In the past five decades, there have been significant advances in the fields of Paediatrics and Adult Medicine in Singapore. However, the bridging field of Adolescent Health has only recently been recognised to be an important specialty which has not received due emphasis in the medical curriculum for undergraduates,...

Adolescence is a biopsychosocial maturational process, with the biological changes including completion of linear growth and sexual maturation (puberty), maturation of enzyme systems such as cytochrome P450 systems, accretion of peak bone mass, and the development of sexually dimorphic adult patterns in blood lipids, blood pressure, haemoglobin and red...

The past 20 years have seen much growth in the knowledge of child and adolescent psychiatric practice. Research has provided an improved understanding in almost every area, including epidemiology, classification and treatment. This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the...

The World Health Organization defines suicide as an act with a fatal outcome that is deliberately initiated and performed by the person himself or herself in the knowledge, or expectation, of its fatal outcome. Parasuicide or attempted suicide is distinguished from suicide by the non-fatal outcome. This article is available...

Anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge-eating disorder are the three best described ‘eating disorders’. All three are predominantly disorders of women with the core symptoms of shape/weight dissatisfaction and eating abnormalities. Anorexia nervosa is characterised by significant self-induced weight loss secondary to fear of fatness, amenorrhoea (cessation of menstruation for...