Even with Controlled LDL-Cholesterol, PCI Stent Patients Have Residual Inflammatory Risk

Posted on March 18, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Dangas

Dr. George Dangas MD PhD
Professor of Medicine, Cardiology
Mount Sinai Health System

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Widespread use of statins targeted to decrease levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) below 70mg/dL are recommended by guidelines. However, residual cholesterol risk may only be one part of the residual risk equation. Indeed, Biological inflammation has long been known as a pathophysiological mechanism of atherosclerosis and the recent CANTOS trial opened new therapeutic perspective by demonstrating that inflammation modulation via selective interleukin-1β inhibition could result in improved diagnosis in patients with coronary artery disease.

However, the prevalence and impact of a residual inflammatory biological syndrome in patients with controlled cholesterol risk is unclear. Continue reading →

How Do Physician-Affiliated PACs Vote on Gun Laws?

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Hannah Decker

Hannah Decker
MD Candidate, Class of 2019
Emory School of Medicine

Dr. Jeremiah Schuur

Jeremiah Schuur, MD, MHS FACEP
Physician-in-chief for emergency medicine at Lifespan and Chair of the department of Emergency Medicine
Brown

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Firearm injury is a leading cause of injury and death in the United States. Many physician groups advocate for evidence-based policies, such as universal background checks, to reduce this morbidity and mortality.

We studied contributions of the 25 largest political action committees (PACs) affiliated with physician professional groups during the 2016 election cycle and found that almost all gave more money to political candidates who voted against universal background checks and were endorsed by the NRA.

These PACs contributed to more than twice as many incumbent US Senate candidates who voted against an amendment to expand firearm background checks than those who voted for the amendment. In the US House of Representatives, the pattern of giving was similar. These PACs gave $2.8 million more to candidates who did not sponsor a bill to expand background checks than to those who did. Finally, these physician PACs were more than twice as likely to contribute to and gave almost $1.5 million dollars more to candidates rated A by the NRA.

Continue reading →

What Happens to Crime Rates When Marijuana Dispensaries Open in the Neighborhood?

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Schaible

Lonnie M. Schaible PhD
Associate Professor
School of Public Affairs
University of Colorado
Denver, CO

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Following legalization of recreational marijuana use in Colorado, strong — but unsubstantiated — claims were being made about crime surrounding marijuana dispensaries. We wanted to know what the data would show. We were especially interested in determining whether the addition of recreational facilities had any effects above and beyond those which might exist for medical dispensaries. To better capture the dynamic landscape of marijuana legalization, this is the first study to control for the prior existence of medical dispensaries and assess how effects of both of these types of establishments changed over time.

Continue reading →

Skin Care Products Make Cotton Fabrics More Flammable

Posted on February 6, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Hall

Dr Sarah Hall PhD
Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science
Anglia Ruskin University

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: We initially started the study in collaboration with Essex Fire and Rescue Services, as we were already doing some research on the recovery of evidence from fire scenes. During a visit to their cold fire scene facility, they described a tragic fatality with extensive fire damage, which didn’t link with the main fuel in the room. Therefore they questioned if a skin cream, regularly used by the victim, could have contributed as a fuel or ignited to initiate the fire and asked if we would do some initial research. Now we are also working with West Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, the London Fire Brigade, St Andrews Centre for Plastic Surgery and Burns and the National Fire Chiefs Council.

We initially started the study in collaboration with Essex Fire and Rescue Services, as we were already doing some research on the recovery of evidence from fire scenes. During a visit to their cold fire scene facility, they described a tragic fatality with extensive fire damage, which didn’t link with the main fuel in the room. Therefore they questioned if a skin cream, regularly used by the victim, could have contributed as a fuel or ignited to initiate the fire and asked if we would do some initial research. Now we are also working with West Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, the London Fire Brigade, St Andrews Centre for Plastic Surgery and Burns and the National Fire Chiefs Council.

Continue reading →

Hospital-Based Violence Prevention Programs Need to Engage More ER Patients

Posted on January 24, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Coupet

Edouard Coupet Jr, MD, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Emergency Medicine
Yale School of Medicine

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: For many individuals with nonfatal firearm injuries, their only point of contact with the healthcare system may be the emergency department. Both hospital-based violence intervention programs and counseling and safe firearm storage have shown promise in reducing the burden of firearm injury.

