Generating Evidence on the Needs of Ecuadorian Adolescents

Background: Adolescence is a period of intensified emotional responses and occurs when mental health disorders commonly develop since adolescents are learning how to deal with powerful emotions. Globally, 15% of adolescents experience a mental disorder like depression or anxiety. However, adolescent mental health goes beyond mental disorders. It is state of mental well-being that allows individuals to deal with stressors, recognize their abilities, develop their activities well, and participate in society, providing a holistic approach that highlights the interplay between psychological well-being and other aspects of life. Given this perspective, a Lifestyle Medicine (LM) approach based on a multi-component framework is needed for assessing adolescents' mental health. This study aims to evaluate adolescents' (aged 14-19) mental health, identify and mitigate the risks of developing any mental health disorder as well as formulate comprehensive interventions to promote and increase their emotional wellbeing. Methods: Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies will be performed. Adolescents from Quito, Ecuador will be recruited using a simple random sampling technique. The minimum sample size is 385; however, to increase the precision of the estimates, a target sample of approximately 1000 participants will be established. Main outcome measure will be mental health using social determinants of health and lifestyle medicine factors. Conclusion: This research project will evaluate adolescents' mental health through a holistic and multiapproach evaluation and interrelate social determinants of health and lifestyle medicine variables to propose and design multidisciplinary strategies and interventions to prevent and mitigate mental health outcomes in adolescents. Additionally, the results will be useful in informing public health authorities to evaluate or modify current policies