Adolescent medical care: A priority in family medicine

Today’s adolescents are, undoubtedly, very different from those attended by the family doctor in the past. Currently, we are facing young people full of ideas, with a lot of personality, who show novel interactions with the world. It is a fact that the care of adolescent patient by family physicians it is performed more frequently and will be further increased by the recent incorporation of the care of adolescent patient to the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (Mexican Institute of Social Security: IMSS). Among the most frequent medical problems of adolescents, the most important are: early pregnancy, depression, violence, use and abuse of alcohol and drugs, and nutrition and eating disorders. It is required an approach to this very complex population. For this reason, family doctors should be open to facilitate dialogue, without making judgments, and with too much empathy. To that end, it is necessary to be updated in all issues that are emerging day by day concerning adolescents.