American journal of preventive medicine
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Older adults are at high risk for stroke and falls, both of which require a large amount of informal caregiving. However, the economic burden of informal caregiving associated with stroke and fall history is not well known. ⋯ In U.S. older adults, informal caregiving hours and costs associated with falls are substantial, especially for stroke survivors. Preventing falls and fall-related injuries, especially among stroke survivors, therefore has potential for reducing the burden of informal caregiving.
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This review summarizes the current literature for the prevalence and medical costs of noncommunicable chronic diseases among adult Medicaid beneficiaries to inform future program design. ⋯ These findings could help inform the evaluation of interventions to prevent and manage noncommunicable chronic diseases and their potential to control costs among the vulnerable Medicaid population.
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Effective community-based interventions are available to control hypertension. It is important to determine the economics of these interventions. ⋯ Most studies found that the three types of interventions were either cost effective or cost saving. Quality of economic studies should be improved to confirm the findings.
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This study assessed the prevalence of current high-intensity drinking (i.e., having ten or more drinks in a row in the past 2 weeks) among national samples of U.S. eighth and tenth grade students (at modal ages 14 and 16 years, respectively). ⋯ A meaningful percentage of young adolescents in the U.S. engage in high-intensity drinking.
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Pneumococcal vaccination is recommended for all adults with asthma and a Healthy People 2020 goal aims to achieve 60% coverage among high-risk adults, including those with asthma. Adults with work-related asthma have more severe asthma symptoms than those with non-work-related asthma and are particularly vulnerable to pneumococcal pneumonia. ⋯ Pneumococcal vaccination coverage among adults with work-related asthma and non-work-related asthma is below the Healthy People 2020 target level. Healthcare providers should verify pneumococcal vaccination status in their patients with asthma and offer the vaccine to those not vaccinated.