Public health
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The secular trend in age at menarche (AAM) has declined both worldwide and in Korea. Early AAM is associated with the risk of several diseases, reproductive capacity, and psychological problems. We aimed to investigate the relationship between secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure at home and early puberty onset using AAM in Korean adolescents. ⋯ In addition to active smoking, SHS may also be a risk factor for early AAM. Education aimed at active and secondhand smoking prevention is needed to protect children against early AAM.
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Opioid overdose death rates have continued to spike exponentially from the start of the 21st century, creating what is known to be one of the worst public health crises in the United States. Simultaneously, as more states began passing medical cannabis laws (MCLs), the idea that marijuana was the solution to the opioid crisis began to spread nationwide. As some states have maintained strict medical marijuana policies, others-such as Colorado-have expanded their statutes to allow recreational marijuana sales within their state. Researchers have been able to provide sense of the public health implications resulting from MCLs, but little is known about the effects of this marijuana policy expansion. This preliminary study will focus on exploring the statewide effects of Colorado's recreational marijuana policy on the state's opioid overdose death rates. ⋯ Owing to the lack of additional post-treatment data and captured lagged effects, it is too soon to dismiss this policy as inadequate in combating the opioid epidemic. Once additional post-treatment data become available, the study can be reproduced to obtain more robust results and achieve a clearer understanding of the policy implications shown.
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This article describes the rapid mitigation strategies in addressing the rising number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Singapore. Learning from the severe acute respiratory syndrome experience in 2003, early preparation started in January 2020 when Wuhan was declared as the epicentre of the epidemic. The government had constructed a three-pronged approach which includes travel, healthcare and community measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.