Articles: health.
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A study was conducted to compare the presenting complaints and historical information of adolescents diagnosed as pregnant (DP) in the emergency department (ED) with adolescents seen in the ED who were pregnant and not diagnosed (MP). Medical records for the period 1980-94 were retrospectively analyzed to identify patients 16 years of age or younger who were diagnosed as pregnant in the ED or who had a live birth and had an ED visit during pregnancy. This analysis was done in a university-affiliated tertiary referral hospital with approximately 65,000 ED visits and 3,500 deliveries each year. ⋯ The diagnosis of pregnancy can be a challenge in patients who present to a busy ED with complaints that are not necessarily suggestive of pregnancy. Historical information regarding menses and sexual activity is either not obtained or is incomplete or inaccurate. We recommend a low threshold for the consideration of pregnancy in adolescents irrespective of the presenting complaint.
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Feb 1997
Review[Tuberculosis and the HIV pandemic. Risk of nosocomial tuberculosis infection].
Spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has had a major impact on the epidemiology of tuberculosis. In several African countries the incidence of tuberculosis has doubled, and the prevalence of HIV infection among patients with tuberculosis is 20 to 60%. A similar change has occurred in some developed countries. ⋯ The mortality among patients has been high, and there have been several cases of transmission to healthcare workers. Analyses of these recent outbreaks indicate that it is possible to intervene by well known prophylactic measures. Rapid diagnosis and treatment, and correct isolation procedures are essential to prevent outbreaks.
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J. Natl. Cancer Inst. · Feb 1997
Birth cohort and calendar period trends in breast cancer mortality in the United States and Canada.
Previous studies of regional and temporal variation in U.S. breast cancer mortality rates have been confined largely to analyses of rates for white women. ⋯ Widespread environmental exposures are unlikely to explain the higher relative breast cancer mortality rates observed for U.S. white women in the Northeast, since the rates for black women in this region were not higher than in other regions. The moderation of breast cancer mortality rates for women born between 1924 and 1938 coincides with increased fertility rates following World War II. Stable or decreasing mortality rates for U.S. women and Canadian women born after 1950 were not expected in view of declining fertility rates, suggesting a change in a breast cancer risk factor or protective factor. The increase in calendar period trend slope in the 1980s likely reflects the coincident rise in breast cancer diagnosis via mammography. The recent decline in calendar period trend for white women in the United States and for Canadian women may be the result of earlier detection and increased use of adjuvant therapy.
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The Population and Community Development Association (PDA), a non-governmental organisation, has designed and implemented a new model of rural economic development in which health is considered to be the cornerstone of all development strategies. By attacking migration as the root cause of current threats to the population's health, PDA's Thai Business Initiative in Rural Development program provides economic opportunities to villagers in the poorest areas of the country. This structural approach to health enhancement includes specific components to address primary health care, family planning, and HIV/AIDS prevention, education and care.
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This study identifies age-specific factors related to new cases of stunting that develop in Filipino children from birth to 24 mo of age. Data come from nearly 3000 participants in the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey, a community-based study conducted from 1983 to 1995. Length, morbidity, feeding and health-related data were collected bimonthly during home visits. ⋯ Breast-feeding, preventive health care and taller maternal stature significantly decreased the likelihood of stunting. Males were more likely to become stunted in the first year, whereas females were more likely to become stunted in the second year of life. Because stunting is strongly related to poor functional outcomes such as impaired intellectual development during childhood, and to short stature in adulthood, these results emphasize the need for prevention of growth retardation through promotion of prenatal care and breast-feeding, as well as control of infectious diseases.