FEMALE ADOLESCENTS AND HEALTH-STATUS PERCEPTIONS - CLINICAL RELEVANCETO THE PRIMARY-CARE GYNECOLOGIST

Study Objective: The purpose was to examine the relationship between t he perceptions of hearth status and related biobehavioral variables of female youth attending an outpatient adolescent gynecology clinic. Ba ckground: Inquiry into a female patient's perception of personal healt h is important, especially when providing health services because fema les experience more days of restricted activity than males. Design: A cross-sectional survey was employed using standardized measures of men tal health and health status. The health status measure assesses the p erception of the female's physical functioning or functional status, w ell-being, and general health. Self-report questionnaires were also co mpleted on sexual behaviors and menstrual pain. Data were obtained fro m 160 females aged 12-21 years with a mean age of 16.8 years. Results: Multiple regression analyses conducted on each of the three health st atus indices revealed that the endorsement of many symptoms of depress ion explained 26% of the variance in perceptions of functional status scores; symptoms of anxiety and depression as well as third party cove rage accounted for 47% of the variance in perceptions of well-being sc ores; and symptoms of depression were responsible for explaining almos t 30% of their general health perception. Conclusions: The strength of the relationship between health status and related biobehavioral vari ables indicates that primary care OB/GYN would benefit from conducting some type of health status examination. Assessment of mental health s tatus, especially characteristics or symptoms of depression, would inf orm health care practitioners, as these features may have a negative i mpact on the patient's health perceptions.