keywords

PMID (1):

38194661

MeSH

Firearms

Adolescent Health

Mass Shooting Events

Violence / prevention & control

Humans

Disease Progression

Firearm-related events are one of the leading causes of death in children and adolescents. If one of our roles as clinicians is to prevent premature deaths, then we need to be sure that parents are educated regarding safe storage of firearms and other firearm safety measures. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Children, particularly adolescents, are dying from firearm-related injuries. Screening for firearms, early recognition of firearm-related concerns, appropriate referrals, and follow-up are crucial to the safety of our patients and their families. Clinicians are strongly encouraged to address firearm-related violence during clinical encounters. Risk reduction, advocacy, and policy implementation are key in mitigating the long-term negative sequelae of firearm violence in youth. The epidemiology of firearm-related death, mass shootings, school firearm violence, adolescent health, prevention, injury patterns, postinjury care, policy, and resources are all discussed in this article. [Pediatr Ann. 2024;53(1):e28–e33.]

Author/s:

Katherine M Marsh, Felicia Scott-Wellington

Comparative Efficacy of Pharmacological Treatments for Acne Vulgaris: A Network Meta-Analysis of 221 Randomized Controlled Trials

Rowan Hutchins — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Date Added:

September 26, 2023

Journal/Publication:

Annals of Family Medicine

Publication Date:

July 1, 2023

Issue:

Volume:

Pages:

358-369

URL:

Comparative Efficacy of Pharmacological Treatments for Acne Vulgaris: A Network Meta-Analysis of 221 Randomized Controlled Trials

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

Format:

Article

DOI (1):

https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2995

Keywords

randomized control trial

adolescent

acne

PMID (1):

37487721

MeSH

Acne Vulgaris

Duration of Therapy

A useful summary of the relative effectiveness of various acne treatment strategies. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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PURPOSE Acne is an extremely common skin disease with an estimated global prevalence of 9.4%. We aim to provide comprehensive comparisons of the common pharmacological treatments for acne.

METHODS Randomized controlled trials comparing the efficacy of pharmacological therapies for acne vulgaris in patients of any age and sex and with a treatment duration of >2 weeks were included. PubMed and Embase databases were searched from inception until February 2022. Our prespecified primary end points were mean percentage reduction in total, inflammatory, and noninflammatory lesions. Treatment ranking was determined by P values.

RESULTS There were 210 articles describing 221 trials and 37 interventions included in the analysis. Our primary analysis of percentage reduction in total lesion count had 65,601 patients enrolled. Across all trials, the mean age was 20.4 years. The median duration of treatment was 12 weeks. The median total, inflammatory, and noninflammatory lesion counts were 72, 27, and 44, respectively. The most effective treatment was oral isotretinoin (mean difference [MD] = 48.41; P = 1.00), followed by triple therapy containing a topical antibiotic, a topical retinoid, and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) (MD = 38.15; P = .95) and by triple therapy containing an oral antibiotic, a topical retinoid, and BPO (MD = 34.83; P = .90). For monotherapies, oral or topical antibiotics or topical retinoids have comparable efficacy for inflammatory lesions, while oral or topical antibiotics have less effect on noninflammatory lesions.

CONCLUSION The most effective treatment for acne is oral isotretinoin, followed by triple therapies containing a topical retinoid, BPO, and an antibiotic. We present detailed comparisons of each intervention to serve as a practical database.

Author/s:

Huang, Chung-Yen, Chang, I-Jing, Bolick, Nicole, Hsu, Wan-Ting, Su, Chin-Hua, Hsieh, Tyng-Shiuan, Huang, I-Hsuan, Lee, Chien-Chang

Anxiety in Children and Adolescents: Screening

Rowan Hutchins — Sun, 16 Oct 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Date Added:

October 16, 2022

Journal/Publication:

JAMA

Publisher:

US Preventitive Services Task Force

Publication Date:

October 11, 2022

Issue:

Volume:

328

Pages:

1438-1444

URL:

Anxiety in Children and Adolescents: Screening

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

Format:

Article

DOI (1):

10.1001/jama.2022.18184

Keywords

anxiety

Anxiety disorders

adolescent

adolescent psychiatry

preventative care

USPSTF

PMID (1):

36219419

MeSH

adolescent

Anxiety / diagnosis

Anxiety Disorders / diagnosis

preventitive health services

child

USPSTF recommends screening older children and adolescents (age 8 – 18) for anxiety. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Anxiety disorder, a common mental health condition in the US, comprises a group of related conditions characterized by excessive fear or worry that present as emotional and physical symptoms. The 2018-2019 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) found that 7.8% of children and adolescents aged 3 to 17 years had a current anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders in childhood and adolescence are associated with an increased likelihood of a future anxiety disorder or depression.

