The Proximity of Spatial Clusters of Low Birth Weight and Risk Factors: Defining a Neighborhood for Focused Interventions.

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) is associated with significant mortality and morbidity and remains a significant preventable problem. Risk factors include socioeconomic, demographics, and characteristics of the environment. Spatial analysis can uncover unusual frequencies of health problems in neighborhoods, eventually leading to insights for targeted interventions.

Household proximity to water and nontuberculous mycobacteria in children with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) have a particular affinity for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Recent studies suggest a possible relationship between acquiring NTM and the level of environmental water in a given area. We sought to determine if there is an association between household proximity to water and NTM in children with CF.

Clusters of adolescent and young adult thyroid cancer in Florida counties.

Background: Thyroid cancer is a common cancer in adolescents and young adults ranking 4th in frequency. Thyroid cancer has captured the interest of epidemiologists because of its strong association to environmental factors. The goal of this study is to identify thyroid cancer clusters in Florida for the period 2000-2008.

Clinical practice guideline: tonsillectomy in children.

Objective: Tonsillectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures in the United States, with more than 530,000 procedures performed annually in children younger than 15 years. Tonsillectomy is defined as a surgical procedure performed with or without adenoidectomy that completely removes the tonsil including its capsule by dissecting the peritonsillar space between the tonsil capsule and the muscular wall. Depending on the context in which it is used, it may indicate tonsillectomy with adenoidectomy, especially in relation to sleep-disordered breathing.

The adolescent with a chronic illness.

The primary care clinician can play an important role in enhancing the quality of life for the adolescent with chronic illness through developmentally appropriate, individualized and compassionate coordination of care (Sidebar 2). Special attention to the process of adolescence, family, and psychological issues are required for successful management. Transition of care to adult services should be planned carefully with a multidisciplinary team.

Influence of prior sexual risk experience on response to intervention targeting multiple risk behaviors among adolescents.

Purpose: To identify correlates of sexual risk variations among African-American adolescents, and to examine the influence of prior sexual experience on response to a HIV risk-reduction intervention.

Methods: Eight hundred seventeen African-American youth aged 13 to 16 years living in and around urban public housing in Baltimore were recruited to participate in a HIV risk-reduction intervention targeting multiple risk behaviors. An instrument designed to measure three levels of sexual risk ("abstinent," "protected sex" [having sex with a condom], and "unprotected sex" [having sex without a condom]) was administered at baseline, 6 months and 12 months postintervention.

Depressive symptoms and health risk among rural adolescents.

Objective: To determine the stability of depression and its relationship with health risk factors among rural adolescents.

Methods: A clinic-based longitudinal study was conducted to test for depression and risk factors in 64 participants who attended a rural, primary care, adolescent medicine clinic. The primary measure of risk and depression was the Perkins Adolescent Risk Screen (PARS).

Validation of the Perkins Adolescent Risk Screen (PARS).

Purpose: To examine the initial psychometric properties for the PARS, a brief interview used to screen for 16 items of adolescent risk and protective factors.

Methods: Participants included 193 adolescents, attending public middle and high schools or a university-based Adolescent Clinic. Participants completed a PARS interview, as well as a battery of questionnaires.

Eating disorders in adolescents.

Eating disorders including anorexia nervosa and bulimia are commonly seen in adolescent patients. There are many medical complications including disturbances in cardiac, endocrine, bone, gastrointestinal, hematological, neurological, metabolic, and renal function. There are characteristic dermatological and dental findings.