Bmc Public Health
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Access to direct-to-consumer genetic testing services has increased in recent years. However, disparities in knowledge and awareness of these services are not well documented. We examined awareness of genetic testing services by rural/urban and racial/ethnic status. ⋯ Rural-urban and racial-ethnic differences exist in awareness of direct-to-consumer genetic testing. These differences may translate into disparities in the uptake of genetic testing, health behavior change, and disease prevention through precision and personalized medicine.
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In 2011-2012, an outbreak of measles occurred in Ecuador. This study sought to ascertain which population characteristics were associated. ⋯ In Ecuador, the parishes with the highest percentage of indigenous populations and those with the lowest vaccination coverage were the most vulnerable during the measles outbreak.
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The Eastern Mediterranean region has the second highest number of road traffic injury mortality rates after the African region based on 2013 data, with road traffic injuries accounting for 27% of the total injury mortality in the region. Globally the number of road traffic deaths has plateaued despite an increase in motorization, but it is uncertain whether this applies to the Region. This study investigated the regional trends in both road traffic injury mortality and morbidity and examined country-based differences considering on income level, categories of road users, and gender distribution. ⋯ Despite a potential downward trend, inequalities in road traffic injury mortality and morbidity burden remain high in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Action needs to be intensified and targeted to implement and enforce safety measures that prevent and mitigate severe motor vehicle crashes in high income countries especially and invest in efforts to promote public, active transport for vulnerable road users in the resource poor countries of the Region.
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Comparative Study
Suicide rates in China, 2004-2014: comparing data from two sample-based mortality surveillance systems.
The decreasing suicide rate in China has been regarded as a major contributor to the decline of global suicide rate in the past decade. However, previous estimations on China's suicide rates might not be accurate, since often they were based on the data from the Ministry of Health's Vital Registration ("MOH-VR") System, which is biased towards the better-off population. This study aims to compare suicide data extracted from the MOH-VR System with a more representative mortality surveillance system, namely the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Disease Surveillance Points ("CDC-DSP") System, and update China's national and subnational suicide rates in the period of 2004-2014. ⋯ The biased MOH-VR System underestimated China's national and rural suicide rates. Although not widely appreciated in the field of suicide research, the CDC-DSP System provides more accurate estimations on China's suicide rates and is recommended for future studies to monitor the reversing trends of suicide rates in China's more developed areas.