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[Review] Quantitative measures of subjective wellbeing for adolescents: a scoping review and synthesis of comparable data

Efforts to promote adolescent wellbeing are of increasing global interest. Although the ability to measure wellbeing is essential for identifying disparities between and within populations, and for tracking progress in improving wellbeing, the best way to measure this elusive concept in adolescents is unclear. We undertook a scoping review of quantitative measures of subjective wellbeing to identify those used in population studies of adolescents (aged 10–24 years), and mapped the identified measures against an adolescent wellbeing framework developed by the UN H6+ Technical Working Group on Adolescent Health and Well-Being.

[Review] Muscle dysmorphia in adolescents and young adults

Body image concerns among adolescent boys and young men are increasingly recognised as societal ideals shift towards a lean, muscular physique. In severe cases, these pressures can lead to muscle dysmorphia, a specifier of body dysmorphic disorder marked by preoccupation with being too small or insufficiently muscular. Adolescents and young adults are developmentally vulnerable and might be at higher risk for a variety of eating-related and body image-related concerns, including muscle dysmorphia.

[Articles] Impact of high-dose vitamin D and calcium carbonate supplementation on bone density in adolescents living with HIV: a randomised, placebo-controlled trial

There was no difference in bone density between arms overall, but among those with vitamin D insufficiency the intervention improved bone density. High-dose vitamin D3 and calcium supplementation, a safe and cheap intervention, during adolescence might promote bone accrual and mineralisation in those with vitamin D insufficiency, which could increase peak bone mass.

[Corrections] Correction to Lancet Child Adolesc Health 2025; 9: 837–47

Sampri A, Shi W, Bolton T, et al. Vascular and inflammatory diseases after COVID-19 infection and vaccination in children and young people in England: a retrospective, population-based cohort study using linked electronic health records. Lancet Child Adolesc Health 2025; 9: 837–47—In this Article, the final sentence of the fifth paragraph in the Results section should read “Crude incidence rates for all outcomes, with the exception of thrombocytopenia or inflammatory conditions, were generally higher for those who were vaccinated than unvaccinated (appendix p 14).”; in table 2, the data for stroke outcome in the analytic cohort to evaluate COVID-19 vaccinations should be “630/12 968 667/5·10 (4·71–5·49)”; and the appendix has been corrected.

[Reflections] The virtue of honesty in medicine

During a recent intensive care unit (ICU) admission for an infant with viral bronchiolitis who had been started on high-flow nasal cannula oxygen, I gathered a history and physical with a resident doctor. The patient's mother, a first-time parent and clearly terrified by her child's laboured breathing, looked at me and asked, “Is she going to be okay?” Drawing on the many similar cases I’ve managed, I replied, “Yes. She's going to be just fine.” After we left the room, the resident turned to me and said, “I feel like you lied to that mom.

[Reflections] Chandy John: Using his heart and head for change that matters

“Will what we're working on in the long term improve child health, particularly in underserved children? If it's not going to achieve that goal then there is no point.” This question is what paediatric physician-scientist Chandy John asks himself. In October 2025, he was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Medicine for his contributions to global health, specifically in severe malaria and sickle cell disease in African children. “A huge honour”, he says; “I can't think of anything more important to be part of right now, being on the vanguard of safeguarding the importance of evidence-based public health policy”.

[Correspondence] Vascular and inflammatory diseases after COVID-19 infection and vaccination in children

I wish to raise several concerns regarding the recent analysis by Alexia Sampri and colleagues on vascular and inflammatory disease after COVID-19 infection and vaccination in children and young people in England.1 There are notable inconsistencies between the reported results and other national data, as well as methodological limitations that could materially affect the conclusions. Importantly, the analysis treats infection and vaccination as mutually exclusive exposures, although vaccination did not prevent infection.

[Correspondence] Vascular and inflammatory diseases after COVID-19 infection and vaccination in children

The thorough study by Alexia Sampri and colleagues1 that looked at vascular and inflammatory illnesses in children and young people after COVID-19 infection and vaccination piqued our curiosity. We applaud the authors for this crucial population-based investigation. However, we found a disparity between the data supplied and the reported conclusions that needs to be corrected.

[Correspondence] Vascular and inflammatory diseases after COVID-19 infection and vaccination in children

In this cohort study,1 based on the whole English population younger than 18 years, Alexia Sampri and colleagues addressed a topic of great interest. However, their interpretation that the “findings…support the public health strategy of COVID-19 vaccination in children and young people” is not transparent. Indeed, they state that “crude incidence rates for all outcomes, with the exception of myocarditis or pericarditis, were generally lower for those who were vaccinated than unvaccinated” (p 844).

[Comment] Investing in adolescent girls works: we can’t afford to stop

In March, 2024, Rumble and colleagues argued that adolescent girls were not receiving the support they need to thrive, and transformative, girl-led solutions are essential not only to improve adolescent girls’ lives, but also to drive sustained change for societies.1 New evidence has strengthened this case, showing that investing in adolescent girls yields national-level gains across health, education, violence prevention, and economic growth. Yet, just as the evidence has grown stronger, support for adolescent girls has weakened.

[Comment] The future of survey research with the world's sexual or gender minority youth

Adolescents and young adults with diverse sexual and gender identities bear a disproportionate burden of health adversities.1 Although 90% of adolescents live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), population-based health survey data among young people of a sexual or gender minority are rare in these settings.2–4 We use the term sexual or gender minority to refer to young people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions; and the term minority to signal that these populations are often underrepresented in population-based research, despite the tireless efforts of activists, scientists, and leaders to ensure the right of sexual and gender minorities to be counted.

[Comment] Cybervictimisation as a marker of broader youth harm

The digital lives of young people are deeply entwined with their social, emotional, and academic development. Online platforms have become central to how young people communicate, share experiences, and sustain peer relationships.1 Yet the same environments that enable connection can also be used to ridicule, exclude, or harm others. Cybervictimisation, which includes behaviour such as online harassment, denigration, and the circulation of hurtful content, has become a pressing public health concern, with prevalence estimates worldwide ranging from 14% to 57%.

[Comment] Data-driven analysis to understand preterm lung disease phenotypes

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia has been used to define the respiratory consequences of preterm birth since 1967.1 Since then, the definition of bronchopulmonary dysplasia has been adapted to account for changes in neonatal intensive care.1 Common to all bronchopulmonary dysplasia definitions is their assessment at a single timepoint, currently 36 weeks post-menstrual age.2 Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is not a singular pathological process, and current definitions do not consider the dynamic changes in respiratory health and treatments before this timepoint.

[Editorial] Keeping children and young people safe in all their spaces

A staggering 1·01 billion individuals aged 15 years and older reported being exposed to sexual violence during childhood, according to new analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2023 of the health burden associated with sexual violence against children. Exposure to violence starts early: UNICEF estimates that nearly 400 million children under age 5 years (60% globally) regularly face psychological aggression or physical punishment at home, and by age 18 years one in five girls and one in seven boys have already experienced sexual violence.

[Personal View] Impaired expectations: the challenge of ableism in paediatrics

In the field of paediatrics, the concept of normal (ie, typical)—in contrast to different, special, deviant, delayed, or atypical—has imposed a problematic framework within which people view a child with an impairment. This binary perspective oversimplifies a complex, fluid, and dynamic process encompassing physical, behavioural, emotional, cognitive, social, and communicative development. Furthermore, this approach reinforces the notion of a singular normality, diminishing the value of any variation from this assumed (and usually poorly defined and naive) standard, in a way that speaks of ableism—the normative bias that a standard norm exists and anything other than this standard is inferior.