MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Feb 2012
Community-based opioid overdose prevention programs providing naloxone - United States, 2010.
Drug overdose death rates have increased steadily in the United States since 1979. In 2008, a total of 36,450 drug overdose deaths (i.e., unintentional, intentional [suicide or homicide], or undetermined intent) were reported, with prescription opioid analgesics (e.g., oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone), cocaine, and heroin the drugs most commonly involved . Since the mid-1990s, community-based programs have offered opioid overdose prevention services to persons who use drugs, their families and friends, and service providers. ⋯ This report summarizes the findings for the 48 programs that completed the survey and the 188 local programs represented by the responses. Since the first opioid overdose prevention program began distributing naloxone in 1996, the respondent programs reported training and distributing naloxone to 53,032 persons and receiving reports of 10,171 overdose reversals. Providing opioid overdose education and naloxone to persons who use drugs and to persons who might be present at an opioid overdose can help reduce opioid overdose mortality, a rapidly growing public health concern.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Feb 2012
CDC grand rounds: dietary sodium reduction - time for choice.
Excess dietary sodium is a major contributor to hypertension (high blood pressure) and a critical public health issue in the United States. Nearly one in three U. S. adults, or 68 million persons, has hypertension, and half of those do not have their condition under control. ⋯ Reducing sodium intake to 2,300 mg/day potentially could prevent 11 million cases of hypertension and save billions of dollars in health-care expenditures; reducing sodium intake further would yield additional benefits. To achieve those reductions and help consumers make healthful choices, expanded educational efforts and monitoring of the sodium content of the food supply are needed. Increased availability of lower sodium products and reductions in the amount of sodium in foods served or sold in the marketplace also are needed.