The health of adolescent women in the 1980s

The opportunities and stresses faced by today's adolescent women have the potential to affect their health, either directly or through interaction with biologic and psychosocial events. Recently achieved entry into the world of endurance and competitive sports; smoking, drug, and alcohol use; the toxic shock syndrome; and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome threaten the health of young women today. Physicians who care for adolescent women in the 1980s and in the future will require special skills to do so successfully.