Diabetic Retinopathy.

The prevalence of diabetes is on the rise globally as are the consequences, such as diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of vision loss in working-age adults in developed countries. Visual impairment as a result of diabetic retinopathy has a significant negative impact on the patient's quality of life and their ability to successfully manage their disease.

Vaginitis.

Bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis, and vulvovaginal candidiasis are the most common infectious causes of vaginitis. Bacterial vaginosis occurs when the normal lactobacilli of the vagina are replaced by mostly anaerobic bacteria. Diagnosis is commonly made using the Amsel criteria, which include vaginal pH greater than 4.

Evaluation and treatment of bone disease after fragility fracture.

Bone mineral density and other measuring tests are part of the risk assessment of primary and secondary osteoporosis necessary in treating patients after fragility fracture. A better understanding of factors contributing to insufficiency fracture in osteoporotic bone is essential to guide the clinician's intervention in this disease affecting 25 million women in the United States and responsible for an estimated 700,000 vertebral and 300,000 hip fractures every year. Prevention of future fractures by slowing or stopping bone loss, maintaining bone strength, and minimizing or eliminating factors contributing to fractures, through pharmacotherapy, education, and lifestyle changes, can help slow annual health care expenditures for osteoporotic fractures, which now exceed 17 billion dollars, more than for breast and gynecological cancers combined.

Recruiting faculty to perform deliveries in family medicine residencies: results of a residency program survey.

Background And Objectives: One factor cited for the decline of family physicians delivering babies is a lack of faculty role models during residency training. This study's purpose was to determine how many residency programs experience difficulty recruiting faculty who perform deliveries and whether financial or not financial compensation are associated with recruiting difficulties.

Methods: Using an electronic questionnaire, we surveyed program directors of nonmilitary family medicine residencies in the United States, with a response rate of 60.

Prevalence of breastfeeding and acculturation in Hispanics: results from NHANES 1999-2000 study.

Background: A more current estimate to evaluate ethnic and acculturation differences in breastfeeding is warranted, given the rapid growth of the Hispanic population in the United States and the proliferation of breastfeeding promotion programs. The study objective was to describe current national estimates of the prevalence of breastfeeding and evaluate differences in reasons not to breastfeed by acculturation status.

Methods: Secondary data analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2000 was performed on a nationally representative sample of non-Hispanic white women born in the U.

Management of hypertension in older persons.

Antihypertensive therapy has been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality in older patients with elevated systolic or diastolic blood pressures. This benefit appears to persist in patients older than 80 years, but less than one third of older patients have adequate blood pressure control. Systolic blood pressure is the most important predictor of cardiovascular disease.