Accidents & Violence
10 Sep Low Resting Heart Rate in Men Linked to Crime, Accidents and Antisocial Behavior
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Antti Latvala PhD
Post-doctoral researcher
Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki
Helsinki, Finland
Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Latvala: Motivation for the study came from the fact that antisocial and aggressive behavior has been associated with lower resting heart rate in children and adolescents. Heart rate, being regulated by the autonomic nervous system, has been viewed as an indicator of stress responding or autonomic arousal, and the association has been hypothesized to indicate low levels of stress or a chronically low level of autonomic arousal in antisocial individuals. However, empirical evidence for such an association in adulthood has been very limited.
Medical Research: What are the main findings?
Dr. Latvala: We found that men with lower resting heart rate had an increased risk of violent and nonviolent criminality. Specifically, men in the lowest fifth of the heart rate distribution had an estimated 39% increased risk for violent criminality and a 25% increased risk for nonviolent crimes compared with men in the highest fifth. These are estimates after adjusting for physical, cardiovascular, cognitive and socioeconomic covariates. When we further adjusted for cardiorespiratory fitness, which was available in a subsample, the associations were even stronger.
In addition to the crime outcomes, we found that low resting heart rate predicted exposure to assaults and accidents, such as traffic crashes, falls and poisonings, in a very similar fashion.
02 Sep Serious Injuries Rise As Older Age Groups Takes Up Cycling
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Benjamin N. Breyer MD, MAS, FACS
Associate Professor in Residence
Department of Urology
University of California, San Francisco
Chief of Urology, San Francisco General Hospital
Director, UCSF Male Genitourinary Reconstruction and Trauma Surgery Fellowship
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Breyer: Our group has studied genitourinary-specific injuries associated with bicycles using a national surveillance injury database called NEISS (National Electronic Injury Surveillance System), that monitors injuries associated with specific products. In the current study, we examined trends in all bicycle-related injuries from 1997 to 2013. We found an increase in bicycle-related injuries over the study period, even after adjusting for growth in the US population. Even more concerning, we found the percentage of bicycle-related injuries resulting in admission increased 120%, suggesting the injuries sustained while cycling are becoming more severe. These trends appear to be driven by a substantial rise in both injuries and admissions in individuals over 45 years of age, which likely reflects a change in the demographic of cyclists in the US - multiple studies have shown an increase in the cycling participation of adults over the age of 45.
Bicycles are no longer children's toys - they are increasingly being used by adults as a means of transportation and physical activity. The rise in cycling in adults over the age 45 appears to be driving both the increase in injuries and admissions, suggesting that older individuals are at increased risk for sustaining severe injury while cycling.
31 Aug Study Reports High Prevalence of Military Sexual Trauma Among Recent Veterans
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Shannon K. Barth MPH
Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of Public Health, Post Deployment Health
Epidemiology Program
Washington, District of Columbia
Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Response: This study used data from the “National Health Study for a New Generation of U.S. Veterans,” a population-based health study of 20,563 Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom Veterans and their non-deployed counterparts, conducted in 2009-2011. A two-question measure of sexual harassment and sexual assault based on an existing clinical screen used by Veterans Health Administration (VHA) providers was included on the survey. Consistent with use in clinical settings, a veteran was considered to have experienced MST if they responded affirmatively to either of the two questions. While estimates of the prevalence of MST based on the clinical screener are available, these estimates only provide information about veterans who use VHA services and may not generalize to the broader OEF/OIF veteran population. This new survey provides a unique opportunity to assess MST experiences among a representative sample of OEF/OIF veterans in a confidential setting. Additionally, we were able to assess responses to the sexual harassment and sexual assault questions separately and collectively.
Medical Research: What are the main findings?
Response: The main findings from our study are that 41% of women and 4% of men reported experiencing MST. Veterans who reported using VHA services had a higher risk of MST compared to those who didn’t receive VHA services. The relationship between deployment to OEF/OIF and experiencing MST differed between men and women. Combat-exposed veterans had greater risk of reporting MST compared to those not exposed to combat, while controlling for deployment status.
