JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Cardiovascular disease is the greatest threat to human life and health. The past decade has seen remarkable progress in clinical and basic cardiovascular research, and many areas of opportunity are promising. The pace of current progress in clinical and basic research is such that remarkable improvement in the quality and length of life for those at risk for cardiovascular disease is likely.
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One overall challenge for public health and medicine in the future is to allocate available resources effectively to reduce major causes of disease burden globally and to decrease health disparities between poor and affluent populations. The major risk factors for death and disability worldwide are malnutrition; poor water supply, sanitation, and personal and domestic hygiene; unsafe sexual behavior; tobacco use; alcohol use; occupational hazards; hypertension; physical inactivity; illicit drugs; and air pollution. The challenge for research in the 21st century is to maintain and improve life expectancy and the quality of life that was achieved for most of the world's population during the 20th century.
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Advances in surgery have focused on minimizing the invasiveness of surgical procedures, such that a significant paradigm shift has occurred for some procedures in which surgeons no longer directly touch or see the structures on which they operate. Advancements in video imaging, endoscope technology, and instrumentation have made it possible to convert many procedures in many surgical specialties from open surgeries to endoscopic ones. The use of computers and robotics promises to facilitate complex endoscopic procedures by virtue of voice control over the networked operating room, enhancement of dexterity to facilitate microscale operations, and development of virtual simulator trainers to enhance the ability to learn new complex operations. Future research will focus on delivery of diagnostic and therapeutic modalities through natural orifices in which investigation is under remote control and navigation, so that truly "noninvasive" surgery will be a reality.
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Rising costs of medications and inequities in access have sparked calls for drug policy reform in the United States and Canada. Control of drug expenditures by prescription cost-sharing for elderly persons and poor persons is a contentious issue because little is known about the health impact in these subgroups. ⋯ In our study, increased cost-sharing for prescription drugs in elderly persons and welfare recipients was followed by reductions in use of essential drugs and a higher rate of serious adverse events and ED visits associated with these reductions.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Promotion of Breastfeeding Intervention Trial (PROBIT): a randomized trial in the Republic of Belarus.
Current evidence that breastfeeding is beneficial for infant and child health is based exclusively on observational studies. Potential sources of bias in such studies have led to doubts about the magnitude of these health benefits in industrialized countries. ⋯ Our experimental intervention increased the duration and degree (exclusivity) of breastfeeding and decreased the risk of gastrointestinal tract infection and atopic eczema in the first year of life. These results provide a solid scientific underpinning for future interventions to promote breastfeeding.