In this study, one third of individuals with firearm injuries presented to non-trauma centers. Only 1 out of 5 firearm injuries were assault injuries that led to admission to trauma centers, the population most likely to receive interventions to reduce re-injury.

Continue reading →

Risk Factors of Sexual Violence Across Young Women’s Relationship Histories

Posted on January 6, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Kennedy

Angie Kennedy, PhD
Associate Professor
School of Social Work
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Nearly half of women (44%) experience physical or sexual partner violence by young adulthood, with 1 in 5 girls in high school reporting abuse within the last year. Sexual violence typically co-occurs with other forms of partner violence; co-occurring sexual and physical violence among adolescent girls is linked to health-risk behaviors including alcohol and drug use, unhealthy weight control, sexual risk-taking, and suicidality. As such, it represents a serious public health problem.

To better understand this issue, we wanted to explore risk factors for sexual violence during young women’s adolescent and young adult relationships, i.e., what predicts attempted rape and rape by a partner during this vulnerable period?

We took a novel approach: We examined predictors across multiple relationships, beginning with the first one, and we recruited a diverse sample of young women from a four-year research university, a two-year community college, and community sites serving low-income young women.

Continue reading →

Disaster-Related Media Exposure Can Heighten Post-Storm Stress

Posted on January 6, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Thompson

Rebecca R. Thompson, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Department of Psychological Science
University of California, Irvine

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Our research team has been interested in how people respond to the repeated threat of disaster exposure for many years. We recently published a review of the literature on evacuation from natural disasters, and one of our main findings was that there have been no studies that include assessments of individuals’ intentions, perceptions, and psychological states assessed prior to an approaching storm’s landfall – all prior research has been retrospective, and recall is undoubtedly biased and unreliable. Our goal in undertaking this study was to fill this hole in the literature. We sought to assess individuals’ responses to Hurricane Irma in the days leading up to and immediately after its landfall in the State of Florida.

Continue reading →

Months After #MeToo, Millions Still Searching Online For Help Against Sexual Violence

Posted on December 26, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Ayers

John W. Ayers, PhD, MA
Vice Chief of Innovation | Assoc. Professor
Div. Infectious Disease & Global Public Health
University of California San Diego

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The greatest barrier to understanding trends around sexual violence is they are largely hidden because victims are unable speak up publicly.

Moreover, ongoing monitoring relies on proxies that underreport the
scale of the problem such as police or medical records where only the
most severe instances or a fraction of all instances of sexual
violence are represented. As a result, we know very little about the
scale of America’s sexual violence problem.

It was this backdrop that inspired #MeToo to call on victims to
publicly voice their stories thereby revealing the scale of the
problem. Our goal was to, for the first time, assess how this change
inspired the public to engage with sexual violence issues.

By tracking private aggregate internet search query trends we can
begin to understand the scale of public engagement with issues around
sexual violence including the precise motivation for a search, such as
reporting episodes of sexual violence or learning how to prevent
sexual violence.

Continue reading →

USPSTF: Interventions to Prevent Child Maltreatment

Posted on November 28, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Kemper

Alex Kemper, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.

Dr. Kemper is a board-certified pediatrician and chief of the Division of Ambulatory Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He is also the deputy editor of Pediatrics.

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this recommendation statement? What are the main findings and recommendations?

Response: Child maltreatment, which includes abuse and neglect, is a serious health problem that affects too many children in the United States. Abuse and neglect can have devastating health consequences, including long-term disabilities, depression, physical injury, and even death. In 2016, approximately 676,000 children were subjected to maltreatment, and more than 1,700 children died as a result.

Because this is such an important public health issue, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force looked at the most recent evidence on whether primary care clinicians can help prevent child maltreatment and its negative consequences.

We found that, unfortunately, there is not enough evidence to recommend for or against these interventions. The Task Force is calling for more research on this important subject so that we can help prevent children from being abused and neglected. Continue reading →

Exposure to Police Violence May Be Associated With Mental Health Disparities

Posted on November 26, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Jordan E. DeVylder, PhD
Graduate School of Social Service
Fordham University, New York, New York

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: This study is intended to address the lack of empirical research on police violence from a public health perspective.

The main findings are that police violence is relatively widespread in Baltimore and New York City, is disproportionately directed toward people of color and sexual or gender minorities, and is associated with psychological distress, suicidal behavior, and psychosis-like symptoms.