Author/s:

Carol M. Mangione, MD, MSPH

Screening for Syphilis Infection in Nonpregnant Adolescents and Adults: US Preventive Services Task Force Reaffirmation Recommendation Statement

Aubrey Delammermore — Sat, 01 Oct 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Date Added:

October 1, 2022

Journal/Publication:

JAMA

Publisher:

JAMA

Publication Date:

September 27, 2022

Issue:

Volume:

328

Pages:

1243-1249

URL:

Screening for Syphilis Infection in Nonpregnant Adolescents and Adults: US Preventive Services Task Force Reaffirmation Recommendation Statement

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

Format:

Article

DOI (1):

10.1001/jama.2022.15322

Keywords

PMID (1):

36166020

MeSH

preventative health services

Sexually Transmitted Diseases* / etiology

Syphilis* / diagnosis

Mass Screening / adverse effects

Humans

Updated recommendation from USPSTF on screening for syphilis. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Importance: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection that can progress through different stages (primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary) and cause serious health problems if left untreated. Reported cases of primary and secondary syphilis in the US increased from a record low of 2.1 cases per 100 000 population in 2000 and 2001 to 11.9 cases per 100 000 population in 2019. Men account for the majority of cases (83% of primary and secondary syphilis cases in 2019), and rates among women nearly tripled from 2015 to 2019.

Objective: To reaffirm its 2016 recommendation, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) commissioned a reaffirmation evidence update focusing on targeted key questions evaluating the performance of risk assessment tools and the benefits and harms of screening for syphilis in nonpregnant adolescents and adults.

Population: Asymptomatic, nonpregnant adolescents and adults who have ever been sexually active and are at increased risk for syphilis infection.

Evidence assessment: Using a reaffirmation process, the USPSTF concludes with high certainty that there is a substantial net benefit of screening for syphilis infection in nonpregnant persons who are at increased risk for infection.

Recommendation: The USPSTF recommends screening for syphilis infection in persons who are at increased risk for infection. (A recommendation).

Author/s:

US Preventative Services task Force, Mangione, C. M., Barry, M. J., Nicholson, W. K., Cabana, M., Chelmow, D., Coker, T. R., Davis, E. M., Donahue, K. E., Jaén, C. R., Kubik, M., Li, L., Ogedegbe, G., Pbert, L., Ruiz, J. M., Stevermer, J., Wong, B. J.

Child & Adolescent Immunization Schedule

Saige Blanchard — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 16:28:35 +0000

Date Added:

February 28, 2022

Journal/Publication:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

URL:

Child & Adolescent Immunization Schedule

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

Format:

Web Page

Keywords

child

adolescent

Immunization

Immunization Schedule

MeSH

vaccination

vaccines

Immunization Schedule

United States

The CDC’s 2022 childhood immunization recommendations. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Recommendations for Ages 18 Years or Younger, United States, 2022

Author/s:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Child & Adolescent Immunization Schedule

Devin Evans — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Date Added:

March 1, 2021

Journal/Publication:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Publisher:

CDC

Publication Date:

February 12, 2021

URL:

Child & Adolescent Immunization Schedule

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines, Public Health Announcements

Format:

Web Page

Keywords

COVID-19

COVID-19 vaccine

Pfizer–BioNTech mRNA vaccine

MeSH

2021 immunization recommendations for children from the ACIP and CDC. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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COVID-19 Vaccination

ACIP recommends use of COVID-19 vaccines within the scope of the Emergency Use Authorization or Biologics License Application for the particular vaccine. Interim ACIP recommendations for the use of COVID-19 vaccines can be found on the ACIP Vaccine Recommendations and Guidelines page.

Author/s:

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices

A Battery of Easily Accessible, Simple Tools for the Assessment of Concussion in Children

Devin Evans — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Date Added:

January 27, 2021

Journal/Publication:

The Journal of Pediatrics

Volume:

229

Pages:

232-239

URL:

A Battery of Easily Accessible, Simple Tools for the Assessment of Concussion in Children

Type:

Clinical Research Results

Format:

Article

DOI (1):

10.1016/j.jpeds.2020.10.012

Keywords

PMID (1):

33068568

MeSH

Neurologic Examination

Athletic Injuries

Simple, accurate tests to monitor children post-concussion. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Objective: To determine whether a non-proprietary, novel testing battery can identify recently concussed children within 8 weeks of injury.

Study design: In total, 568 clinic outpatients aged 10-18 years were sorted into 3 groups: 316 had never been concussed, 162 had ever been concussed before 8 weeks earlier, and 90 had been recently concussed within 8 weeks. At initial and any subsequent visits, a neurologic examination and 4 procedures were performed: Stick Drop, Wall Ball, Sharpened Modified Romberg (SMR), and Animal Naming. Analysis included inter-group and intra-person performance differences using a series of t tests on the Stick Drop, Wall Ball, SMR, and Animal Naming.

