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).

Association of Elevated Serum Lipid Levels With Retinal Hard Exudate in Diabetic Retinopathy: Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) Report 22

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the relationship between serum lipid levels, retinal hard exudate, and visual acuity in patients with diabetic retinopathy. Design: Observational data from the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study. Participants: Of the 3711 patients enrolled in the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study, the first 2709 enrolled had serum lipid levels measured. Main Outcome Measures: Baseline fasting serum lipid levels, best-corrected visual acuity, and assessment of retinal thickening and hard exudate from stereoscopic macular photographs. Results: Patients with elevated total serum cholesterol levels or serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels at baseline were twice as likely to have retinal hard exudates as patients with normal levels. These patients were also at higher risk of developing hard exudate during the course of the study. The risk of losing visual acuity was associated with the extent of hard exudate even after adjusting for the extent of macular edema. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that elevated serum lipid levels are associated with an increased risk of retinal hard exudate in persons with diabetic retinopathy. Although retinal hard exudate usually accompanies diabetic macular edema, increasing amounts of exudate appear to be independently associated with an increased risk of visual impairment. Lowering elevated serum lipid levels has been shown to decrease the risk of cardiovascular morbidity. The observational data from the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study suggest that lipid lowering may also decrease the risk of hard exudate formation and associated vision loss in patients with diabetic retinopathy. Preservation of vision may be an additional motivating factor for lowering serum lipid levels in persons with diabetic retinopathy and elevated serum lipid levels.

Increasing deaths from opioid analgesics in the United States

Abstract: Purpose Since 1990, numerous jurisdictions in the United States (US) have reported increases in drug poisoning mortality. During the same time period, the use of opioid analgesics has increased markedly as part of more aggressive pain management. This study documented a dramatic increase in poisoning mortality rates and compared it to sales of opioid analgesics nationwide. Methods Trend analysis of drug poisoning deaths using underlying cause of death and multiple cause of death mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and opioid analgesic sales data from the US Drug Enforcement Administration. Results Unintentional drug poisoning mortality rates increased on average 5.3% per year from 1979 to 1990 and 18.1% per year from 1990 to 2002. The rapid increase during the 1990s reflects the rising number of deaths attributed to narcotics and unspecified drugs. Between 1999 and 2002, the number of opioid analgesic poisonings on death certificates increased 91.2%, while heroin and cocaine poisonings increased 12.4% and 22.8%, respectively. By 2002, opioid analgesic poisoning was listed in 5528 deaths—more than either heroin or cocaine. The increase in deaths generally matched the increase in sales for each type of opioid. The increase in deaths involving methadone tracked the increase in methadone used as an analgesic rather than methadone used in narcotics treatment programs. Conclusions A national epidemic of drug poisoning deaths began in the 1990s. Prescriptions for opioid analgesics also increased in this time frame and may have inadvertently contributed to the increases in drug poisoning deaths. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Are health care professionals advising obese patients to lose weight

Abstract: ContextImplementation of the National Institutes of Health's 1998 guidelines, which recommended that health care professionals advise obese patients to lose weight, required baseline data for evaluation.ObjectivesTo describe the proportion and characteristics of obese persons advised to lose weight by their health care professional during the previous 12 months and to determine whether the advice was associated with reported attempts to lose weight.DesignThe Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a random-digit telephone survey conducted in 1996 by state health departments.SettingPopulation-based sample from 50 states and the District of Columbia.ParticipantsA total of 12,835 adults, 18 years and older, classified as obese (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2), who had visited their physician for a routine checkup during the previous 12 months.Main Outcome MeasuresReported advice from a health care professional to lose weight, and reported attempts to lose weight.ResultsForty-two percent of participants reported that their health care professional advised them to lose weight. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, we found that the persons who were more likely to receive advice were female, middle aged, had higher levels of education, lived in the northeast, reported poorer perceived health, were more obese, and had diabetes mellitus. Persons who reported receiving advice to lose weight were significantly more likely to report trying to lose weight than those who did not (OR, 2.79; 95% CI, 2.53-3.08).ConclusionsLess than half of obese adults report being advised to lose weight by health care professionals. Barriers to counseling need to be identified and addressed.

Effects of Prenatal and Postnatal Methylmercury Exposure From Fish Consumption on Neurodevelopment Outcomes at 66 Months of Age in the Seychelles Child Development Study

Abstract: Context.—Human neurodevelopmental consequences of exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) from eating fish remain a question of public health concern.Objective.—To study the association between MeHg exposure and the developmental outcomes of children in the Republic of Seychelles at 66 months of age.Design.—A prospective longitudinal cohort study.Participants.—A total of 711 of 779 cohort mother-child pairs initially enrolled in the Seychelles Child Development Study in 1989.Setting.—The Republic of Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean where 85% of the population consumes ocean fish daily.Main Outcome Measures.—Prenatal and postnatal MeHg exposure and 6 age-appropriate neurodevelopmental tests: the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, the Preschool Language Scale, the Woodcock-Johnson Applied Problems and Letter and Word Recognition Tests of Achievement, the Bender Gestalt test, and the Child Behavior Checklist.Results.—The mean maternal hair total mercury level was 6.8 ppm and the mean child hair total mercury level at age 66 months was 6.5 ppm. No adverse outcomes at 66 months were associated with either prenatal or postnatal MeHg exposure.Conclusion.—In the population studied, consumption of a diet high in ocean fish appears to pose no threat to developmental outcomes through 66 months of age.