MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Sep 2007
Suicide trends among youths and young adults aged 10-24 years--United States, 1990-2004.
In 2004, suicide was the third leading cause of death among youths and young adults aged 10-24 years in the United States, accounting for 4,599 deaths. During 1990-2003, the combined suicide rate for persons aged 10-24 years declined 28.5%, from 9.48 to 6.78 per 100,000 persons. However, from 2003 to 2004, the rate increased by 8.0%, from 6.78 to 7.32, the largest single-year increase during 1990-2004. ⋯ The results suggest that increases in suicide and changes in suicidal behavior might have occurred among youths in certain sex-age groups, especially females aged 10-19 years. Closer examination of these trends is warranted at federal and state levels. Where indicated, health authorities and program directors should consider focusing suicide-prevention activities on these groups to help prevent suicide rates from increasing further.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Aug 2007
Scombroid fish poisoning associated with tuna steaks--Louisiana and Tennessee, 2006.
Scombroid fish poisoning is an acute illness that occurs after eating fish containing high levels of histamine or other biogenic amines. Symptoms typically include facial flushing, sweating, rash, a burning or peppery taste in the mouth, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps and usually resolve within several hours without medical intervention. More severe symptoms (e.g., respiratory distress, swelling of the tongue and throat, and blurred vision) can occur and require medical treatment with antihistamines. ⋯ The majority of seafood eaten in the United States is imported. FDA programs to identify and prevent seafood hazards such as scombroid fish poisoning have made substantial progress but are able to inspect only a small proportion of seafood entering the United States. The only effective method for prevention of scombroid fish poisoning is consistent temperature control of fish at
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Jun 2007
Rapid HIV testing in emergency departments--three U.S. sites, January 2005-March 2006.
Approximately one fourth of the estimated 1 million persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States are unaware that they are infected with HIV and at risk for transmitting the virus to others. In April 2003, CDC announced a new initiative, Advancing HIV Prevention: New Strategies for a Changing Epidemic, aimed at reducing barriers to early diagnosis of HIV infection and increasing access of persons infected with HIV to medical care and prevention services. A priority strategy of this initiative is to make HIV testing a routine part of medical care. ⋯ This report summarizes the preliminary results of integrating rapid HIV testing into the health-care services routinely offered in the three EDs during January 2005-March 2006. Those results indicated that, of 9,365 persons tested, 97 (1.0%) ED patients had newly diagnosed HIV infection, and 85 (88%) of those 97 were linked after diagnosis to HIV care and treatment. EDs should consider integrating rapid HIV testing into their routine medical services to identify patients who are unaware that they are infected with HIV and link them to health and prevention services.
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In 2002, after a decade with no decrease in smoking prevalence, New York City began implementation of a five-point tobacco-control program consisting of increased taxation in 2002, establishment of smoke-free workplaces in 2003, public and health-care--provider education, cessation services, and rigorous evaluation, including annual cross-sectional, citywide telephone surveys using the same measures as CDC's state-based Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). During 2002-2004, estimated adult smoking prevalence decreased from 21.5% to 18.4%, representing nearly 200,000 fewer smokers. However, in 2005, no change in adult smoking prevalence occurred, either among New York City residents overall or among demographic subpopulations. ⋯ This report describes the two campaigns and analyzes citywide survey data before and after the campaigns. In 2006, during the first year of the media campaigns, adult smoking prevalence decreased significantly among men (11.6% decrease) and among Hispanics (15.2% decrease). These findings confirm the importance of comprehensive tobacco-control programs and suggest that this intensive, broad-based media campaign has reduced smoking prevalence among certain subgroups.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · Jun 2007
Decline in breast cancer incidence--United States, 1999-2003.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among females in the United States. The 2006 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer described a stabilization in female breast cancer incidence rates during 2001-2003, ending increases that began in the 1980s, and a decline in the number of breast cancer cases diagnosed in 2003. In addition, researchers who used 1990-2003 data from the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program, representing approximately 14% of the U. ⋯ The results of this analysis indicated that age-adjusted incidence rates for invasive breast cancer decreased each year during 1999-2003, with the greatest decrease (6.1%) occurring from 2002 to 2003; women aged > or = 50 years experienced a significant decrease during this period. Rates of in situ (i.e., noninvasive) breast cancer increased each year during 1999-2002 and then decreased from 2002 to 2003; women aged 50-79 years experienced a significant decrease during this period. Future studies should focus on determining potential causes for these decreases.