Among women, approximately 10% reported experiencing sexual assault. In contrast, 0.5% of male participants reported experiencing sexual assault.
14 Aug Gang Violence Spreads Like An Infectious Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
April M. Zeoli, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor
School of Criminal Justice
Michigan State University
Lansing, MI 48824
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Zeoli: My team and I are interested in whether an infectious disease model can be applied to homicide. In other words, can homicide be described as being “contagious” and does it spread through a city in a systematic pattern? In our previous research, we showed that homicide did spread through Newark, New Jersey, in a manner similar to an infectious disease (http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2012/homicide-spreads-like-infectious-disease/). However, not all types of homicide may be “contagious.” In this research, we looked at seven motive types of homicide to determine which, if any, of them clustered and spread from one place to another over time.
Of the seven types of homicide we examined, only gang-motivated homicides displayed a pattern of clustering and spreading through Newark, NJ. However, while drug-motivated and revenge homicides did not spread, they did cluster in the same general geographic areas during much of the same time that gang-motivated homicides clustered together.
05 Aug Primary Care Study: Screening Women For Partner Violence Did Not Improve Health
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Joanne Klevens, MD, PhD
Division of Violence Prevention
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Klevens: The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends women of reproductive age be screened for partner violence but others, such as the World Health Organization and the Cochrane Collaborative conclude there is insufficient evidence for this recommendation. Our randomized clinical trial allocated 2700 women seeking care in outpatient clinics to 1 of 3 study groups: computerized partner violence screening and provision of local resource list, universal provision of partner violence resource list without screening, or a no-screen/no resource list control group. No differences were found in women’s quality of life, days lost from work or housework, use of health care and partner violence services, or the recurrence of partner violence after 1 year. In this three-year follow-up, no differences were found in the average number of hospitalizations, emergency room visits or ambulatory care visits.
29 Jul Walking While Texting Can Be Dangerous To Your Health
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Conrad Earnest, PhD, FACSM
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Earnest: The study presented here is a thesis project performed by Robbyne Smith and Sammy Licence, under the direction of Professor Conrad Earnest. We were curious to about the effects of walking, texting and doing both while simultaneously being cognitively distracted by common tasks - in our case a maths test.
Much of our curiosity was born from watching a YouTube video and reading an article on inattentional blindness where people did not notice a unicycling clown while using their mobile phones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ysbk_28F068
Several reports suggest that this type of pedestrian behavior leads to more pedestrian accidents, possibly increases the risk of tripping and increases riskier road crossing behavior due to a lack of attention.
While much of the literature has examined this question using a “straight line” model to look at walking characteristics and deviations within ones walking path, we elected to build an obstacle course that imitated common barriers that we measured in the city of Bath, England, that pedestrians might encounter during their walking day.
Medical Research: What are the main findings?
Dr. Earnest: Our main findings were that people slowed their walking speed, took more steps in their approach to common obstacles, and increased the height of their step to go up steps and over curbs.
Interestingly, we did not see an increase in what we called barrier contacts, which were used as a surrogate measure for tripping.
24 Jun Primary Seat Belt Laws Save Lives
Posted at 11:05h
in Accidents & Violence, Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Lois K. Lee, MD, MPH
Division of Emergency Medicine
Boston Children's Hospital
Boston, MA 02115
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death for children and adults in the U.S. Seat belts are the single most effective protective device to decreased death and mitigate injuries in the event of a motor vehicle crash. Our study found that states with primary seat belt laws, where a motorist can be ticketed only for not wearing a seat belt, demonstrated a 17% decreased fatality rate, compared to states with secondary seat belt laws, where a motorist must be cited for another violation first before also getting ticketed for not wearing a seat belt. We found this difference was robust even after controlling for other motor vehicle safety legislation and state demographic factors. We found that although seatbelts prevent deaths, they don't completely stop injury so if you have been in an accident that wasn't your fault then you might want to look for a place like the Parnall Law Firm to see if they can help you get compensation for your injuries.
03 Jun Severely Injured Patients Do Better In High Level Trauma Centers
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Huiyun Xiang, M.D., M.P.H.