Continue reading →

Alcohol Misuse Raises Risk of Unsafe Firearm Storage

Posted on November 20, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Erin Morgan
PhD Student | Department of Epidemiology
University of Washington

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Going into this study we were interested in looking at youth exposure to unsafely stored firearms. Unsafely stored firearms in the household, especially those that are stored unlocked, are a known risk factor for adolescent suicide. We were also interested in looking into a population of children and teens who are at particularly heightened risk for suicide and unintentional injury—those living with an adult who misuses alcohol.

Overall, we found that about 30% of those under the age of 18 live in a firearm owning home and among those youth, around 55% lived with a firearm stored in a way other than locked and unloaded. Among those in firearm owning household, we also found that when compared to youth living with a survey respondent that did not report alcohol misuse, those living with an adult that did misuse alcohol were 20% more likely to reside in a home where the firearm was stored unsafely; children were 27% more likely to live in a home reporting unlocked storage, specifically. Continue reading →

Twice as Many Pediatric Firearms Deaths in States With Lax Gun Laws

Posted on November 4, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Taylor

Jordan Stephen Taylor MD
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW
PEDIATRIC SURGERY
Stanford

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Firearms are the second leading cause of death in pediatric patients (ages 1-19). Firearms cause more deaths in this population that cancer or heart disease combined. Our study examined the relationship between state firearm legislation (using the Brady Scorecard and Child Access Prevention (CAP) score) and pediatric firearm mortality. We also examined other state-level factors such as poverty levels, unemployment rate, and high school completion rates. There were several significant findings:

Overall pediatric firearm mortality was inversely correlated with the stringency of state firearm legislation. States with the most stringent firearm legislation had pediatric firearm rates half that of states with more lenient firearm legislation (2.56 deaths per 100,00 children vs 5.00 deaths per 100,000 children. This correlation remained significant even after accounting for other state-level socioeconomic factors.
Pediatric firearm suicide rates were significantly lower in states that had laws specifically designed to prevent children from accessing firearms, including laws that mandate safe storage practices or locks. States with strong CAP laws had rates of pediatric firearm suicides that were four times less than states without such laws. This correlation, as well, remained significant even after accounting for socioeconomic factors.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Pediatric firearm death is a major public health issue. There is a clear discrepancy in where these deaths are occurring. We found that state’s with more lenient laws are having their children die at an alarmingly greater rates. While federal legislation on firearms remains controversial and gridlocked, we found that state legislation could play an important role in preventing pediatric firearm deaths, particularly through passage of child access prevention laws.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Response: Research like this is important to demonstrate to lawmakers and the public that gun legislation can save lives. Currently, only 27 states in the US have any form of Child Access Protection laws. Passing Child Access Prevention laws in the remaining 23 states would be a great starting point for using research like this.

We have no disclosures.

Citation:

Abstract Title: Strict firearm legislation is associated with lower firearm-related fatalities among children and teens in the United States

Jordan Taylor, MD; Sriram Madhavan, MS; Stephanie Chao, MD
Stanford, CA

Nov 4, 2018 @ 9:12 pm

The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.

Really Scary! Pediatric Pedestrian Fatalities 10x Higher on Halloween

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. John A. Staples, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of British Columbia

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: At this time last year, my co-author Candace Yip and I noticed an impressive number of advertisements for Halloween-themed parties at bars taped to lamp-posts. We wondered if the combination of dark costumes, dark evenings, alcohol and trick-or-treaters made the streets more dangerous for pedestrians.

To see if our hunch was correct, we examined 42 years of data on all fatal vehicle crashes in the United States between 1975 and 2016. We compared the number of pedestrian fatalities between 5 p.m. and midnight on Halloween with the number during the same hours on control days one week earlier and one week later. We found that 14 pedestrian deaths occurred on the average Halloween, while only 10 pedestrian deaths occurred on the average control evening. This corresponded to a 43% increase in the relative risk of pedestrian fatality on Halloween.

Among children aged 4 to 8 years of age, the risk of death was ten times higher on Halloween evening compared to control evenings. Risks were highest around 6pm, which is prime trick-or-treating time. Absolute risks were small and declined throughout the four decades of the study, but the relative risk increase on Halloween persisted throughout the entire study interval. Continue reading →

Adolescent Gun Injuries Peak at Ages 15-17

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Faiz Gani, PhD
Postdoctoral research fellow
Department of Surgery
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Firearm related injuries are a leading cause of injury and death in the United States, yet, due to combination of factors, limited data exist that evaluate these injuries, particularly among younger patients (patients younger than 18 years).

