New Trends and Challenges in Academic Research on Adolescent Growth and Development.

Juan Gao, Xinyi Ren, Yuxin Hu, Guoping Li, Tingting Yang, Junjie Xiao

Journal: Advances in experimental medicine and biology 2026;1505():411-420

PMID: 41917642

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical period for physical and psychological growth and development when individuals undergo a burst growth in physical size, hormonal re-adjustment, and brain development. In recent years, research studies have changed from descriptive growth charts toward focusing on the roles of multiple factors that affect adolescent health, including epigenetic regulators, genetic traits, social stressors, and gut microbiota. Compared to traditional factors like nutrition and hormones, environmental factors, personalized genomics, social media exposure, and gut-microbiome, etc. are increasing recognized as novel critical regulators of adolescent health. Currently, the goal of academic research in adolescence is to understand the interactions and underlying mechanisms of these factors and to develop targeted interventions for addressing adolescent health issues. Therefore, this chapter mainly discusses the new trends, key challenges, and translational research potential in these rapidly advancing field of adolescent growth and development.

Address: Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Organ Repair, Joint International Research Laboratory of Biomaterials and Biotechnology in Organ Repair (Ministry of Education), School of Life Science, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China.; Cardiovascular Division of the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.; Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.; Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Organ Repair, Joint International Research Laboratory of Biomaterials and Biotechnology in Organ Repair (Ministry of Education), School of Life Science, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China. [email protected].; Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Organ Repair, Joint International Research Laboratory of Biomaterials and Biotechnology in Organ Repair (Ministry of Education), School of Life Science, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China. [email protected].

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-95-7000-3_20

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https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-7000-3_20

MeSH Terms: Humans, Adolescent, Adolescent Development, Adolescent Health, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Epigenesis, Genetic, Biomedical Research