Center for Pediatric Trauma Research
The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Columbus, OH
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: In the United States trauma system, the most severe injuries ideally should receive definitive treatment at level I or level II trauma centers, while less severe injuries should receive treatment at level III or nontrauma centers. “Undertriage” occurs when a severe injury receives definitive treatment at a lower level trauma center instead of a level I or level II trauma center. But no study had used nationally representative data to evaluate mortality outcomes of undertriage at nontrauma centers.
Our study found detrimental consequences associated with undertriage at nontrauma centers. There was a significant reduction in the odds of emergency department (ED) death – by approximately half – in severely injured trauma patients who were properly triaged to a level I or level II trauma center versus those who were undertriaged to a nontrauma center. We also found that patients with moderate injuries may not have a reduction in the odds of ED death when triaged to a level I or level II trauma center instead of a nontrauma center. That suggests a possible threshold of injury severity when triaging trauma patients.
23 May Proximity To Liquor Stores Linked To Gun Violence, Especially In Distressed Neighborhoods
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Marie Crandall, MD, MPH, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, IL 60611
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Crandall: While the association between alcohol and interpersonal violence has been well established, research has been divided with respect to the direct effect of proximity to an establishment with a liquor license and violence. We used geographic regression analysis, which is a type of multivariate regression including geography as a variable, to examine the association between proximity to an establishment with a liquor license, such as a liquor store or tavern, and gun violence in Chicago.
We utilized our state trauma registry and geocoded 11,744 gunshot wounds that occurred between 1999-2009. On the assumption that different neighborhoods might experience risk differently, we used a combination of ordinary least squares and geographic regression analysis to identify homogenous areas with similar risk. We used sociodemographic variables as covariates in the analysis.
We found that the impact of proximity to an establishment with a liquor license and occurrence of gunshot wounds varied markedly by neighborhood. The areas of highest risk were found to have enormous associations, Odds Ratios (OR) greater than 500. These areas also tended to be more socioeconomically distressed areas of the city.
08 May Obese Patients Face Stigma and Discrimination
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Claudia Sikorski Dr. rer. med. Claudia Sikorski, Dipl.-Psych. Institut für Sozialmedizin, Arbeitsmedizin und Public Health (ISAP) Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health Universität Leipzig, Medizinische Fakultät Leipzig Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Obesity is a highly stigmatized condition. People with obesity are often regarded a lazy, slow and sloppy. One consequence of these negative attitudes may be discrimination, e.g. the unfair treatment of individuals with obesity. This study, conducted by Jenny Spahlholz, myself and colleagues reviews observational and experimental studies that investigated the occurrence and nature of discrimination in obesity.28 Apr Nurses and Nursing Assistants Face Occupational Injury and Workplace Violence
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ahmed Gomaa, MD, ScD, MSPH Medical Officer / Surveillance Branch Division of Surveillance Hazard Evaluation and Health Studies National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Gomaa: In 2013, one in five reported nonfatal occupational injuries occurred among workers in the health care and social assistance industry, the highest number of such injuries reported for all private industries. In 2011, U.S. health care personnel experienced seven times the national rate of musculoskeletal disorders compared with all other private sector workers. To reduce the number of preventable injuries among health care personnel, CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), with collaborating partners, created the Occupational Health Safety Network (OHSN) to collect detailed injury data to help target prevention efforts. OHSN, a free, voluntary surveillance system for health care facilities, enables prompt and secure tracking of occupational injuries by type, occupation, location, and risk factors.26 Mar Women, Young Drivers More Likely to Talk or Text While Driving
