Articles: mortality.
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Mortality in the USA has been shown to spike on Christmas and New Year's Day. No comparable analyses are available for European data despite recognised seasonal mortality variations. ⋯ No disturbance of trend was seen at Easter. The causes of the 'holiday phenomenon' are not understood, but absence of a Christmas spike in NNT may indicate that it is preventable.
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Anoxic brain injury is a common outcome after cardiac arrest. Despite substantial research into the pathophysiology and management of this injury, a beneficial treatment modality has not been previously identified. Recent studies show that induced hypothermia reduces mortality and improves neurological outcomes in patients resuscitated from ventricular fibrillation. This article reviews the literature on induced hypothermia for anoxic brain injury and summarizes a treatment algorithm proposed by the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians Critical Care Committee for hypothermia induction in cardiac arrest survivors.
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Whether higher levels of physical activity can counteract the elevated risk of death associated with adiposity is controversial. ⋯ Both increased adiposity and reduced physical activity are strong and independent predictors of death.
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Comparative Study
Indigenous disparities in disease-specific mortality, a cross-country comparison: New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States.
To compare the disease-specific mortality rates of the indigenous populations of New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States with the non-indigenous populations in each country. ⋯ Australia experienced the largest relative and absolute disparities in life expectancy between indigenous and non-indigenous populations. For specific causes of death, New Zealand Maori, and Australian Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders experienced the highest levels of disparities when compared to their respective non-indigenous population group. Large disparities exist for indigenous peoples in all four countries for diabetes mortality. CONCLUSION The indigenous peoples of New Zealand and Australia suffer from high disease-specific mortality rates. The relative size of indigenous/non-indigenous mortality disparities are highest in New Zealand and Australia. There appears to be a number of common issues that adversely affect the quality of the mortality data that is available in the four countries. Action is required to address indigenous health disparities and to improve the quality of indigenous mortality data.