CDC

Those Smoking Fall to Lowest Level Ever

November 28, 2014 By Kendra Smith Leave a Comment

The proportion of U.S. adults that smoke cigarettes has hit an all-time low. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the findings of their recent survey of adults attempting to gauge the number of active smoking adults in the Unites States. The study is to assist with the Healthy People 2020 initiative.

They were happy to announce that just 17.8 percent of adults smoke cigarettes and of those who do smoke, fewer are smoking on a daily basis and some are even smoking fewer cigarettes. Smoking not only causes a lot of health problems, it also costs money in a lot of other ways beyond the price of the cigarettes that can drain finances.

This is the lowest percentage reported since 1965. But even with numbers at a record low, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services still has a long climb ahead of them to reach the initiative’s goals, which has adult smokers at no more than twelve percent overall.

The initiative and new findings are important because smoking is the leading cause in premature death in the United States. It is reported that smoking and diseases caused by smoking and second hand smoke kill approximately 480,000 Americans per year.

The survey is an in-person survey of a representative sample of American adults. They considered an adult a current smoker if they had smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their life and at the time they were interviewed, stated they smoke everyday or some days.

The data reports the percentage of daily smokers dropped from 80.8 percent of smokers in 2005 to 76.9 percent in 2013. However, that still means that 32.4 million American adults smoke on a daily basis. And of those daily smokers, the data suggests they are smoking less, with the average cigarettes smoked in a day dropping from 16.7 in 2007 to 14.2 in 2013.

The study also produced some surprising profiling of the typical American smoker. Most were mixed ethnic peoples or claimed to be mixed ethnic, more likely to have a GED with no postgraduate degree, and more likely to be living below the poverty level. They also reported that gay, lesbian and bi-sexual adults smoked more, at 26.6 percent, compared to straight adults at 17.6 percent.

Study results did not include cigar smoking or other types of combustible tobacco products.

All the results and the study were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality weekly report on Wednesday, November 26, 2014. The results were from surveys conducted in 2013.

(Photo courtesy of DucDigital)

Your Dirty Contact Lens Habits May Be Causing Your Eye Infections

November 13, 2014 By Julie Morse 4 Comments

CDC warns lack of contact lens hygiene causes millions of eye infections

If you wear contact lenses and have suffered from an eye infection, it turns out you’re probably not taking care of your lenses correctly. Bad habits such as sleeping with lenses, neglecting to clean and replace contact lens solution frequently, and getting them wet either swimming or in the shower can increase the risk of kerantis, an infection of the cornea, the clear part that covers the iris. It is caused by bacteria, fungi, and other germs.

Kerantis can cause pain, inflammation, and in rare cases, blindness, according to researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who authored a recently released report. There are over a million reported cases of keranits reported annually in the US, which adds up to $175 million a year in medical costs for diagnostic exams and treatment.

Fortunately, if diagnosed quickly, kerantis is can be easily cured without permanent damage. Although treatment is typically pricey, with the average optometrist visit running around $151 and the average emergency visit can be as a high as $587. Most cases can be cured with eye drops or cream. It’s far better financially to spend a little more money keeping your contacts clean than trying to save a little and getting an infection. There are ways to save money on eye wear.

Dr. Jennifer Cope, a CDC medical epidemiologist, noted that while contact lenses offer a wide variety of benefits to users, they’re not risk-free. It’s especially important to take action to prevent keratitis since it can be a scary infection. The good news it that it’s preventable for users by following healthy habits for both eyes and contacts. If a person does suffer keratitis symptoms which fail to improve on their own, or after using antibiotic drops for the infection, they should immediately contact their ophthalmologist.

The CDC has a list of recommended steps to prevent kerantis:

1. It’s important to wash your hands with both soap and water, then dry them thoroughly before handling your contact lenses.

2. Don’t use tap water to rinse contact lenses, or expose them to it in any other way. Tap water can contain germs and chemical contaminants which can infect the eye.

3. Be sure to remove your contacts before going to bed or sleeping for long periods of time unless you are advised by a health-care professional that it’s OK to do so.

4. Be sure to remove your contacts before you shower or go swimming.

5. It’s important to clean your contacts each time you remove them from your eyes. Be sure to rub and rinse them in disinfecting solution when you do.

6. Don’t forget to also clean and rinse the contact lens storage case with contact lens solution as well. After cleaning the case, be sure to dry it with a clean tissue. Then store it upside down with the caps off after each use.

