Chapter 2: Health Status of Adolescents and Young Adults
This chapter presents an overview of adolescent and young adult health status. It is primarily organized around the focus areas of the 21 Critical Health Objectives and closes with a brief section on chronic conditions. It highlights trends and significant disparities in the health areas covered. Before turning to the health status measures, it presents a demographic profile of the adolescent and young adult population. Although the data are organized by individual Objectives, it is important to keep in mind a comprehensive approach: seemingly isolated problems are influenced by common antecedent factors, both those that protect and those that can jeopardize health and safety.
