Showing papers by "Thomas E. Novotny published in 1991"

Quantifying the disease impact of cigarette smoking with SAMMEC II software.

Abstract: Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity, and Economic Costs Software, Release II (SAMMEC II) has been developed for the Office on Smoking and Health, Public Health Service, to permit rapid calculation of deaths, years of potential life lost, direct health-care costs, indirect mortality costs, and disability costs associated with cigarette smoking. For the mortality-related measures, age-specific and age-adjusted rates are also calculated. The pivotal epidemiologic measure in these calculations is the smoking-attributable fraction, and attributal risk measure. A multiple-measure approach (attributable mortality and economic costs) to quantifying a health problem is termed "disease impact estimation." Previously, national and State-specific estimates of smoking-attributable mortality and economic costs were calculated using SAMMEC software, the predecessor of SAMMEC II. SAMMEC II is completely menu-driven and operates within the Lotus 1-2-3 software as a set of linked spreadsheets. SAMMEC II adapts national epidemiologic methods for use by State and local health departments. Increased exposure of public health professionals to disease impact estimation techniques, as demonstrated by SAMMEC II, will lead to improvements in both methodology and the quality of smoking-related health data. The primary purpose of SAMMEC II, however, is to provide State or locality-specific data on the health consequences of smoking to policymakers and public health professionals in these jurisdictions.

Mortalidad atribuible al tabaquismo, anos de vida potencial perdidos y costos directos para la atencion de salud en puerto rico, 1983

Abstract: The effects of smoking on health in Puerto Rico in 1983 are described. Using a microcomputer program that calculates morbidity due to smoking, the investigators estimated that 2468 deaths were attributable to this cause. The figure represents 11.5% of all deaths on the island in 1983 and represents approximately 19445 years of potential life lost. Smoking was the cause of direct health care expenditures amounting to $US 55.9 million, or 10% of all annual expenditures on health in Puerto Rico