Mortality Rate Decreases Sharply in 2006

Preliminary number of death in the U.S. in 2006  fell to 2,425,900, a 22, 117 decrease from the 2005 total. With a rapidly growing older population, declines in the number of deaths (as opposed to death rates) are unusual, and the 2006 decline is likely the result of more mild influenza mortality  in 2006 compared with 2005.

Other preliminary number also, shows life expectancy at birth reaching a new record high in 2006 of 78.1 years, a 0.3 increase from 2005. Record high life expectancy was recorder for both white males and black males (76 years and 70 years, respectively) as well as for white females and black females ( 81 years and 76.9 years). Read full story here!

 

Estimating Healthy Life Expectancies

Estimating Healthy Life Expectancies Using Longitudinal Survey Data: Methods and Techniques in Population Health Measures. Read more here!

Teen Suicide and Antidepressants

The Washington Post ran a story today based on an article appearing in the journal American Journal of Psychiatry.

Warnings from federal regulators four years ago that antidepressants were increasing the risk of suicidal behavior among young people led to a precipitous drop in the use of the drugs. Now a new study has found that the drop coincides with an unprecedented increase in the number of suicides among children.

From 2003 to 2004, the suicide rate among Americans younger than 19 rose 14 percent, the most dramatic one-year change since the government started collecting suicide statistics in 1979, the study found. The rise followed a sharp decrease in the prescribing of antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil after parents and physicians were confronted by a barrage of warnings from the Food and Drug Administration and international agencies.

http://nchspressroom.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/teen-suicide-1979-2004-1.pdf

http://wonder.cdc.gov/mortSQL.html

Lack of Sleep Linked With Adverse Health Behaviors

Adults who sleep less than 6 hours are more likely to smoke, drink, or be obese. Read more about sleep duration, the prevalence of cigarette smoking, alcohol use, leisure-time, physical inactivity, and obesity here!

Million of U.S Adults are Identified as Wireless Families

Did you know that one in six homes have only wireless telephone? Approximately 31 million adults (14.0%)  lived in wireless-mostly households during the last 6 months of 2007, an increase from 28 million (12.6%) during the first 6 months of 2007. Read more about wireless-mostly households here!

New Birth Certificate Expanded Health Data, 2005

This new report presents data for 2005 on check-box items exclusive to the 2003 U.S. Standard Birth Certificate of Live Birth.  Information in check-boxes  is shown in the following categories:  Risk factors in pregnancy, Obstetric procedures, characteristics of labor and delivery, Method of delivery, Abnormal condition of the newborn, and Congenital anomalies of the newborn.  You can read more about this report here…

Poisoning and Methadone-Related Deaths: U.S, 1999-2005

Did you know that  poisoning was the second leading cause of injury death in the United States in 2005? This surpasses firearms injury death for the first time in 2004. The majority of poisoning deaths are due to unintentional drug overdoses.

Narcotic-related deaths have played the largest role in the increase of all poisoning deaths from 1999 to 2005 (the years for which data are available). They are responsible for 56 percent of all poisoning deaths in 2005, increasing from 50 percent in 1999. Their absolute numbers increased 84 percent  over the 7 years period.

Methadone-related deaths have increased more than other Narcotic-related deaths. You can read more about Methadone-related Deaths here…

The Prevelance of HIV Infection Among U.S. Adults

Did you know that approximatley 0.47 percent of U.S.  household population between the ages of 18 and 49 years are living with HIV, according to estimates from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) based on surveys conducted between 1999-2006? Read more here!

United States Life Tables

This report presents period  life tables  for the U.S. based on age specific death rates for the most recent year. Based on the 2004 report it seems like Americans are truly living longer. The overall expectation of life at “birth ” was 77.8 years, representing an increase of 0.4 year from life expectancy in 2003. Between 2003-2004 life expectancy increases for male and female, and for both white and black population. See full story here!

Health Characteristics of Asian Adult Population

New Report Examines  the Health of  Asian Adult Population in the United States. The report examines Asian: health behavior, health care utilization, conditions, mental health status, health status, immunization and HIV testing.  Read more about Asian health characteristics here!