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| The Assistant Secretary for Health and Surgeon General chaired the second cross-cutting review of progress on achieving the Healthy People 2000 (HP2000) objectives for the health of adolescents and young adults. Organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the progress review centered on three themes--excess mortality, critical behaviors, and the development of objectives for Healthy People 2010. Half of the HP2000 objectives for adolescents and young adults are moving toward the year 2000 targets. However, one-quarter of the objectives for this age group lack sufficient data to make an assessment. Of the 69 HP2000 objectives that address the health of adolescents, particular attention was focused on the following during the overview and discussion. The bold numbers indicate the priority area and objective in Healthy People 2000. |
H I G H L I G H T S
6.1a,-b Preliminary data show that the suicide rate for youth aged 15-19 was 9.5 per 100,000 in 1997, compared with 10.2 in 1987. There was little variation in the rate in the intervening years. The HP2000 target is 8.2 per 100,000. The suicide rate for males aged 20-34 also changed little between 1987 (25.2 per 100,000) and 1997 (22.7). The HP2000 target is 21.4 per 100,000. 7.9,-a Physical fighting among adolescents aged 14-17 declined from 137 incidents per 100 students per month in 1991 to 115 incidents per month in 1997. The HP2000 target is 110 incidents per 100 students per month. Among black males aged 14-17, physical fighting decreased from 207 incidents per 100 students per month in 1991 to 175 incidents per month in 1997. The HP2000 target is 160 incidents per 100 students per month. 7.10b Weapon-carrying by youth aged 14-17 decreased from 107 incidents per 100 students per month in 1991 to 74 incidents per month in 1997, surpassing the HP2000 target of 88 incidents per month. Among black youth aged 14-17, weapon-carrying declined from 134 incidents per 100 students per month in 1991 to 84 incidents per month in 1997. This, too, surpasses the target (105 incidents per student per month). 4.6 The proportion of young people aged 12-17 years who used alcohol in the previous month declined from 33 percent in 1988 to 21 percent in 1997. The HP2000 target is 12.6 percent. The proportion of those aged 18-20 using alcohol in the previous month also declined, from 55 percent in 1994 to 53 percent in 1997, well short of the target of 29 percent. After a decrease between 1988 and 1992, marijuana use by adolescents aged 12-17 and young adults aged 18-25 began increasing in 1993, and the 1997 rates of usage were considerably higher than the target levels. However, the rates of current cocaine use by both groups in 1997 were lower than the rates of usage in 1988, and the targets for reductions in cocaine use have been met. Cigarette smoking among 12-17-year-olds declined from 23 percent in 1988 to 20 percent in 1997. The HP2000 target is 6 percent. 4.7 In each of the years from 1989 to 1997, about a third of high school seniors reported a recent occasion of heavy drinking (5 or more drinks). The HP2000 target is 28 percent. Among college students, the proportion of occasional heavy drinkers varied little from 1989 to 1997, remaining at about 40 percent. The target is 32 percent. 4.9 Between 1989 and 1997, there was a slight decline in the proportion of high school seniors who perceived parent and peer disapproval of substance abuse: for occasional marijuana use, the decline was 16 percent; for experimentation with cocaine, 1.8 percent; for smoking, 8 percent. The proportion who perceived disapproval of heavy drinking stayed much the same during that time span. 5.1 For females 10-14 years of age, the rate of live births declined from 1.4 per 1000 in 1990 to 1.2 in 1996. For those aged 15-17, the rate declined from 37.5 per 1000 in 1990 to 33.8 in 1996. The decline in live births was substantial for black teenagers aged 15-19, whose rates went down 19 percent between 1990 and 1996, to reach 91 per 1000. There is considerable variation by region in teenage birth rates, with rates lowest in the northeast and midwest and highest in the south and southwest. 19.2 The prevalence of chlamydia among females 15-19 years of age decreased from 12.2 percent in 1988 to 5.4 percent in 1996. For those females aged 20-24, the prevalence dropped from 8.5 percent in 1988 to 3.4 percent in 1996. The latter decrease achieves the HP2000 target, which is 5 percent for each group. 5.5 In 1997, 23 percent of in-school sexually active females aged 15- 17 had abstained from sexual activity for the previous 3 months, as had 34 percent of sexually active males aged 15-17. The proportions abstaining have varied little since 1990. The HP2000 target for each group is 40 percent. 5.6 In 1997, 85 percent of in-school, sexually active females aged 15-17 used some form of contraception during their most recent intercourse, compared with 78 percent in 1990. Eighty-one percent of high school males in 1997 used a contraceptive at most recent intercourse, a slight decrease from 83 percent in 1991. The HP2000 target for each group is 90 percent. 1.2 Overweight prevalence in adolescents aged 12-19 rose from 15 percent in 1976 to 24 percent in 1994, an increase of 60 percent. The HP2000 target is 15 percent.
(This Progress Review was rebroadcast on November 4, 1998) |
| P A R T I C I P A N T S
American Academy of Pediatrics American Medical Association Carnegie Corporation Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Department of Education Health Resources and Services Administration Institute for Youth Development Maine Department of Education Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene National Institutes of Health National Latino Children’s Institute Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Office of Minority Health Office on Women’s Health Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration University of Minnesota University of Wisconsin Vermont Department of Health
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