The objective of this study was to describe emergency department utilization for firearm related injuries and to quantitate the financial burden associated with these injuries.

In our study of over 75,000 emergency department visits, we observed that each year, over 8,300 children and adolescents present to the emergency department for the treatment / management of a gunshot injury. Within this sub-population of patients, we observed that these injuries are most frequent among patients aged 15-17 years and while these injuries decreased over time initially, were observed to increase again towards the end of the time period studied.

In addition to describing the clinical burden of these injuries, we also sought to describe the financial burden associated with these injuries. For patients discharged from the emergency department, the average (median) charge associated with their care was $2,445, while for patients admitted as inpatients for further care, the average (median) charge was $44,966.

Collectively these injuries resulted in $2.5 billion in emergency department and hospital charges over the time period studied. This translates to an annual financial burden of approximately $270 million. Continue reading →

Should You Get a Ticket For Driving Stoned?

Posted on October 28, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Prof. Kleiman

Prof. Mark A. R. Kleiman PhD
Affiliated Faculty, NYU Wagner; Professor of Public Policy
NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: As state after state legalizes the sale of cannabis, the question of cannabis-impaired driving is getting more attention. There is evidence that the practice has become more common, both because cannabis use – and especially heavy, frequent use – has increased and because a distressingly large fraction of cannabis users believe, falsely, that stoned driving is safe.

The natural response to the problem is to treat cannabis on a par with alcohol: fairly severe criminal penalties for impaired driving, with impairment defined by a specific level of the drug in the body. The paper argues that this would be a mistake, for four independent reasons:

– While cannabis makes driving riskier, it does so by about a factor of two, with no strongly observed dependency on dosage. Alcohol, by contrast, has a steep dose-effect curve. At the legal limit of 0.08% blood alcohol content by weight, the relative risk of drunk driving is at least eight; at 0.15%, which is fairly common, the relative risk has been estimated at 30-50. So there is no justification for punishing stoned driving as severely as we punish drunk driving.

– The lack of evidence of a strong dose-effect relationship suggests that a legal standard based on the content of cannabinoids in blood may not be appropriate.

– Even if a blood standard were valid, the lack of a breath test would make enforcing that standard nearly impossible as a practical matter.

– The long and unpredictable course of cannabis metabolism means that frequent users will be at risk of failing a drug test even when they are neither subjectively intoxicated nor objectively impaired. Worse, they would have no way of judging in advance whether or not driving would be legal. The result would be a re-criminalization of cannabis use through the back door. Continue reading →

USPSTF Recommends Primary Care Screening for Domestic Violence in Women

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Epling

John W. Epling, Jr., M.D., M.S.Ed
Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Roanoke, VA
USPSTF Task Force Member

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Intimate partner violence, often known as domestic violence, can have devastating consequences to one’s health and wellbeing. It can lead to mental illness, substance abuse, unintended pregnancy, and even death. This is a serious public health issue in America: one in three men—and even more women—experience it in their lifetimes. Because this is such an important topic, and the last time we made a recommendation on it was in 2013, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force reviewed the most recent evidence to determine how clinicians can help prevent the negative health effects of intimate partner violence.

Continue reading →

Mom’s Voice Makes a Better Smoke Alarm

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Gary Smith, MD, DrPH Director, Center for Injury Research and Policy Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus, OH

Dr. Smith

Gary A. Smith, MD, DrPH
Director, Center for Injury Research and Policy
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Columbus, OH

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: When residential fires happen at night while people are sleeping, deaths are more likely to occur. Smoke alarms are important for preventing these deaths, yet many young children don’t wake up to traditional high-pitch tone alarms. Children sleep longer and deeper than adults and require louder sounds to awaken than adults. For these reasons, children are less likely to awaken and escape a nighttime home fire. Continue reading →

Most Eye Trauma Occurs in Elderly After a Fall

Posted on October 5, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Syed Mahmood Ali Shah, M.D.
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Eye trauma is a significant cause of morbidity throughout the world. In the United States, the incidence of individuals hospitalized with eye trauma from 2001 through 2014 increased. Most of these individuals were above the age of 65 and suffered a fall. This is a worrisome trend in light of an increased awareness and continued and concentrated effort to reduce falls. This is a critical point: We need to improve our existing strategies to reduce falls.

