2005 Monitoring the Future Survey

While the 2005 National Institute on Drug Abuse's Monitoring the Future Survey showed a continuing general decline in drug use, U.S. teenagers' recreational use of prescription sedatives is at its highest rate in 26 years, and the illicit use of painkillers such as OxyContin also is increasing.

Study information is available at http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/

One-Third of U.S. Teens Have Low Fitness Levels

According to the first nationwide study of physical fitness, more than one-third of U.S. teenagers and about 14% of young adults have low levels of cardiovascular fitness.

Citation to study: Carnethon, M.R., Gulati, M. Greenland, P. Prevalence and Cardiovascular Disease Correlates of Low Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Adolescents and Adults. JAMA. December 21, 2005;294 (23):2981-2988. Check COAST for availability.

Diabetes Cases in State Increase by 13%

The number of Californians diagnosed with diabetes has increased by 13%, or 200,000 people, since 2001, according to a study released Thursday by the University of California-Los Angeles Center for Health Policy Research.

The study is available online http://www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu/Release_12-15-05.pdf

America's Health Rankings 2005 Edition Released

The annual America's Health Rankings by the United Health Foundation and the American Public Health Association ranked Minnesota as the healthiest state for the 10th time since 1990. It also compared the health of U.S. residents to that of residents in other countries, including the United Kingdom and Japan.

The report is available online at http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/ahr2005.html

Life Expectancy Increases to 77.6 Years in U.S

Life expectancy in the U.S. increased to 77.6 years in 2003 from 77.3 in 2002, according to a report released on Thursday by the National Center for Health Statistics at CDC. However, about half of U.S. residents ages 55 to 64 have high blood pressure, and two in five are obese, the report finds.

The report is available online. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus05.pdf

Women, African Americans, Elderly Less Likely To Receive Chemotherapy

Women, African Americans, and elderly patients with advanced colon cancer are less likely to receive chemotherapy than other patients despite evidence that the treatment improves survival rates, according to a recent study published in JAMA.

Citation: Jessup, J.M., et al. Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Stage III Colon Cancer: Implications of Race/Ethnicity, Age, and Differentiation. JAMA. December 7, 2005;294 (21):2703-2711. Free article http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/294/21/2703

California Residents Not Getting Recommended Amount of Exercise

More than one in four California teenagers do not get the recommended amount of weekly exercise and one in four adults do not walk at all for transportation or leisure, according to two reports released by the University of California-Los Angeles Center for Health Policy Research.

Research briefs for the teenager and adult studies are available online at http://www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu/pubs/publication.asp?pubID=159 http://www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu/pubs/publication.asp?pubID=160

Pollution Contributes to Premature Deaths & Health Costs

Air pollutants from California's cargo industry will result in about 750 premature deaths in 2005 and cost an estimated $70 billion in related health care costs by 2020, according to a study by the Air Resources Board.

The report is available online http://www.arb.ca.gov/planning/gmerp/gmerp.htm

Number of California Residents Living With HIV Increases

According to a study released on Wednesday by the University of California, the number of California residents living with HIV has increased by 40% over the past seven years, largely because of new treatments.
A summary report is available online at http://uarp.ucop.edu/prevention_indicators/2_SummaryReport_HIVPre3rd.pdf