Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

About: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a government organization based out in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Public health. The organization has 58238 authors who have published 82592 publications receiving 4405701 citations. The organization is also known as: CDC & Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Surveillance for violent deaths--National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 states, 2005.

Abstract: PROBLEM/CONDITION: An estimated 50,000 persons die annually in the United States as a result of violence-related injuries. This report summarizes data from CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) regarding violent deaths from 16 U.S. states for 2005. Results are reported by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, marital status, location of injury, method of injury, circumstances of injury, and other selected characteristics. REPORTING PERIOD COVERED: 2005. DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM: NVDRS collects data regarding violent deaths obtained from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, and law enforcement reports. NVDRS began operation in 2003 with seven states (Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, and Virginia) participating; six states (Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin) joined in 2004 and four (California, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Utah) in 2005, for a total of 17 states. This report includes data from 16 states; data from California are not included in this report because NVDRS has been implemented only in a limited number of California cities and counties rather than statewide as in other states. RESULTS: For 2005, a total of 15,495 fatal incidents involving 15,962 violent deaths occurred in the 16 NVDRS states included in this report. The majority (56.1%) of deaths were suicides, followed by homicides and deaths involving legal interventions (29.6%), violent deaths of undetermined intent (13.3%), and unintentional firearm deaths (0.7%). Fatal injury rates varied by sex, race/ethnicity, age group, and method of injury. Rates were substantially higher for males than for females and for American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) and blacks than for whites and Hispanics. Rates were highest for persons aged 20-24 years. For method of injury, the three highest rates were reported for firearms, poisonings, and hanging/strangulation/suffocation. Suicides occurred at higher rates among males, AI/ANs, whites, and older persons and most often involved the use of firearms in the home. Suicides were precipitated primarily by mental illness, intimate partner or physical health problems, or a crisis during the previous 2 weeks. Homicides occurred at higher rates among males and young adult blacks and most often involved the use of firearms in the home or on a street/highway. Homicides were precipitated primarily by an argument over something other than money or property or in conjunction with another crime. Similar variation was reported among the other manners of death and special situations or populations highlighted in this report. INTERPRETATION: This report provides the first detailed summary of data concerning violent deaths collected by NVDRS. The results indicate that deaths resulting from self-inflicted or interpersonal violence occur to a varying extent among males and females of every age group and racial/ethnic population. Key factors affecting rates of violent fatal injuries include sex, age group, method of injury, location of injury, and precipitating circumstances (e.g., mental health and substance abuse). Because additional information might be reported subsequently as participating states update their findings, the data provided in this report are preliminary. PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION: Accurate, timely, and comprehensive surveillance data are necessary for the occurrence of violent deaths in the United States to be understood better and ultimately prevented. NVDRS data can be used to track the occurrence of violence-related fatal injuries and assist public health authorities in the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies to reduce and prevent violent deaths and injuries at the national, state, and local levels. The continued development and expansion of NVDRS is essential to CDC's efforts to reduce the personal, familial, and societal costs of violence. Further efforts are needed to increase the number of states using NVDRS, with an ultimate goal of full national representation. Language: en

Epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus-associated opportunistic infections in the United States in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Abstract: The incidence of nearly all AIDS-defining opportunistic infections (OIs) decreased significantly in the United States during 1992-1998; decreases in the most common OIs (Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia ?PCP, esophageal candidiasis, and disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex ?MAC disease) were more pronounced in 1996-1998, during which time highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was introduced into medical care. Those OIs that continue to occur do so at low CD4+ T lymphocyte counts, and persons whose CD4+ counts have increased in response to HAART are at low risk for OIs, a circumstance that suggests a high degree of immune reconstitution associated with HAART. PCP, the most common serious OI, continues to occur primarily in persons not previously receiving medical care. The most profound effect on survival of patients with AIDS is conferred by HAART, but specific OI prevention measures (prophylaxis against PCP and MAC and vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae) are associated with a survival benefit, even when they coincide with the administration of HAART. Continued monitoring of incidence trends and detection of new syndromes associated with HAART are important priorities in the HAART era.

Risk perceptions and their relation to risk behavior.

Abstract: Background: Because risk perceptions can affect protective behavior and protective behavior can affect risk perceptions, the relations between these 2 constructs are complex and incorrect tests often lead to invalid conclusions. Purpose: To discuss and carry out appropriate tests of 3 easily confused hypotheses: (a) the behavior motivation hypothesis (perceptions of personal risk cause people to take protective action), (b) the risk reappraisal hypothesis (when people take actions thought to be effective, they lower their risk perceptions), and (c) the accuracy hypothesis (risk perceptions accurately reflect risk behavior). Methods: Longitudinal study with an initial interview just after the Lyme disease vaccine was made publicly available and a follow-up interview 18 months later. Random sample of adult homeowners (N = 745) in 3 northeastern U.S. counties with high Lyme disease incidence. Lyme disease vaccination behavior and risk perception were assessed. Results: All 3 hypotheses were supported. Participants with higher initial risk perceptions were much more likely than those with lower risk perceptions to get vaccinated against Lyme disease (OR = 5.81, 95% CI 2.63–12.82, p < .001). Being vaccinated led to a reduction in risk perceptions, χ 2 (1, N = 745) = 30.90, p < .001, and people vaccinated correctly believed that their risk of future infection was lower than that of people not vaccinated (OR = .44, 95% CI .21–.91, p < .05). Conclusions: The behavior motivation hypothesis was supported in this longitudinal study, but the opposite conclusion (i.e., that higher risk led to less protective behavior) would have been drawn from an incorrect test based only on cross-sectional data. Health researchers should take care in formulating and testing risk-perception-behavior hypotheses.