7. When you are ready to store your contact lenses, but sure to refill the storage case with new solution each time.

8. It’s important to replace your contact lens case at least once every three months, even when keeping it clean and following the above cleaning directions.

(Photo courtesy of Roosh Inf3ktion)

Eight Million Women Fail to Get Cervical Cancer Screenings

November 5, 2014 By Kara Pendleton 1 Comment

The new Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that approximately eight million women have not gotten screened for cervical cancer in the past five years. This is roughly 11 percent of the nation’s women who are aged 21 to 65.

In the CDC’s report, some staggering statistics are revealed, such as 4,000 women die annually from cervical cancer. Another shocking statistic is that “as many as 93%” of cervical cancers could be prevented. How? With the HPV vaccine and screening. Considering more than 12,000 women annually get cervical cancer, that revelation is disheartening.

In fact, more than 50% of all new reports of cervical cancer in women come with women who have either never been screened or who have not been screened in the past five years. As the CDC report states, “No woman should die of cervical cancer.”

The screening recommendation for women is to have a pap smear done every three years, beginning at age 21. Then beginning at age 30 they should have both a pap smear and an HPV test run every five years until age 65.

After age 65 the new guidelines for cervical cancer screening recommend women can stop the screening altogether “if they do not have a history of moderate or severe dysplasia or cancer and they have had either three negative Pap test results in a row or two negative co-test results in a row within the past 10 years, with the most recent test performed within the past 5 years.”

The HPV vaccine is recommended for both boys and girls, but the CDC found that only 1 in 7 boys and 1 in 3 girls had gotten the recommended 3 doses in the year 2013. This vaccine is not being utilized by nearly as many youth as other vaccines, even though it has been declared “safe and effective.”

The HPV vaccine information is available online from the CDC. It cautions that the HPV vaccine is a three dose series, and it’s recommended beginning at age 11 or 12. This is because it’s best to get the vaccine before becoming sexually active and studies have found that this age group “responds best” to the vaccine. The HPV virus can cause cervical cancer in females.

So, why do boys need the vaccine? It protects males as well. According to the CDC, not only can it help prevent them from getting it and spreading it to female partners, but can help protect them from other cancers as well. HPV can cause anal cancer, mouth/throat cancer and cancer of the penis.

After Getting it Wrong, Google ReTools Online Flu-Tracking Tool

November 2, 2014 By Kara Pendleton 1 Comment

Google changes its flu-tracker tool to include cdc data

Google got it wrong. Though the internet giant had the right motive and great technology in its arsenal, that apparently was not enough. With the intention of helping the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) accurately predict flu outbreaks, “Google Flu Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity.” Most people should get a flu shot if they are 6 months or older according to the CDC.

However, basing the predictions on searches caused the predictions to be wrong 95 percent of the time last year, significantly overestimating the numbers. This was due to what some refer to as hypochondriacs using the internet to self-diagnose. These searches led to incorrect data being compiled and the published. This snafu led the company to face heavy criticism, including the point being made that you cannot always trust what you read online.

Now Google has stated its retooling its flu tracker. This retooling will involve including CDC data, but the company is not saying much else about what will change. Regardless, the changes being made are supposed to help provide more accurate results for the CDC and the public.

To its credit, Google did achieve some success initially. According to the New York Times it gave the CDC a major heads-up. “Its triumph came in 2009, when it gave an advance signal of the severity of the H1N1 outbreak, two weeks or so ahead of official statistics.”

The Times goes on to note some of the difficulty the company faced at the time with accuracy. “In a 2009 article in Nature explaining how Google Flu Trends worked, the company’s researchers did, as the Friday post notes, say that the Google service was not intended to replace official flu surveillance methods and that it was susceptible to “false alerts” — anything that might prompt a surge in flu-related search queries.”

How important is tracking flu data? According to the CDC, the stats on seasonal influenza give some merit to tracking the data. “It is estimated that in the United States, each year on average 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from seasonal flu-related complications. Flu seasons are unpredictable and can be severe. Over a period of 30 years, between 1976 and 2006, estimates of flu-associated deaths in the United States range from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people.”

The Flu Tracker is part of the charitable arm of the company. Financially, Google’s net income was lower in the third quarter of 2014 than in the year prior. It also took a sharp dive from the two earlier quarters of 2014. However, over the past three years the company has continued to do well financially and increase in stock value overall. This glitch is unlikely to make a dent in investor confidence.

