Articles: disease.
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Recent concern about the safety of combined oral contraceptives (OCs) with third-generation progestagens prompted an examination of data from a population-based case-control study (Leiden Thrombophilia Study). We compared the risk of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) during use of the newest OCs, containing a third-generation progestagen, with the risk of "older" products. We also investigated the influence of family history of thrombosis, previous pregnancy, age, and the thrombogenic factor V Leiden mutation. ⋯ Use of low-dose OCs with a third-generation progestagen carries a higher risk of DVT than the previous generation of OCs. The absolute risk of DVT associated with these OCs seems to be especially high among carriers of the factor V Leiden mutation and among women with a family history of thrombosis. However, the higher risk associated with OC with a third-generation progestagen compared with previous generations was also present in women without factor V Leiden and with no family history.
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National data for diarrhoeal disease in children can only be used as a very rough guide to morbidity and mortality, since they are based on incomplete reporting. Furthermore, when only one diagnosis per attendance, admission or cause of death is recorded, the true importance of diarrhoea as a cause of morbidity and mortality may be obscured. This may in part explain discrepancies between figures recorded in national and hospital statistics and those recorded in detailed studies of diarrhoeal admissions. ⋯ They should not be used, and may be harmful, in the absence of these indications. Persistent diarrhoea--lasting more than 14 days--is associated with a high mortality and severe malnutrition. It is therefore important that children whose diarrhoea is prolonged for more than 7 days are managed appropriately, using the standard guidelines.
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Taenia solium cysticercosis has been recognized as a public health problem in Indonesian Irian Jaya since its unfortunate introduction in a number of infected pigs imported from Bali. From its original point of introduction in 1971, the infection has spread from the Wissel Lakes area to other places within Irian Jaya. The present situation at the border between Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea (PNG) is difficult to assess accurately but, in light of the flow of refugees and the traditional rights of movement of people with their pigs in the border area, PNG populations are now at risk. ⋯ A rigorous survey of Irianese refugees at the border and surrounding areas in PNG using recently developed immunodiagnostic procedures such as the EITB (enzyme immunoelectrotransfer blot) for detecting human and pig cysticercosis and the dipstick ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) for identifying T. solium carriers, coupled with careful assessment of medical history and clinical and stool examination, is, however, required. Such a study would allow evaluation of the prevalence of cysticercosis and taeniasis in Irian Jayan refugees residing in camps in PNG. The study would also determine the extent to which the parasite has spread easterly and, importantly, whether cysticercosis/taeniasis has crossed the border and is endemic in PNG, thereby constituting a potentially serious public health problem.
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Bull Pan Am Health Organ · Dec 1995
Sexual behavior and health problems in university students, University of Antioquia, 1991.
Authorities at the University of Antioquia, Colombia, felt it would be advisable to institute a student orientation program aimed at preventing health problems resulting from risky sexual behavior related to new cultural trends. The purpose of the work reported in this article was to collect information on the existing situation and provide appropriate advice to the Health Division of the University Welfare Office. For this purpose a survey was conducted with the voluntary participation of 836 students enrolled in their final year of study. ⋯ To obtain information, they had turned primarily to friends and books. Those who said they had received adequate sex education at home participated somewhat less frequently in risky behaviors but appeared a little less apt to have used contraceptives and a little more apt to think that women should not seek satisfaction in their sexual relationships. It has been recommended that the university establish programs to augment student knowledge in this area, prevent STDs and unwanted pregnancies, and encourage responsible exercise of sexuality.
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Comparative Study
Number of sexual partners, condom use and risk of human immunodeficiency virus infection.
To analyse the relation between number of sexual partners, selected sexual habits and the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. ⋯ The risk of HIV infection does not increase linearly with the number of sexual partners in this population. This is reasonable, as the prevalence of HIV infection in this population is essentially determined by drug use. Caution is needed in the interpretation of these results since the analysis of role of number of sexual partners in male intravenous drug users is impaired by low statistical power.