Bathtub-related drownings in the United States, 1979-81.

We analyzed National Center for Health Statistics data on drownings in bathtubs and Consumer Product Safety Commission data on bathtub-related injuries for the years 1979-80 and 1979-81, respectively. Seven hundred ten persons drowned in bathtubs in 1979 and 1980, for a crude mortality rate of 1.6 per million persons per year. Although there was an excess of deaths in the spring, there was no important seasonal trend. Mortality rates in the Pacific and Mountain states were higher than in other states. Persons at the extremes of age were at greatest risk of death, with mortality rates of 5-6 per million per year. Black males aged 20-64 years had substantially elevated mortality rates compared to White males. The prevalence of personal risk indicators varied with age, with a frequent history of being left unattended among children less than 5 years old, a frequent history of seizures among persons 5-39 years old, a frequent history of alcohol or drug use among persons 40-59 years old, and frequent evidence of having fallen among those at least 60 years old. Bathtubs are potentially dangerous, and the prevention of drownings in them can be approached through a combination of passive and active strategies.     

Serum magnesium levels in the United States, 1971-1974.

Serum magnesium has been determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in a national sample of the United States population between 1971 and 1974. Mean values and percentile distributions are presented for ages 1-74 in males and females in two racial groups. Mean values decreased in both sexes from age 1 to ages 12-24. In females, they increased again after age 25, while males showed little change after age 17. Small sex differences were observed between ages 18 and 45, with men having higher levels than women. Both white males and females had higher serum levels than black males and females of the same age. These differences were statistically significant in many age groups, particularly in young and middle-aged adults. These data are unique inasmuch as they represent the only broad population measurements of serum magnesium in the United States. No comparable data exist as far as is known. The values shown can be considered as normative for the U.S. population. A review of the literature with comparable data was done and results are included; a discussion of the findings from these studies is presented.     

Measles mortality in the United States 1971-1975.

During 1971-75, an average of 35.4 measles-related deaths were recorded each year; one death for every 1,000 measles cases reported. Measles mortality rate was highest in children under 1 year of age, as was the death-to-case ratio. Mortality rates were higher in non-metropolitan than in metropolitan counties. Measles mortality rates were inversely related to median family income.     

Serum magnesium levels in the United States, 1971-1974

Serum magnesium has been determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in a national sample of the United States population between 1971 and 1974. Mean values and percentile distributions are presented for ages 1-74 in males and females in two racial groups. Mean values decreased in both sexes from age 1 to ages 12-24. In females, they increased again after age 25, while males showed little change after age 17. Small sex differences were observed between ages 18 and 45, with men having higher levels than women. Both white males and females had higher serum levels than black males and females of the same age. These differences were statistically significant in many age groups, particularly in young and middle-aged adults. These data are unique inasmuch as they represent the only broad population measurements of serum magnesium in the United States. No comparable data exist as far as is known. The values shown can be considered as normative for the U.S. population. A review of the literature with comparable data was done and results are included; a discussion of the findings from these studies is presented.     

Trends in meningococcal disease in the United States military, 1971-2010

Meningococci have historically caused extensive illness among members of the United States military. Three successive meningococcal vaccine types were used from 1971 through 2010; overall disease incidence dropped by >90% during this period. During 2006-2010, disease incidence of 0.38 (cases per 100,000 person-years) among members of the US military was not significantly different from the incidence of 0.26 among the age-matched US general population. Of the 26 cases in the US military, 5 were fatal, 15 were vaccine failures (e.g., illness in a person who had been vaccinated), and 9 were caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup Y. Incidences among 17- to 19-year-old basic trainees and among US Marines were significantly higher than among comparison military populations (p<0.05). No apparent change in epidemiology of meningococcal disease was observed after replacement of quadrivalent polysaccharide vaccine with conjugate vaccine in 2007. The data demonstrate that vaccination with meningococcal vaccine is effective.     

Nutritional status of the elderly in the United States of America, 1971-1974.

In the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I) there were 3,479 persons aged 65-74 years corresponding to 12,773,000 in this age group in the total population. Presented here are major findings on the nutritional status of this age group in respect to 1) dietary intake (based on a 24-hour recall) and dietary frequency, 2) selected biochemical and hematological tests, 3) prevalences of clinical signs associated with deficiencies of nine essential nutrients, and 4) selected anthropometric measurements. These findings will be presented by sex, two racial groups (black and white), and two income groups (poverty index ratio (PIR) below and above unity). Some correlations between clinical signs and dietary intake comparing persons with signs and those without signs are shown. Some trends between dietary intake and biochemical values, on the one hand, and biochemical values and clinical signs, on the other hand, will be touched upon. The findings are discussed in relation to dietary adequacy and nutritional risk of the different subgroups. Some paradoxical results are discussed and the need for urgent research on the so-called secondary or conditioned deficiencies specifically in this age group are pointed out.     

Non-polio enterovirus disease in the United States, 1971--1975.

Reports to the Center for Disease Control on isolation of non-polio enteroviruses for the years 1971--1975 were analysed. During the 5 year period, enterovirus isolations were reported from 7 075 individuals. 90% of these occurred in the 7 month interval of May--November. Enteroviruses were isolated more frequently from males than females for all age groups in all 5 years. The incidence of reported isolations decreased with increasing age, and an inverse relationship between severity of disease and age was suggested. Clinical diagnoses associated with enteroviral isolations included aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, upper respiratory tract disease, non-specific febrile illness, gastroenteritis, pneumonia and lower respiratory tract disease, exanthem, and enanthem.     