Results: The recently concussed group performed worse (P < .01 for all) on Stick Drop, total Wall Ball bounces and drops, and SMR compared with never-concussed and ever-concussed groups. This effect for Stick Drop, SMR, and Wall Ball but not Animal Naming persisted beyond the 4 weeks commonly stated to define recovery. Of 59 recently concussed subjects who returned for ≥1 visit, there were improvements in Stick Drop average (P = .004) and maxima (P = .02) as well as SMR (P = .01) but not Animal Naming between initial and subsequent visits.

Conclusions: This novel, rapid testing battery distinguished groups of children ages 10-18 years who had and had not experienced a recent concussion. A view that physical concussion symptoms resolve within a month of injury may be incomplete. Deployment of this readily available, inexpensive and non-proprietary battery should be compared with other tools and studied further in serial assessments.

Author/s:

Brown, William D., Baird, Janette, Kriz, Peter K.

Treatment of Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Comparative Effectiveness Review No. 224

John Bayhi — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 17:32:46 +0000

Date Added:

April 17, 2020

Journal/Publication:

AHRQ Publication No. 20-EHC005-EF

Publisher:

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Publication Date:

April 10, 2020

URL:

Treatment of Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Comparative Effectiveness Review No. 224

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

Format:

Article

DOI (1):

10.23970/AHRQEPCCER224

Keywords

cognitive behavioral therapy

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

MeSH

serotonin uptake inhibitors

paroxetine

Depressive Disorder

depressive disorder, major

united states food and drug administration

risk

Inpatients

Confidence Intervals

antidepressive agents

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

The key findings are listed on the third page (page ii). James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Background. Depressive disorders can affect long-term mental and physical health functioning among children and adolescents, including increased risk of suicide. Despite access to several nonpharmacological, pharmacological, and combined treatment options for childhood depression, clinicians contend with sparse evidence and are concerned about harms associated with treatment.

Methods. We conducted a systematic review to evaluate the efficacy, comparative effectiveness, and moderators of benefits and harms of available nonpharmacological and pharmacological treatments for children and adolescents with a confirmed diagnosis of a depressive disorder (DD)—major depressive disorder (MDD), persistent depressive disorder (previously termed dysthymia) or DD not otherwise specified. We searched five databases and other sources for evidence available from inception to May 29, 2019, dually screened the results, and analyzed eligible studies.

Results. We included in our analyses data from 60 studies (94 articles) that met our review eligibility criteria. For adolescents (study participants’ ages range from 12 to 18 years) with MDD, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), fluoxetine, escitalopram, and combined fluoxetine and CBT may improve depressive symptoms (1 randomized controlled trial [RCT] each, n ranges from 212 to 311); whether the magnitude of improvement is clinically significant is unclear. Among adolescents or children with MDD, CBT plus medications (8–17 years) may be associated with lower rates of relapse (1 RCT [n = 121]). In the same population (6–17 years), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be associated with improved response (7 RCTs [n = 1,525]; risk difference [RD], 72/1,000 [95% confidence interval (CI), 2 to 24], I2 = 9%) and functional status (5 RCTs [n = 941]; standardized mean difference, 0.16 [95% CI, 0.03 to 0.29]; I2 = 0%). For adolescents or children with any DD (7–18 years), CBT or family therapy may be associated with improvements in symptoms, response, or functional status (1 RCT each, n ranges from 64 to 99). Among children with any DD (7–12 years), family-based interpersonal therapy may be associated with improved symptoms (1 RCT, n = 38). Psychotherapy trials did not report harms. SSRIs may be associated with a higher risk of serious adverse events among adolescents or children with MDD (7–18 years; 9 RCTs [n = 2,206]; RD, 20/1,000 [95% CI, 1 to 440]; I2, 4%) and with a higher risk of withdrawal due to adverse events among adolescents with MDD (12–18 years; 4 RCTs [n = 1,296], RD, 26/1,000 [95% CI, 6 to 45]; I2, 0%). Paroxetine (1 RCT [n = 180]) may be associated with a higher risk of suicidal ideation or behaviors among adolescents with MDD (12–18 years). Evidence was insufficient to judge the risk of suicidal ideation or behavior for other SSRIs for adolescents and children with MDD or other DD (7–18 years) (10 RCTs [n = 2,368]; relative risk, 1.14 [95% CI, 0.89 to 1.45]; I2, 8%). However, this report excluded data on inpatients and those without depressive disorders, whom the Food and Drug Administration included in finding an increased risk of suicidality for all antidepressants across all indications.

Conclusion. Efficacious treatments exist for adolescents with MDD. SSRIs may be associated with increased withdrawal and serious adverse events. No evidence on harms of psychotherapy were identified.

Author/s:

Viswanathan, M, Kennedy, SM, McKeeman, J, Christian, R, Coker-Schwimmer, Cook Middleton, Bann, C, Lux, L, Randolph, Forman-Hoffman, V