The second at-risk group is children and adolescents. Previous studies have shown that effective widespread implementation of injury prevention efforts can lower trauma rates. While we did observe a small decrease in eye trauma as a primary admitting diagnosis, the fact that it was more common in children and adolescents (for whom eye trauma carries devastating consequences and can significantly reduce quality of life) highlights the significance of continued efforts to prevent eye trauma. Continue reading →

More Liquor Stores, More Crime

Posted on October 3, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Pamela Trangenstein, PhD While she was a predoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY)

Dr. Trangenstein

Pamela Trangenstein, PhD
While a predoctoral fellow at
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY)

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Research repeatedly shows that alcohol outlet density (the number of businesses that sell alcohol in an area) is associated with violent crime, but studies disagree about whether alcohol outlets that are on premise (e.g., bars, restaurants) or off premise (e.g., liquor stores, beer and wine stores) have a stronger association with violent crime.

We used advanced methods that consider both the number of alcohol outlets and their locations to better understand how the association between alcohol outlets and violent crime differs by type of outlet.

We found that alcohol outlets that allow off-premise sales like liquor stores had a stronger association with homicide, aggravated assault, and robbery than on-premise outlets like bars and restaurants. We also found that disadvantaged neighborhoods had higher access to the types of alcohol outlets associated with the most harms: off-premise outlets. Continue reading →

CDC: Homicide Rates At Least 10 Times Higher For Young Adult Blacks Than Whites

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Sheats

Dr. Kameron Sheats PhD
Licensed Psychologist; Behavioral Scientist
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: This study updates literature on racial disparities in violence between black and white youth using data capturing different severity levels in violent outcomes such as homicide versus assault. This study also seeks to increase the understanding of the impact of these disparities by examining associations between disparities in childhood adversity (e.g., child abuse and neglect, exposure to violence, household challenges) and adult health conditions.

Continue reading →

Steep Increase in Adversity-Related Hospital Admissions for Teenage Girls

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr Ruth Blackburn PhD
UKRI Innovation Fellow
UCL Institute of Health Informatics

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: In England one child in every classroom is admitted to hospital with an adversity related injury (i.e. violence, intentional self-injury, or drug or alcohol misuse) between the ages of 10 and 19 years. These young people are more likely than their classmates to be re-admitted to hospital or to die within 10 years.

We investigated how the rate of hospital admissions with an adversity related injury has changed over time among young people aged 10-24 years, using administrative data for National Health Service hospitals in England.

We found that between 2012 and 2016, rates of admission with an adversity related injury (including intentional self-injury) increased steeply for girls, with the biggest increase (6% per year) among 15-19 year olds. During the same time period, rates of admission with an adversity related injury decreased in boys aged 15-24 years (4-5% per year) but increased slightly for 10-14 year olds (3% per year). Continue reading →

Active Shooter Incidents Involving Semi-automatic Rifles More Deadly

Posted on September 12, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Haider

Adil Haider, MD, MPH, FACS
Kessler Director for the Center for Surgery and Public Health
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Deputy Editor of JAMA Surgery

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Firearm-related mortality is a public health issue. However, in the US, due in part to lack of funding, there is not enough research to inform the debate about firearms.

The question our group sought to answer was to understand if the presence of a semi-automatic weapon increased the number of victims killed or hurt during an active shooter incident. We chose to focus on these incidents given the availability of an FBI database detailing these active shooter incidents based on a strict definition and the similarities between such incidents that make a comparison valid.

Continue reading →

40% of High School Drivers Text While Driving

Posted on August 21, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:,
Motao Zhu, MD, MS, PhD
Principal Investigator
Center for Injury Research and Policy
The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital?
Columbus, OH

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: We know that texting while driving occurs frequently among teen drivers. This study looks at the differences of texting while driving among teens between states.

Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death among teenagers in the United States. In 2016, over 2,000 teens in the US aged 14-18 years died in motor vehicle crashes and nearly 260,000 were seriously injured in traffic-related incidents. Even though there are cheap car insurance brokers available, teen motor vehicle crashes are preventable, and proven strategies can improve the safety of young drivers on the road. Among distracted driving, texting while driving may be especially risky because it involves at least three types of driver distraction: visual, physical, and cognitive. Texting while driving is banned for all drivers in 47 states and the District of Columbia, yet this study shows it still occurs regularly among teen drivers.

