And there are devastating diseases that appear at adolescence such as diabetes, epilepsy, depression and schizophrenia. Yet studies show that adolescents are the least likely to see a physician and, when they do, they tend to be treated summarily, with their visits lasting, on average, half as long as those of adults. For Dr. Marc Girard, a physician in the adolescent medical program at Sainte-Justice Hospital in Montreal, building a relationship with teenagers is key to developing healthy habits that will last a lifetime. Dr. Sacks said health specialists are needed because they learn the language and concerns of young people and are better able to treat them. The art of medicine with adolescents is to listen to what they don't say.
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