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michelle Wilkinson, MPH Doctoral Candidate Epidemiology The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health Houston, TX 77030 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Cell phone use (CPU) while driving impairs visual awareness and reaction time, increasing frequency of near-collisions, collisions, and accidents with injuries. National prevalence estimates of driver cell phone use range from 5-10%. Medical and academic centers have large concentrations of young, ill, or elderly pedestrians and drivers, who are often unfamiliar with the congested environment. Drivers distracted by Cell phone use are a safety threat to pedestrians and drivers in these demanding environments. This study aimed to describe the prevalence and correlates of cell phone use among Texas drivers in major medical and academic centers, 2011-2013. This study found the overall prevalence of cell phone use while driving was 18%. The prevalence of Cell phone useand talking declined, while texting increased during the study period. Cell phone users were more likely to be female, <25 years old, and driving without a passenger.03 Mar Boys and Girls Can Be Victims of Teen Dating Violence
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Kevin Vagi, Ph.D Division of Violence Prevention, CDC’s Injury Center. MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Vagi: Although there has been research on teen dating violence (TDV) for several decades, the subject has only received attention as a public health concern in recent years. Over time, prevalence estimates of physical teen dating violence victimization from CDC’s national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) (first measured in 1999) have remained around 9% with similar rates among female and male students. Until recently, there have been no ongoing national studies of sexual TDV to our knowledge. This article describes new physical and sexual teen dating violence victimization questions first administered in the 2013 YRBS, shares the prevalence and frequency of TDV and national estimates using these new questions, and assesses associations of teen dating violence experience with health-risk behaviors. By including questions on both physical and sexual TDV, we are able to look at those youth who experienced physical TDV only, sexual TDV only, both physical and sexual TDV, any TDV, and none. These distinctions were important when investigating health outcomes associated with different types or combinations of TDV, as some health-risk behaviors have been shown to be associated with certain types of teen dating violence but not others. In 2013, among high school students who dated, 1 in 5 females and 1 in 10 males experienced physical and/or sexual TDV in the 12 months before the survey. The majority of students who experienced physical and sexual teen dating violence experience it more than once. Students who experienced both physical and sexual TDV are more likely to have other health-risks, such as suicidal ideation and behavior, fighting, carrying a weapon, being electronically bullied, alcohol and drug use, and risky sexual behaviors. This report also offers the first national estimate of sexual TDV. Findings suggest that comprehensive prevention efforts should focus on helping students develop healthy relationship skills to prevent teen dating violence and other risk behaviors.26 Feb ADHD Linked To Increased Risk of Accidents and Premature Death
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Søren Dalsgaard National Centre for Register-based Research Aarhus University Denmark Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This is the first large-scale prospective study of all-cause-mortality in people with ADHD. The nationwide Danish registers offer unique research possibilities. We followed a cohort of almost...
11 Feb Childhood Drowning: Very Poor Outcomes For Resuscitation Lasting More Than 30 Minutes
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Joke Kieboom, paediatric intensivist Beatrix Children’s Hospital Medical Center Groningen University of Groningen The Netherlands Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The aim of the study was to evaluate the outcome of drowned children with cardiac arrest and hypothermia, and to determine distinct criteria for termination of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in drowned children with hypothermia and absence of spontaneous circulation. From 1993 to 2012 in the Netherlands, 160 children presented with cardiac arrest and hypothermia after drowning. In 98 (61%) of these children resuscitation was performed for more than 30 minutes, of whom none had good outcome: 87 (89%) died and 11 (11%) survived for with severe disability or in a vegetative state (at one year after the drowning incident).04 Feb Fall Prevention Programs Can Reduce Injuries and Costs
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Judy Stevens PhD
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Stevens: Falls among people aged 65 and older are a serious, costly, and growing public health problem. As our population ages, falls will continue to increase unless we implement effective prevention strategies that are also cost-effective.
This study found that three evidence-based fall prevention programs, the Otago Exercise Program, Tai Chi: Moving for Better Balance, and Stepping On, were not only practical and effective but also provided a positive return on investment (ROI) or net benefit. An ROI of 150% means for each $1 spent on implementing the program, you can expect a net benefit of $1.50.
The analysis found that the cost of implementing each of these fall prevention programs was considerably less than the potential medical costs needed to care for someone injured from a fall. These research findings can help community organizations and policymakers identify and use programs that can both save lives and reduce costs.
