American journal of preventive medicine
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We identified immersion injuries of New Jersey residents from mortality and hospital discharge data. The incidence rate was 2.3 immersion injuries (1.3 fatal and 1.0 nonfatal) per 100,000 population per year. Incidence rates were elevated among young children, men, blacks, and residents of counties in the southern part of the state. Case fatality ratios increased with age and were higher for men than for women from 10 to 50 years of age.
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Comparative Study
Postneonatal deaths from infections and injuries: race, maternal risk, and age at death.
Most infants with birthweights greater than or equal to 2,500 g who survive the first 27 days of life have a reasonable opportunity to grow into healthy children. However, some of these infants succumb to two potentially preventable causes of death: infections and injuries. Although the relationship between maternal attributes and risk of death from these causes has been described, little is known about how maternal attributes relate to postneonatal age at death. ⋯ The same was true for three categories of injury death (motor vehicle, fire, and homicide), but not for injury deaths in the category of choking, drowning, or suffocation. Among blacks, these deaths occurred at younger ages, regardless of maternal risk status. Thus, efforts to prevent deaths from choking, drowning, or suffocation among blacks should focus on early infancy.
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Adolescent pregnancy, often unplanned and unwanted, has a negative impact on the physical, emotional, educational, and economic condition of the pregnant teenager. Forty percent of the one million adolescents who became pregnant in 1986 chose abortion, and, of the remainder, 61% were unmarried. Teenage mothers in greater numbers and at younger ages are opting to keep and raise their children. ⋯ Sex education in schools is presented in widely varying formats; in fact, prevention of pregnancy may not even be presented. Family planning clinics are subject to the whims and biases of the funding agencies. Clinicians have an important role in providing guidance for teenage patients and their parents, but can also influence school and community leadership to ensure that all teenagers receive sound sex education in school programs and that family planning agencies are permitted to counsel teenagers and provide contraceptive devices.
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A 44-item knowledge and attitude questionnaire was administered to 176 randomly selected shoppers to determine their cardiovascular and nutrition knowledge and attitude toward the diet-heart relationship. An analysis of descriptive sales slips issued by the supermarket determined food purchasing behavior. Food items purchased were categorized according to their polyunsaturated-saturated (P/S) ratio less than 1 (PS0), P/S ratio greater than 1 (PS1), and high cholesterol (greater than 100 mg per serving) (HCHO). ⋯ Correlation for whites was significant and negative (r = -.29, P = .0003) and for blacks nonsignificant and positive (r = .02, P = .9069). Regression analysis found a significant negative slope (b = -.57, P = .0001) of PS0 on knowledge, a marginally significant positive slope (b = -.21, P = .0527) of PS1 on knowledge, and a significant negative slope (b = -.86, P = .0171) of HCHO on education. The interaction of race and knowledge was significant for PS0 (P = .0005).