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AJPH
NEWS Release
EMBARGOED UNTIL April 29, 2003, 4:00 PM (ET)
CONTACT: For copies of articles, contact Natalie Raynor, (202)
777-2511, natalie.raynor{at}apha.org
All articles are online after the embargo date at www.ajph.org
American Journal of Public Health: May 2003 Highlights
The articles highlighted below appear in the May 2003 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of the American Public Health Association.
__________
American Indian/Alaska Native men an overlooked population
when it comes to health problems
Accidents, suicide and homicide are epidemic among American
Indian/Alaska Native men, a population that suffers disproportionately
from many other health woes. In a study of 1.5 million AI/AN individuals
who receive health care through the Indian Health Service, men
were more than four times as likely as women to take their own
lives and had much higher accident rates and murder rates. The
leading cause of death for both men and women was heart disease,
but women had a heart disease rate of 109.4 per 100,000 population,
compared with the men's rate of 158.2 per 100,000 population.
The men were also less likely than women studied to seek medical
help, making up 37.9 percent of ambulatory care visits. Researchers
were limited to comparing men and women within the same ethnic
group because little data exist that compare AI/AN men with the
general population. Three suggested priority areas for health
programs geared toward AI/AN men: violence, cardiovascular disease
and cancer.
[From: "The Health Status
of American Indian and Alaska Native Males." Contact: Everett
R. Rhoades, MD, Native American Prevention Research Center, University
of Oklahoma College of Public Health, everett-rhoades{at}ouhsc.edu.]
Most men don't understand prostate cancer screening
Even though prostate cancer screening is touted as an
important tool to help save men's lives, most men may not understand
the risks or effectiveness associated with the procedure. According
to a survey of 271 Texas men, more than half were planning to
have a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) screening test, but 60
percent were uninformed about some aspect of the test. The test
is controversial in public health and medical circles because
of a lack of data on its effectiveness in reducing cancer deaths
and such side effects of cancer treatment as impotence and urinary
leakage. The study's authors suggested further study into the
issue using a larger study sample and public information campaigns
that stress informed decision making.
[From: "Informed Consent
for Cancer Screening with Prostate-Specific Antigen: How Well
Are Men Getting the Message?" Contact: Evelyn C.Y. Chan,
MD, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas-Houston
Medical School, evelyn.c.chan{at}uth.tmc.edu.]
Senators live as long as their constituents
U.S. senators have the same life expectancy and causes
of death as men in the general population, despite a 1969 study
suggesting senators died on average six years younger than other
men. In a study of people ever elected to the U.S. Senate who
were born after 1899 and died before Dec. 31, 1999, researchers
found that senators actually had a life expectancy of 72.7 years,
compared with the overall population's life expectancy of 69.3
years. "However, this comparison did not reach statistical
significance because of the small sample size of the study group."
Senators studied had the same leading causes of death as their
constituents: coronary artery disease, cancer and stroke.
[From: "Death of a Senator
Life Expectancy and Causes of Death in 20th-Century U.S.
Senators." Contact: Gabe Feldman, MD, MPH, MBA, MHA, FACPM,
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, gfeldman{at}health.nyc.gov.]
Cigarettes an increasing problem among Asian American
and Pacific Islander men
Many Asian American and Pacific Islander men have disturbingly
high cigarette smoking rates, highlighting a need for a national
prevention agenda aimed at this ethnic group. In a review of tobacco
use data among the Asian American/Pacific Islander population,
close to 50 percent of men were smoking in 1995. And while AA/PI
women's smoking rates were much lower, their rates had steadily
increased over a 10-year period. Some hypotheses as to why smoking
is such a problem: social norms; targeted tobacco industry marketing;
lack of culturally and linguistically tailored prevention and
control programs; and limited impact of mainstream tobacco control
programs on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. "We must
continue to address the increased rates of tobacco use among AA/PI
men as well as the growing problem among AA/PI girls and women,"
the study's authors wrote. "We also need to view the tobacco
epidemic as a global issue and consider the growing tobacco industry
influence in Asia, the Pacific, and developing countries of the
world."
[From: "Slowing the Epidemic
of Tobacco Use Among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders,"
Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment and Leadership, Contact:
Rod Lew, rodlew{at}aapcho.org.]
HIV prevention programs still rare in prison
HIV/AIDS is a major issue in correctional facilities because prisoners
are more likely to come from lower-income and minority populations
disproportionately affected by the disease. Yet prisoners have
historically little access to HIV prevention programs, according
to a review of the issue. For example, only two state prison systems
(Mississippi and Vermont) and five city/county jail systems (New
York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington)
make condoms available to male inmates. Public health groups,
including the World Health Organization, advocate condom availability
to prisoners as a step towards HIV prevention. Some innovative
HIV prevention programs do exist in selected correctional facilities,
and their success should encourage policy makers to increase funding
and availability for such programs, according to the review's
authors. They propose such "bold and progressive risk reduction
policy action" as mandatory HIV testing in state prison systems
and widespread HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs for
all inmates.
[From: "Male Prisoners and
HIV Prevention: A Call for Action Ignored." Contact: Kimberly
R. J. Arriola, PhD, MPH, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory
University, kjacoba{at}sph.emory.]
Minority men need many health boosts
Former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher says improving the health
of minority men will involve improving access to medical and dental
care, increasing minority representation in the health care work
force, removing the stigma associated with mental health treatment
and advocating for improved HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.
In an American Journal of Pubic Health issue highlighting men's
health, Satcher writes about many of his priorities when it comes
to breaking down barriers to care for minority men, who have higher
rates of most health problems than their white counterparts and
are less likely to have health insurance and seek regular preventive
care. In his editorial, Satcher notes that while 17 percent of
white men are uninsured, 28 percent of black men and 46 percent
of Hispanic men have no health insurance. "Clearly, there
is much work to be done toward improving the health of men of
color," said Satcher, who now is director of the National
Center for Primary Care at the Morehouse School of Medicine. "Addressing
men's health will require efforts at the national, state and local
levels."
[From: "Overlooked and Underserved:
Improving the Health of Men of Color." Contact: David Satcher,
MD, PhD, National Center for Primary Care, Morehouse School of
Medicine, dsatcher{at}msm.edu.]
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. APHA is a leading publisher of public health-related books and periodicals promoting high scientific standards, action programs and policy for good health. More information is available at www.ajph.org.
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