Morbilidad y determinantes sociales que afectan la salud de los adolescentes en Ecuador: una revisión exhaustiva

Objective: To analyze the most recent evidence on the main causes of morbidity in Ecuadorian adolescents aged 15 to 19 years. Methods: Review of literature published between 2013 and 2024 in PubMed, SciELO, and Google Scholar, which included 34 studies. Results: Mental health is a significant problem in adolescents under 19 years of age; depressive episodes were the most frequent in this section, affecting women in particular (65.7%). Substance use begins on average at 11.7 years of age, with a high prevalence of alcohol (84% of males, 69.8% of females) and tobacco (63% and 29.9%), in addition to other drugs (1.7% and 2.5%). Teenage pregnancy fell from 79.4 to 55.5 per 1,000 live births between 2015 and 2023, although it remains high. In 2023, there were 468 homicides, mainly among males. Traffic accidents and double nutritional burden persist. Conclusions: Intersectoral policies are needed to strengthen mental health, addiction prevention, sex education, road safety, and nutritional programs.