HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

EMBARGOED UNTIL December 26, 2001, 4:00 PM (ET)

CONTACT: For copies of articles, call Kendra Fitzgordon, (202) 777-2436

American Journal of Public Health: January 2002 Highlights
• Combat Exposure Has Serious, Prolonged Effects
• Younger Women More Likely To Quit Smoking
• Mentally Ill Receive Inadequate Treatment
• Harlem Faces Urgent Oral Health Needs
• Access To Dental Care Not Easy For Parents With Medicaid-Insured Children

The articles highlighted below appear in the January 2002 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of the American Public Health Association.

Combat Exposure Has Serious, Prolonged Effects
Exposure to combat results in substantial morbidity lasting decades and has significant, negative effects on our nation's mental, social and economic health. Interviews with 2583 men found that combat exposure was attributable for 27.8 percent of cases of 12-month posttraumatic stress disorder; 7.4 percent of 12-month major depressive disorders, 8 percent of 12-month substance abuse disorders; 11.7 percent of 12-month job losses, 8.9 percent of current unemployment; 7.8 percent of current divorce or separation; and 21 percent of current spouse or partner abuse. The authors conclude that with the recent deployment of U.S. troops to fight the "war on terrorism," the report "reawakens a long-dormant interest in understanding the societal costs of war" and demonstrates "the enduring array of adverse consequences likely to result from exposing U.S. citizens to war."
[From: "Population Attributable Fractions of Psychiatric Disorders and Behavioral Outcomes Associated With Combat Exposure Among US Men." Contact: Holly G. Prigerson, PhD, Yale University, School of Medicine, ph 203-974-7721.]

Younger Women More Likely To Quit Smoking
Young female smokers have a higher propensity to quit smoking than do older women. A study of more than 3600 Swiss women aged 35-74 finds that women younger than 55 were more likely to be past or current smokers, started smoking earlier and smoked more cigarettes every day than older women, yet they had attempted to quit smoking more often before age 35. The authors conclude that "Encouraging young smokers to quit - in addition to preventing nonsmokers from starting - may be an important facet of reducing cigarette smoking prevalence among adolescents."
[From: "Ages at Initiation of Cigarette Smoking and Quit Attempts Among Women: A Generation Effect." Contact: Alfredo Morabia, MD, University Hospitals of Geneva, ph 41-22-372-9552.]

Mentally Ill Receive Inadequate Treatment
A significant percentage of people with serious mental illness in the U.S. are not getting adequate treatment. Young adults, African Americans, and people living in the South are most likely to not receive minimally adequate treatment. Also unlikely to receive adequate treatment are those who have a psychotic disorder or are treated in the general medical sector. The study finds that 40 percent of respondents with serious mental illness had received treatment in the previous year. Of those receiving treatment, 38.9 percent received care that could be considered at least minimally adequate. Thus, only 15.3 percent of all respondents with serious mental illness received minimally adequate treatment. The authors conclude that inadequate treatment of serious mental illness is an enormous public health problem, and that public policies and cost-effective interventions are needed to improve both access to and quality of treatment.
[From: "Adequacy of Treatment for Serious Mental Illness in the United States." Contact: Philip S. Wang, MD, DrPH, Harvard Medical School, ph 617-432-3396.]

Harlem Faces Urgent Oral Health Needs
Adults in Harlem are in desperate need of oral health services. When queried about 50 different health conditions, problems with teeth and gums were the chief complaint among respondents (30 percent). Those most likely to report oral health problems had annual household incomes of less than $9000 (36 percent) were unemployed (34 percent) and lacked health insurance (34 percent). Privately insured residents were almost twice as likely to have seen a dentist for oral health problems (87 percent) compared with the uninsured (48 percent). Trained community residents surveyed 963 adults (695 successfully completed the interview) from 1992 to 1994. The sampling included dwellings and places often missed by conventional protocols - single- room occupancies, cars and cardboard boxes.
[From: "Lack of Oral Health Care for Adults in Harlem: A Hidden Crisis." Contact: Georgina P. Zabos, DDS, MPH, ph 212-304-7170.]

Access To Dental Care Not Easy For Parents With Medicaid-Insured Children
Negative experiences discourage parents and other caregivers from obtaining dental services for their children insured by Medicaid. Focus group participants said searching for providers, arranging an appointment time where choices were severely limited, and finding transportation left them discouraged and exhausted. Those who successfully negotiated these barriers felt they encountered additional obstacles in the dental care setting, such as long waiting times and judgmental, disrespectful and discriminatory behavior from staff and providers because of their race and public assistance status. Seventy-seven caregivers of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds participated in 11 focus groups conducted in North Carolina in 1998.
[From: "Problems With Access to Dental Care for Medicaid-Insured Children: What Caregivers Think." Contact: Mahyar Mofidi, DMD, MPH, University of North Carolina, ph 919-966-9801.]

The American Journal of Public Health is the monthly Journal of the American Public Health Association, the oldest and largest organization of public health professionals in the world and the foremost publisher of public health-related books and periodicals promoting high scientific standards, action programs and policy for good health. The Journal is online at www.ajph.org.