Acute kidney injury is a sudden decrease in kidney function with or without kidney damage, occurring over a few hours or days. Diabetes, hypertension, and advanced age are primary risk factors for acute kidney injury. It is increasingly recognized as an in-hospital complication of sepsis, heart conditions, and surgery (1,2). Its most severe stage requires treatment with dialysis. Acute kidney i...

Each year, March is designated National Kidney Month to raise awareness about the prevention and early detection of kidney disease. In the United States, kidney diseases are the ninth leading cause of death (1). Among U.S. adults aged =20 years, 15% (30 million persons) are estimated to have chronic kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease is defined as damaged kidneys or a glomerular filtration ...

On February 3, 2017, a local health department notified the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) of a severe respiratory illness outbreak, including two hospitalizations and one death, at a substance abuse treatment facility. During December 2016-January 2017, NJDOH surveillance for noninfluenza respiratory viruses identified multiple human adenovirus (HAdV) cases in the surrounding communit...

Since 2013, CDC has received reports and investigated serious complications among medical tourists (i.e., persons whose primary purpose for international travel is medical care) upon their return to the United States (1). On May 1, 2017, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene informed CDC of three patients with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) surgical site infections (SSI),...

On April 26, 2015, a case of meningococcal disease in a woman aged 75 years was reported to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). As part of routine public health investigation and control activities, all seven family contacts of the patient were advised to receive appropriate postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) to eradicate nasopharyngeal carriage of meningococci and pre...

Diabetes is a common chronic condition and as of 2015, approximately 30 million persons in the United States had diabetes (23 million with diagnosed and 7 million with undiagnosed) (1). Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening but preventable complication of diabetes characterized by uncontrolled hyperglycemia (>250 mg/dL), metabolic acidosis, and increased ketone concentration that oc...

Currently 23 million U.S. adults have been diagnosed with diabetes (1). The two most common forms of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes results from the autoimmune destruction of the pancreas's beta cells, which produce insulin. Persons with type 1 diabetes require insulin for survival; insulin may be given as a daily shot or continuously with an insulin pump (2). Type 2 diabetes i...

During 1999?2015, 568,699 persons died from drug overdoses in the United States.* Drug overdose deaths in the United States increased 11.4% from 2014 to 2015 resulting in 52,404 deaths in 2015, including 33,091 (63.1%) that involved an opioid. The largest rate increases from 2014 to 2015 occurred among deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (synthetic opioids) (72.2%) (1). Beca...

Jan 26th, 2023 - Several decades ago, a new patient came to my office with her family. She was elderly, in good health, spoke no English, and her extended family translated for her.

Small food stores are prevalent in urban neighborhoods, but the availability of nutritious foods at such stores is not well known. The purpose of this study was to determine whether data from 3 sources would yield a single, consistent, healthful food store category that can be used to accurately characterize community nutrition environments for public health research.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) will increase insurance coverage for US citizens and for breast and cervical cancer screenings, but a number of low-income and uninsured populations may still need National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program services. This study aims to estimate the number of low-income women who would gain health insurance after imple...

The American Dental Association has identified several barriers to adequate dental care, including appropriate case management, for vulnerable populations. The objective of this study was to examine the perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs of dental patients living with HIV/AIDS on the role and value of the dental case manager and the effect of its services on their oral or overall health.

Little is known about the relationship between discrimination and distress among minorities. The objective of this study was to assess the association between self-reported experiences of racial discrimination and symptoms of psychological distress among 5 racial/ethnic groups in California.

Poor-quality cause-of-death reporting reduced reliability of mortality statistics used to direct public health efforts. In response to the overreporting of heart disease as a cause of death (COD) in New York City (NYC), researchers aimed to evaluate the immediate and longer-term effects of a COD educational program that NYC's health department conducted in 8 hospitals on heart disease reporting.

Discussions of health care reform have been a major part of American public discourse in nearly every decade since President Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 platform for re-election included proposal for universal health insurance. This essay covers the topic of health care reform as it relates to today's public health infrastructure.

Prolonged sitting has emerged as a risk factor for various negative health outcomes. Researchers designed a practice-based study intended to reduce prolonged sitting time and improve various health factors among workers with sedentary jobs. The Take-a-Stand Project reduced time spent sitting by 224%, reduced upper back and neck pain by 54%, and improved mood.

Despite the evidence of the negative health effects of smoking, 17.3% of the US population and 21.2% of Indiana residents were smokers in 2010. This study evaluates the effects of selected personal characteristics on attitudes and beliefs about secondhand smoke in Indiana and on support for smoke-free air laws.

Acute stress has been associated with diet and physical activity in some studies; however, the relationship between everyday stress and such behaviors is unclear. Researchers examine the associations between perceived stress, dietary behavior, physical activity, eating awareness, self-efficacy, and body mass index among healthy adults in the workplace.

Although glycemic control is known to reduce complications associated with diabetes, it is an elusive goal for many patients who have the disease. This study aims to identify factors associated with sustained poor glycemic control, some glycemic variability, and wide glycemic variability among diabetes patients over 3 years.

CDC's Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP) funds 25 states and 4 tribal organizations to promote and increase colorectal cancer screening population-wide. The findings presented in this study provide the first picture of CRCCP information resources and interests and point to specific gaps that must be addressed to increase screening.