CDC Updates

According to Medscape, the Centers for Disease Control ("CDC") are finding that our country. is encountering a rough flu season. There is still time to get the vaccine.

The CDC released the first national estimates of diabetes occruing in the Hispanic and Asian communities in our country. 

The percentage of adults living with diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes varied significantly by race/ethnicity and among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Asian subgroups. Broadly, the age-sex-adjusted percentage of adults living with diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes was 22% in Hispanics, 20% in non-Hispanic blacks, 19% for non-Hispanic Asians and 12% for non-Hispanic whites.

The United States is an increasingly diverse nation, as Hispanics and non-Hispanic Asians collectively now account for 23% of the US population and are expected to account for 38% by 2060, according to Census dataexternal icon. According to researchers, these groups may be at higher risk for type 2 diabetes due to genetic, lifestyle and environmental factor

The CDC also released new reports on lung injuries related to vaping (EVALI) last Friday.  The reports "confirm a decline in emergency department (ED) visits related to EVALI. The findings also reinforce the link between Vitamin E acetate and EVALI and describe risk factors for EVALI rehospitalizations and deaths after hospital discharge; as such, CDC recommends that health care providers treating EVALI patients provide follow-up soon after hospital discharge."  The CDC continues to advise:

• E-cigarette, or vaping, products should never be used by youths, young adults, or women who are pregnant.
• Adults who do not currently use tobacco products should not start using e-cigarette, or vaping, products. There is no safe tobacco product. All tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, carry a risk.
• THC use has been associated with a wide range of health effects, particularly with prolonged and frequent use. The best way to avoid potentially harmful effects is to not use THC-containing e-cigarette or vaping products.
• People with ongoing problematic marijuana use that causes significant impairment or distress should seek evidence-based treatment by a healthcare provider.

Finally, we learn from Health Affairs that while pediatric mortality rates have decreased in our country since 1999

Throughout the [CDC's 1999-2017]  study period and across all age groups, rural children experienced higher mortality rates than their urban peers. Among rural children, non-Hispanic black infants and American Indian/Alaska Native children were particularly at risk. To reduce unnecessary rural pediatric and adolescent deaths, we recommend ongoing surveillance of rural children’s health accompanied by policies targeting the leading causes of death in this population: unintentional injury and suicide.