MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Nov 2006
Toxicology testing and results for suicide victims--13 states, 2004.
In 2003, an estimated 31,484 suicides (10.7 per 100,000 population) occurred in the United States. Suicide was the fourth leading cause of death among persons aged 10-64 years and the second and third leading causes of death among persons aged 25-34 and 10-24 years, respectively. Few studies have attempted to determine the contribution of substance use to suicide. ⋯ This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which determined that 1) the percentage of suicide victims tested varied among states, ranging from 25.9% to 97.7%; 2) of those victims tested, 33.3% were positive for alcohol, and 16.4% were positive for opiates; and 3) similar percentages of poisoning suicide (i.e., suspected intentional overdose) and nonpoisoning suicide victims tested positive for alcohol or other drugs, with the exception of opiates. These results underscore the need to continue monitoring toxicology test results of suicide victims, which might identify patterns of substance use that can help guide development of effective suicide interventions. Such data can be enhanced by uniform, comprehensive, toxicology testing practices on a state and national basis.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Nov 2006
Correctable visual impairment among persons with diabetes--United States, 1999-2004.
Persons with diabetes are more likely to be visually impaired than persons without the disease. In 2005, CDC estimated that 14.6 million persons in the United States had diagnosed diabetes and an additional 6.2 million had undiagnosed diabetes. Despite the importance of detecting and treating vision problems caused by refractive errors (i.e., correctable visual impairment [CVI]), a limited number of studies have attempted to determine the proportion of persons with diabetes whose poor vision could be corrected with accurately prescribed glasses or contact lenses. ⋯ This report describes the results of that analysis, which indicated that among U. S. adults aged > or =20 years with diabetes, 11.0% had visual impairment (i.e., presenting visual acuity worse than 20/40 in their better-seeing eye while wearing glasses or contact lenses, if applicable) and approximately 65.5% of these cases of visual impairment were correctable. Health-care providers and persons with diabetes should be more aware that poor vision often is correctable and that visual corrections can reduce the risk for injury and improve the quality of life for persons with diabetes.