Overall (nationally), about 40% of high school student drivers text while driving at least once/month. The rate varies among states. The lowest is 26% (Maryland) and highest is 64% (South Dakota). Texting while driving among high school student drivers is highest in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska.

These results were not surprising. There are state level factors to explain them. The top 5 highest texting while driving among high school student drivers (Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska) are rural states with a high percent of high school student drivers and students can get their learners permit by age 15. Continue reading →

Who Is More Likely To Be Shot by Police?

Posted on August 17, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Brianna Mills, PhD
Research Scientist
Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center
University of Washington

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: We know that substance use, mental disorders, and arrest are markers of increased risk of firearm injury. However, many studies of firearm injury are limited in scope – looking only at one type of injury (assault-related, for example) and one type of data (often hospital records). Police shootings, although occurring with increasing frequency, have also received relatively less attention in research than other types of firearm injuries.

We combined data from a variety of sources, including both hospital and arrest records, so we could present a more complete picture of firearm injuries in Seattle, including contacts with law enforcement and healthcare in the two years prior to injury. We subdivided substance use, mental disorder, and arrests into more specific categories to present a more nuanced look at how each category may indicate increased risk of a specific type of firearm injury (assault-related, self-inflicted, unintentional, and police intervention).

We found that when you consider both arrest records and hospital records together a distinct pattern of prior contact emerges for people who were shot by police – they have arrest histories similar to people shot during an assault and hospital histories similar to people with self-inflicted firearm injuries. A majority of people shot during an assault or by police were either arrested or hospitalized in the two years prior to their injury. Compared to our control group, people shot by police were 22 times more likely to have a conduct disorder, 11 times more likely to have been diagnosed with a marijuana use disorder, and 7 times more likely to have a felony arrest, psychosis diagnosis, or depression/anxiety diagnosis. Continue reading →

Following Maria in Puerto Rico Over 1100 Deaths

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Santos-Lozada

Dr. Alexis R. Santos-Lozada
Director, Graduate Program in Applied Demography
Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology
Research Affiliate, Population Research Institute
College of Liberal Arts
Penn State University

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Dr. Howard and I have been working on the topic of deaths attributable to Hurricane Maria since November, and provided rapid-response estimates by the end of November about the humanitarian crisis experienced by Puerto Ricans following the Hurricane.

Our main findings are that there are approximately 1,139 deaths in excess of historical patterns between September, October and November in Puerto Rico.

Continue reading →

MedicalResearch.com

Medical Research News and Exclusive Interviews. Medical Research, Health and Science News in the Authors' Own Words

Category Archives: Accidents & Violence

Even with Controlled LDL-Cholesterol, PCI Stent Patients Have Residual Inflammatory Risk

How Do Physician-Affiliated PACs Vote on Gun Laws?

What Happens to Crime Rates When Marijuana Dispensaries Open in the Neighborhood?

Skin Care Products Make Cotton Fabrics More Flammable

Hospital-Based Violence Prevention Programs Need to Engage More ER Patients

Risk Factors of Sexual Violence Across Young Women’s Relationship Histories

Months After #MeToo, Millions Still Searching Online For Help Against Sexual Violence

USPSTF: Interventions to Prevent Child Maltreatment

Alcohol Misuse Raises Risk of Unsafe Firearm Storage

Twice as Many Pediatric Firearms Deaths in States With Lax Gun Laws

Really Scary! Pediatric Pedestrian Fatalities 10x Higher on Halloween

Adolescent Gun Injuries Peak at Ages 15-17

Should You Get a Ticket For Driving Stoned?

USPSTF Recommends Primary Care Screening for Domestic Violence in Women

Mom’s Voice Makes a Better Smoke Alarm

Most Eye Trauma Occurs in Elderly After a Fall

More Liquor Stores, More Crime

CDC: Homicide Rates At Least 10 Times Higher For Young Adult Blacks Than Whites

Steep Increase in Adversity-Related Hospital Admissions for Teenage Girls

Active Shooter Incidents Involving Semi-automatic Rifles More Deadly

40% of High School Drivers Text While Driving

Who Is More Likely To Be Shot by Police?

Following Maria in Puerto Rico Over 1100 Deaths