JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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While it is established that management strategies and outcomes differ by gender for many diseases, its effect on infection has not been adequately studied. ⋯ Although gender may not be predictive of mortality among all infections, women appear to be at increased risk for death from hospital-acquired pneumonia, even after controlling for other comorbidities.
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Mammography is recommended and is cost-effective for women aged 50 to 69 years, but the value of continuing screening mammography after age 69 years is not known. In particular, older women with low bone mineral density (BMD) have a lower risk of breast cancer and may benefit less from continued screening. ⋯ This analysis suggests that continuing mammography screening after age 69 years results in a small gain in life expectancy and is moderately cost-effective in those with high BMD and more costly in those with low BMD. Women's preferences for a small gain in life expectancy and the potential harms of screening mammography should play an important role when elderly women are deciding about screening.
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Few studies have examined the interactive effects of smoking and serum cholesterol level on morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular dieseases. In East Asia, where the prevalence of smoking is among the highest in the world, morbidity and mortality from ischemic heart disease (IHD) is rapidly escalating. ⋯ This study demonstrates that in Korea smoking is a major independent risk factor for IHD, CVD, and ASCVD and that a low cholesterol level confers no protective benefit against smoking-related ASCVD.