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Biomedical subjects

J C Surís

Publications and source records attributed to J C Surís.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Chronically ill but still adolescent.

Most children with chronic conditions survive to, at least, age twenty. This increased survival means that primary care providers will have to deal with chronically ill adolescents. In this paper, we review the existing literature and we analyze whether or not there are differences with their healthy peers regarding their pubertal development, family structure and functioning, friends, academic achievement, and risky behaviors, using a non-categorical approach.

Adolescent↗

Epidemiology of preinvasive lesions.

OBJECTIVE: Review of epidemiological data on pre-invasive cervical lesions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Literature review and analysis of data from our Department. RESULTS: Prevalence of data on preinvasive cervical lesions varies widely and depends on factors such as differences among countries or regions and among ethnic groups, and especially, differences in the type of population studied. Most important risk factors are: number of sexual partners, smoking, contraceptive use, HPV, age at first intercourse, and screening. CONCLUSIONS: In order to reduce risk, pap smears should be performed regularly, safe sex practices should be recommended, and the use of tobacco products should be avoided.

Adult↗

Chronic illness and emotional distress in adolescence.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate emotional distress and suicidal ideation among adolescents with and without chronic illness. METHODS: Two groups were compared from the Barcelona Adolescent Health Survey (3,129 students aged 14-19 years) data base. The index group included 162 adolescents with chronic conditions (100 females and 62 males) including those with asthma, diabetes, seizures, or cancer. No differences in prevalence of emotional distress or suicidal ideation were found among the four categories of disease. The control group included 865 subjects (383 females and 482 males). No age differences were evident between the index and control groups. Chi-square and Student's t-test were used for intergroup comparisons, with the criterion value set at p < .01 to reduce the probability of type I error. Analyses were conducted separately by gender. RESULTS: Compared with controls, a significantly greater proportion of females with chronic illness reported emotional problems, feeling in a bad mood, feeling sad, believing nothing amused them, having suicidal thoughts, expressing depressive symptomatology, and having personal problems needing professional help. In contrast, no significant group differences were found for males. No gender differences were found regarding recent contact with a mental health specialist. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic illnesses were associated with substantive emotional distress and suicide ideation in females but not in males. Females with chronic conditions did not, however, seek mental health services more often than their non-chronically ill counterparts. This suggests serious shortcomings in identification of "at-risk" youth and effective outreach to this population.

Adolescent↗

Sexual behavior of adolescents with chronic disease and disability.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess sexual behaviors, sexual orientation, pregnancy, and abuse history among adolescents with and without chronic conditions. METHODS: Analyses were based on a statewide survey of 36,284 young people in the 7th through 12th grades for analytic purposes; subsets were defined using a specialized cohort design including adolescents with visible and nonvisible conditions plus controls. Principle outcome measures included self report of ever having sexual intercourse, age of sexual debut, reasons for not having intercourse, ever causing or having a pregnancy, ever having a sexually transmitted disease (STD), contraceptive use and reasons for their nonuse, history of sexual abuse, and sexual orientation. RESULTS: No differences were evident between adolescents with and without chronic conditions in the proportion ever having intercourse, age of sexual debut, pregnancy involvement, patterns of contraceptive use, or sexual orientation. No differences were evident among girls or boys with visible compared with invisible conditions. A significantly greater proportion of girls and boys with invisible conditions than controls reported a history of sexual abuse. More index boys than controls reported ever having an STD, whereas more girls with visible conditions than controls reported this. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with chronic conditions are at least as sexually involved as their peers, and significantly more likely to have been sexually abused. Visibility of chronic conditions does not appear to affect the sexual behaviors of adolescents. The need for comprehensive sexuality education in this population is high, and discussion of sexuality, contraception and abuse must be part of standard psychosocial assessment and anticipatory guidance for all teenagers, including those with chronic conditions.

Adolescent↗