Seroprevalence of zoonotic toxocariasis in the United States: 1971-1973

Demographic characteristics associated with human Toxocara canis infection in children aged one to 11 years were investigated using data from the Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 1971 to 1973. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with larval stage antigen was used to measure the concentration of antibodies to T. canis in 1,409 available sera. From 4.6 to 7.3% of the children in different geographic regions of the United States have been infected, with serologic prevalence approaching 30% among black children of lower socioeconomic status aged six to 11 years. For both blacks and whites, higher seroprevalence was associated with a rural residence, increased age in children and number of persons in the household, and with decreased income, education, and number of rooms in the house. Multivariate logistic regression models indicated that blacks had higher infection rates than whites, even when socioeconomic factors were controlled. Certain critical variables, however, such as exposure to dogs or reliable pica histories, were not available for analysis.     

Nutritional risk factors for tuberculosis among adults in the United States, 1971-1992

The risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) may be related to nutritional status. To determine the impact of nutritional status on TB incidence, the authors analyzed data from the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I) Epidemiologic Follow-up Study (NHEFS). NHANES I collected information on a probability sample of the US population in 1971-1975. Adults were followed up in 1982-1992. Incident TB cases were ascertained through interviews, medical records, and death certificates. TB incidences were compared across different levels of nutritional status after controlling for potential confounding using proportional hazards regression appropriate to the complex sample design. TB incidence among adults with normal body mass index was 24.7 per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval (CI): 13.0, 36.3). In contrast, among persons who were underweight, overweight, and obese, estimated TB incidence rates were 260.2 (95% CI: 98.6, 421.8), 8.9 (95% CI: 2.2, 15.6), and 5.1 (95% CI: 0.0, 10.5) per 100,000 person-years, respectively. Adjusted hazard ratios were 12.43 (95% CI: 5.75, 26.95), 0.28 (95% CI: 0.13, 0.63), and 0.20 (95% CI: 0.07, 0.62), respectively, after controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and medical characteristics. A low serum albumin level also increased the risk of TB, but low vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, and iron status did not. A population's nutritional profile is an important determinant of its TB incidence.     

Cancer survivorship--United States, 1971-2001

Because of advances in early detection and treatment, cancer has become a curable disease for some and a chronic illness for others. Underscoring this change, persons with diagnoses of cancer increasingly are described as "cancer survivors" rather than "cancer victims". Cancer survivors include all living persons who ever received a diagnosis of cancer. To highlight how the population of cancer survivors has changed in the United States, the National Cancer Institute and CDC studied cancer data collected during 1971-2001. This report summarizes the results of that study, which determined that the number of persons living with cancer increased from 3.0 million (1.5% of the U.S. population) in 1971 to 9.8 million (3.5%) in 2001. A national health objective for 2010 is to increase to 70% the proportion of cancer patients who are living > or =5 years after diagnosis, an objective already achieved for children with cancer but not yet for adults. The growing number of persons living with cancer poses challenges for researchers to understand the physical, psychosocial, and economic effects of surviving cancer and for public health practitioners to develop evidence-based programs to promote the health and well-being of cancer survivors.     

Prevalence and trends in oral contraceptive use in premenopausal females ages 12-54 years, United States, 1971-80.

Data from the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II) were analyzed to estimate the prevalence of oral contraceptive use in the United States, 1976-80. The overall unadjusted prevalence of oral contraceptive use was 16.7 per cent for premenopausal females ages 12-54 years (19.2 per cent for ages 15-44 years). Approximately 8.7 million females (95 per cent confidence interval, 6.9-10.5 million) were oral contraceptive users at the midpoint of NHANES II (March 1978). Comparison to the NHANES I, conducted in 1971-74, indicated a stable number of overall oral contraceptive users in the US population during the 1970s, with shifts in certain age groups: oral contraceptive use increased for females ages 12-19 years and decreased for females ages 20-49 years. The overall age-adjusted prevalences indicated a 2 per cent (95 per cent CI, 0.2-3.8 per cent) decline in oral contraceptive use from the early to the late 1970s. The NHANES provides comparative data and supports findings from another national survey showing a decrease in the per cent of females using oral contraceptives during 1973-82. Trends in oral contraceptive use are also presented by race, poverty level, rural-urban residence, marital status, and education level.     

Mortality differentials among persons born in Cuba, Mexico, and Puerto Rico residing in the United States, 1979-81.

This paper examines the mortality experience in 1979-81 of three first generation Hispanic subpopulations in the United States, as defined by area of birth (Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico). Numerators were derived from National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) mortality tapes, which included codes for selected places of birth appearing on the death certificate. Denominators were based on decennial census data for these migrant populations from the 1980 census. Generally, mortality is relatively high among Cuban-born, Mexican-born and Puerto Rican-born adolescents and young adults, particularly males, largely due to violent deaths. Aged migrants, despite their disadvantaged socioeconomic status, exhibit relatively low death rates from heart disease and cancer.