JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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To determine trends in gang homicides and the population at greatest risk for homicide by reviewing all gang-related homicides in Los Angeles County, California, from January 1979 to December 1994. ⋯ Gang-related homicides in Los Angeles County have reached epidemic proportions and are a major public health problem. To prevent gang violence, the root causes of violent street gang formation must be alleviated, the cycle of violent street gang involvement must be broken, and access to firearms must be limited.
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To determine whether the higher rate of hospitalization among African Americans for congestive heart failure (CHF) could be explained by racial differences in the prevalence of clinical risk factors for CHF. ⋯ In this HMO population, the race differences in first hospitalization for CHF are largely explained by known clinical and behavioral risk factors, although in younger women these risk factors do not completely explain the excess risk among African Americans. These findings highlight the role of hypertension and diabetes in the development of CHF, particularly among African Americans.