American journal of preventive medicine
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The number of individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) in the U.S. is unknown. Determination of burden of disease, healthcare issues, and policies is best served by representative estimations of the SCD population. ⋯ The number of individuals with SCD in the U.S. may approach 100,000, even when accounting for the effect of early mortality on estimations. A paucity of high-quality data limits appropriate estimation. State-to-state variability may preclude application of state-specific information to other states or to the nation as a whole. Standardized collection and centralized reporting, a surveillance system, will be necessary to assess the size and composition of the U.S. SCD population.
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Americans of Mexican origin are at high risk for developing cardiovascular disease. ⋯ Social influence may play an important role in motivating individuals to engage in screenings. Network-based intervention involving older individuals to provide encouragement to younger network members should be explored as a means to increase motivation to screen among this population.
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Studies of the built environment and physical activity have implicitly assumed that a substantial amount of activity occurs near home, but in fact the location is unknown. ⋯ Findings are consistent with studies showing that certain attributes of the built environment around homes are positively related to physical activity, but in this case only when the outcome was location-based. Simultaneous accelerometer-GPS monitoring shows promise as a method to improve understanding of how the built environment influences physical activity behaviors by allowing activity to be quantified in a range of physical contexts and thereby provide a more explicit link between physical activity outcomes and built environment exposures.