Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health With Adolescent Health Behaviors in the UK Millennium Cohort

Key Points Question Are mental health problems during childhood and adolescence associated with health behaviors during adolescence? Findings In this cohort study including 9369 participants, adolescents with self-reported mental health problems at both ages 7 years and 14 years and at age 14 years only were less likely to have at least 9 hours of sleep and to consume fruit and vegetables and reported greater use of social media compared with individuals who had no parent-reported mental health problems at age 7 years or self-reported problems at age 14 years. Meaning These findings suggest that mental health during childhood and adolescence was associated with health behavioral outcomes, and this should be considered in future efforts to improve health behaviors and in noncommunicable disease prevention efforts.