01 Jan Many At-Risk Adolescents Have Access To Firearms In Home
Posted at 17:12h
in Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, JAMA, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Joseph A Simonetti, MD MPH
Research Fellow
Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center
University of Washington Seattle, WA, USA
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Simonetti: Studies have consistently shown that children living in households where firearms are stored safely have a lower risk of suffering firearm injuries, including lethal firearm injuries, compared to those living in households where firearms are stored unlocked and/or loaded. Safe firearm storage is widely recommended by public health experts, professional medical societies, and gun rights organizations, especially for households where children might be suffering from mental heath and substance abuse issues that put them at increased risk for suicide or unintentional injury. Our goal was to find out if those recommendations were being effectively implemented in the community. To do this, we used survey data that assessed mental health conditions and firearm access among a nationally representative sample of US adolescents.
Medical Research: What are the main findings?
Dr. Simonetti: First, we confirmed previous findings that a large proportion of US adolescents have access to a firearm in the home. Of those who reported living in a home with a firearm, 40% said they could immediately access and shoot the firearm.
Second, the prevalence of most mental health diagnoses was similar between adolescents who did and did not report firearm access. However, a greater proportion of adolescents with firearm access had drug and alcohol disorders compared to adolescents who reported living in a home with a firearm but did not have access to the firearm.
The main finding was that children with mental health risk factors for suicide were just as likely to report in-home firearm access as those without identified risk factors. This finding held true even when comparing firearm access between children with no identified risk factors and those who reported a recent suicide attempt, who arguably have the highest suicide risk in this sample.
23 Dec Teens Should Drive Big Safe Cars
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Anne McCartt PhD
Senior Vice President, Research
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Arlington, Virginia
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. McCartt: Motor vehicle crashes are a significant public health problem in the U.S., and that’s especially true for teenagers. Teen drivers have crash rates three times those of drivers 20 and older per mile driven. Immaturity leads to speeding and other risky habits, and inexperience means teens often don’t recognize or know how to respond to hazards.
The type of vehicle a teenager drives has a big effect on the degree of risk. Nevertheless, the main finding of our study is that many teenagers are driving – and dying in – the least protective types of vehicles. Nearly 30 percent of drivers ages 15-17 who died in highway crashes during 2008-12 were driving mini or small cars. Eight-two percent of the teenagers were driving vehicles that were at least 6 years old, and nearly half were driving vehicles that were at least 11 years old. Small cars are problem because they don’t afford as much crash protection as bigger, heavier vehicles. Older vehicles are less likely to have the best crash test ratings, and usually lack electronic stability control (ESC) or side airbags as standard features, despite the proven effectiveness of these technologies.
Parents are obviously concerned about safety. In a separate survey we found that safety ranked highest among the reasons for choosing a particular vehicle. Most parents knew that a midsize or larger vehicle was safer than a small one, but their knowledge about which safety features to seek out wasn’t very current. When asked what safety features they insisted on for their teen driver, people most frequently mentioned frontal airbags and safety belts. Only 5 percent of respondents mentioned ESC.
12 Dec Ride-on Toys Caused Biggest Increase in Toy-Related Injuries
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Gary A. Smith
Center for Injury Research and Policy
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Smith: The study found that from 1990 through 2011, an estimated 3,278,073 children younger than 18 years of age were treated in United States emergency departments for toy related injuries. The annual injury rate per 10,000 children increased by nearly 40% during that time period. The increase was largely associated with ride-on toys, particularly foot-powered scooters. Ride-on toys accounted for 34.9% of all injuries and 42.5% of hospital admissions.
The study is the first to comprehensively investigate toy-related injuries among children using a nationally representative data set, the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS).
02 Dec Childhood Falls May Be Decreased By Supervision and Safety Devices
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Prof. Denise Kendrick
Professor of Primary Care Research
Division of Primary Care, University Park
Nottingham UK
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Prof. Kendrick: More than 1 million US children aged 0-4 years attend emergency departments because of a fall each year. Approximately half of all ED attendances in this age group are for falls, and most of these are falls from furniture, most commonly from beds, chairs , baby walkers, bouncers, changing tables and high chairs. In the US around 18,000 0-4 year olds are admitted to hospital following a fall each year and in 2012 there were 31 deaths in the US in 0-4 year olds from falls. Healthcare costs for falls in the US were estimated at $439 million for hospitalised children and $643 million for ED attendances in 2005.