(Photo courtesy of US Army Corps of Engineers)

500 Sick, Four Dead and Suspected Paralysis Due to Enterovirus D68

October 1, 2014 By Kara Pendleton Leave a Comment

Four confirmed deaths from the Enterovirus D68 virus

Three children and one adult with enterovirus D68 have died thus far this year, with the most recent death being that of a 10-year-old Rhode Island girl last week. The Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) and Rhode Island officials are saying the role of enterovirus in the four deaths is not clear at this time.

Rhode Island Department of Health director Michael Fine, MD told WebMD Health News that the child’s death was unusual. He went on to explain that this is because “many of us will have EV-D68 . . . and all but very few will recover quickly and completely.” The 10-year-old died of sepsis, but had a staph infection in addition to the enterovirus, which Rhode Island officials have cited as “a very rare combination.” It should be noted that many children who have been hospitalized with the virus also had asthma prior to contracting the illness. Nationally, some children have even been paralyzed due to the virus.

The three other deaths from the illness all occurred in September, although the details about these deaths have not been released at this time.

Across the United States, 42 states and the District of Columbia all have confirmed cases of EV-D68. This brings the total to-date up to 500 people, most of which are children. The confirmations of these cases have come from both the respective state public health labs and the CDC.

Enterovirus D68 is a respiratory illness that typically only causes mild symptoms such as a low-grade fever and a runny nose. The illness has been known to show up in clusters across the country, and in more recent years has gotten more attention because of its correlation with severe illnesses, according to a Huffington Post report.

Because most people do contract the illness and recover from it with no complications, there is no need for the public to go into a panic. The best advice for all right now is just to be informed and aware. Those individuals who develop a low-grade fever and runny nose would be well advised to monitor their symptoms and get checked out by a doctor if their condition worsens. Parents may wish to keep a close eye on the symptoms of their sick children. It is children who are among the most susceptible to complications and death related to the virus, particularly those with other health conditions such as asthma.

(Photo courtesy of CJ Sorg)

The Growth Rate of Type 2 Diabetes Finally Stabilizes in Americans

September 23, 2014 By Emma Harrison Clark Leave a Comment

The number of Americans diagnosed with diabetes stabilizes in American

Americans have a lot of preventable diseases, with diabetes being one of them. After nearly twenty years of constant increase, the growth rate of type two diabetes has finally leveled off in American adults. This news comes from a study undertaken by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC team says this result could be the knock-on effect of another positive health trend in American society – the first plateau of obesity America has seen since 2004.

However, it’s not all good news. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported this week that Diabetes, which is a metabolic disorder, continues to spread among African Americans and Latinos. Also, the likelihood of a diabetes diagnoses is still rising for those between the age bracket of 20-44 who do not have a high school education.

Shakira Suglia is an epidemiologist at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. She wasn’t involved in the JAMA study and says, while it’s positive that many Americans are getting the healthy eating and exercise message, “We’re just not reaching certain populations” when it comes to effective education on keeping diabetes away.

The rate of diabetes was measured in two ways in the study. The first was prevalence (the rate amongst the entire population) and the second was incidence (measured by the amount of new diagnoses made within a time frame.) While rates of prevalence tell researchers about the overall impact of the disease on public health, incidence rates allow authorities to calculate an individual’s risk of developing the disease. This allows researchers to compare the disease risk among gender, age or ethic groups groups in society.

The LA Times reports the rates of diabetes over the last four decades was, “Fueled by the runaway spread of obesity in the 1970s and 1980s, the rate of Type 2 diabetes among American adults ages 20 to 79 more than doubled from 3.5% in 1990 to 7.9% in 2008. In 2012, that figure was essentially unchanged at 8.3%. In addition, for every 1,000 Americans in that age group, 3.2 were diagnosed with diabetes in 1990 and 8.8 would be newly diagnosed in 2008. By 2012, that figure fell to 7.1.”

Weight-based health problems such as obesity and diabetes also have a major effect on healthcare spending. It’s been estimated that healthcare costs for those with these conditions is almost twice as high as it is for someone who doesn’t.

Shakira Suglia made further comments on the results of the study. “With certain populations, you have to look beyond messages that promote more healthful eating and more exercise. For adults working two jobs to feed their families, or coping with violent neighborhoods, these factors fall down on the list of priorities, so there has to be a bigger effort to go beyond [the message of] ‘eat healthy and exercise’ and to ask, how do we facilitate that?”

(Photo courtesy of Victor)