We found that children were more likely to attend hospital because of a fall from furniture in families that did not use safety gates across doorways or on stairs. For infants (aged 0-12 months) we found they were more likely to attend hospital because of a fall from furniture if they had been left on a raised surface (e.g. beds, sofas, work tops etc), had diapers changed on a raised surface or been put in a car seat or bouncing cradle on a raised surface. We also found that children aged over 3 years who had climbed or played on furniture were more likely to have a fall requiring a hospital visit than children who had not. Finally we found that children whose parents had not taught their children rules about climbing on objects in the kitchen were more likely to have a fall needing a hospital visit than children whose parents had taught these rules.
06 Nov Video Game Violence May Not Increase Violent Crime
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Christopher J. Ferguson PhD.
Associate Professor and Chair of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Stetson University DeLand, FL
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Ferguson: People have debated whether media violence contributes to societal violence for centuries. A lot of individual laboratory experiments have tried to answer this question, but results have always tended to be inconsistent. Not too much data had yet looked at concordance between media violence and societal violence. In the current study I examined levels of movie violence across the 20th century, and video game violence in the latter part of the 20th, into the 21st century. Results generally indicted that it was not possible to demonstrate that media violence consumption correlated with increased crime in society.
02 Nov Insomnia Major Contributor To Fatal Falls and Motor Vehicle Accidents
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Lars Laugsand, MD, PhD, Postdoctoral fellow
Department of Public Health
Norwegian University of Science in Technology
Trondheim, Norway.
Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Laugsand: Very few prospective studies have assessed the association of insomnia symptoms and risk for injuries.
Medical Research: What are the main findings?
Dr. Laugsand: We found that increasing number of insomnia symptoms was strongly associated with higher risk for both overall unintentional fatal injuries and fatal motor-vehicle injuries in a dose-dependent manner. Those who reported to suffer from all major insomnia symptoms were at considerably higher risk than those who had no symptoms or only a few symptoms. Among the different insomnia symptoms, difficulties falling asleep appeared to have the strongest and most robust association with fatal injuries.
16 Oct Losing Ability To Smell Raises Risk of Household Hazardous Events
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Richard M. Costanzo, PhD.
Professor of Physiology and Biophysics and
Special Assistant to the Vice President for Research
Virginia Commonwealth University
Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Costanzo: In this study we found that individuals with varying degrees olfactory impairment have an increased risk of experiencing a hazardous event. Those with complete loss (anosmia) were three times more likely to experience an event than those with normal olfactory function. Factors such as age,sex, and race were found to affect an individual’s risk.
25 Sep Simple Home Improvement Can Reduce Injuries and Falls
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. MichaelD. Keall PhD Otago University, Wellington, New Zealand Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Keall: We found that home injuries from falls could be reduced by 26% by making some simple modifications to people’s homes, consisting of handrails for steps and stairs, grab rails for bathrooms, outside lighting, edging for outside steps and slip-resistant surfacing for outside surfaces such as decks and porches.20 Sep 84 Gun Deaths Per Day In US
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Bindu Kalesan PhD MPH Department of Epidemiology Mailman School of Public Health Columbia University Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Kalesan: There were on average 84 gun deaths per day in the US between 2000 and 2010. The main message of the study is that the 11-year stable national firearm fatality rates mask the wide variation between states, racial and ethnic subgroups and intent of injury. Across 11 years, African-Americans had firearm fatality rates twice greater than Caucasians and 6-times greater than other minority races; the rates showing a decline only among other races. We found that the lowest rates are in HI while very high rates are observed in AK, LA and DC. Seven states (NY, IL, MD, NC, CA, AZ, NV) and DC showed declining rates while FL and MA had rising rates. The widely varying inter-state differences were driven by race specific differences within states.17 Jul More Kids Killed on ATVs than Bikes
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Charles A. Jennissen, MD
Department of Emergency Medicine
University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
Iowa City, IA 52242
MedicalResearch: Why did you perform this study?
Dr. Jennissen: More youth 15 years and younger in the United States are killed in all-terrain vehicle (ATV) crashes than on bicycles. Since 2001, children represent nearly 30% of all ATV-related injuries and 20% of all ATV-related deaths. Although previous studies have shown children to have high exposure to ATVs, these studies have been mostly limited to select rural and agricultural groups. With this study, we wanted to investigate the epidemiology of ATV use and safety-related behaviors among a large cross-sectional sample of adolescents.
03 Jul Accidents and Violence Account For Most Deaths Among US Young People
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Tamara Haegerich, PhD
Deputy Associate Director for Science
Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention
CDC - National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Haegerich: In the first three decades of life, more people in the US die from injuries and violence than from any other cause. Approximately 60% of fatal injuries are unintentional (for example, from motor vehicle crashes, drug overdose, and falls), 20% are due to suicide, and 20% are due to homicide. Injuries and violence have been linked to a wide range of physical, mental health, and reproductive health problems, and chronic diseases. They take an enormous economic toll, including the cost of medical care and lost productivity. Importantly, injuries and violence are preventable through education, behavior change, policy, engineering, and environmental supports. For example, laws that promote the use of seat belts and child safety seats, and prevent drunk driving, can reduce motor-vehicle-related injuries. Early childhood home visitation, school-based programs, and therapeutic foster care are examples of evidence-based approaches to preventing violence. Improving proper prescribing of painkillers and access to treatment for substance misuse could prevent prescription drug overdoses. Improvements are possible by framing injuries and violence as preventable, identifying interventions that are cost-effective and based on research, providing information to decision makers, and strengthening the capacity of the health care system.
23 Jun Domestic Abuse May Affect African American and Caribbean Black Women Differently
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Krim K. Lacey, PhD
Research Fellow, Research Center for Group Dynamics
Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA)
Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Lacey: The main findings from this nationally representative study were that U.S. Black women abused by a domestic partner, on a whole were vulnerable to various negative physical and mental health problems.
While the findings of the study support the few previous studies conducted on women within this population, this study was the first population-based, predominantly black sample that used structured clinical assessments. Importantly, the study substantiates other arguments that the Black population is not culturally monolithic, that African American and Caribbean Black women are affected differently by severe intimate partner violence.
Another key finding was the association identified between eating disorders and intimate partner violence, which in general, has been largely underexplored.
Finally, the study provided national information on the health outcomes of Caribbean Black women; one of the fastest growing subgroups within the Black population.
19 Jun Texting Bans and Reduction in Roadway Deaths
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Alva O. Ferdinand, DrPH, JD
Texas A&M Health Science Center
School of Public Health
College Station, TX 77843
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Answer: Over the last decade, several states have enacted legislating making it illegal to text while driving. However, little is known about the impact that state texting-while-driving bans have had on roadway crash-related fatalities. Some states have banned all drivers from texting while driving while others have banned only young drivers from this activity. Furthermore, some states’ texting bans entail secondary enforcement, meaning an enforcement officer must have another reason to stop a vehicle before citing a driver for texting while driving, and other states’ texting bans entail primary enforcement, meaning an enforcement officer does not have to have another reason for stopping a vehicle.
We conducted a longitudinal panel analysis examining within-state changes in roadway fatalities after the enactment of state texting-while-driving bans using roadway fatality data as captured in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System between 2000 and 2010. To further examined the impact of these bans on various age groups, as younger individuals are thought to engage in texting while driving more often than older individuals. States that had enacted texting-while-driving bans during the study period were considered “treatment” states and states that had not passed texting-while-driving bans were considered “control” states.
We found that states with primary laws banning young drivers only saw an average of an 11% reduction in roadway following the enactment of such bans during the study period. States with primary laws banning all drivers were also associated with significant reductions for those aged 15 to 21 and those who were 65 years old or older. States with secondarily enforced bans, whether banning all drivers or young drivers only, did not see any significant reductions in roadway fatalities.