Evaluation of the renal effects of experimental feeding of melamine and cyanuric acid to fish and pigs.

Objective: To determine whether renal crystals can be experimentally induced in animals fed melamine or the related triazine compound cyanuric acid, separately or in combination, and to compare experimentally induced crystals with those from a cat with triazine-related renal failure.

Animals: 75 fish (21 tilapia, 24 rainbow trout, 15 channel catfish, and 15 Atlantic salmon), 4 pigs, and 1 cat that was euthanatized because of renal failure.

Procedures: Fish and pigs were fed a target dosage of melamine (400 mg/kg), cyanuric acid (400 mg/kg), or melamine and cyanuric acid (400 mg of each compound/kg) daily for 3 days and were euthanatized 1, 3, 6, 10, or 14 days after administration ceased.

Surveillance of births conceived with various infertility therapies in Massachusetts, January-March 2005.

Objective: Nationally, infertility therapies (IFTs) are increasingly used to overcome fecundity issues. However, it is unclear to what extent noninvasive IFTs are used compared with assisted reproductive technology. To better understand outcomes related to the increasing use of all types of IFTs, we compared self-reported IFT use from a Massachusetts pilot Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (MA-PRAMS) to IFT use recorded on birth certificates (BCs).

Maternal socio-economic and race/ethnic characteristics associated with early intervention participation.

Objectives: To evaluate whether Massachusetts Early Intervention (EI) serves children at risk of developmental delay due to social factors, we identified socio-demographic characteristics associated with program enrollment and examined predictors of participation at each stage from referral to enrollment.

Methods: The Pregnancy to Early Life Longitudinal (PELL) data system linked birth certificate, hospital discharge, and EI data for all Massachusetts births, 1998-2000. We identified predictors of enrollment among births and predictors of referral, eligibility evaluation among those referred, and enrollment among eligible children using multivariate modified Poisson models to adjust for medical risks.

Using linked data to assess patterns of early intervention (EI) referral among very low birth weight infants.

Objectives: Access to Early Intervention (EI) services may improve cognitive and behavioral outcomes in very low birth weight infants, but few states have population-based data to evaluate EI outreach efforts. We analyzed Massachusetts (MA) infants born weighing <1,200 g to identify maternal and birth characteristics that predicted EI referral and timing of referral.

Methods: MA birth and hospital discharge records (Jan.

Preterm birth-associated cost of early intervention services: an analysis by gestational age.

Objectives: Characterizing the cost of preterm birth is important in assessing the impact of increasing prematurity rates and evaluating the cost-effectiveness of therapies to prevent preterm delivery. To assess early intervention costs that are associated with preterm births, we estimated the program cost of early intervention services for children who were born in Massachusetts, by gestational age at birth.

Methods: Using the Pregnancy to Early Life Longitudinal Data Set, birth certificates for infants who were born in Massachusetts between July 1999 and June 2000 were linked to early intervention claims through 2003.

Birth characteristics associated with early intervention referral, evaluation for eligibility, and program eligibility in the first year of life.

Objectives: The Individual with Disabilities Education Act mandates Early Intervention (EI) services for infants and toddlers with developmental delay. We assessed the percentage of infants at risk for developmental delay due to characteristics present at birth who were referred to Massachusetts EI within 1 year of birth, evaluated for eligibility, and eligible for services. In addition, we identified birth characteristics that independently predicted 0-1 year program referral, evaluation, and eligibility.

Prevalence and correlates of depression as a secondary condition among adults with disabilities.

This article examines the associations among environmental factors, healthy behaviors, and depression in a sample of adults with major disabilities. When sociodemographics and type and level of disability were controlled, environmental factors (e.g.

Smoking status and quality of life: a longitudinal study among adults with disabilities.

Background: Current research suggests that people with disabilities are more likely to use tobacco, less likely to quit, and less likely to be screened for tobacco use. However, little is known about the impact of changes in smoking status on the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of people with disabilities.

Objective: The primary objective of this paper is to examine the association between changes in HRQL and smoking status over time among people with disabilities.

Disability as a public health issue: findings and reflections from the Massachusetts survey of secondary conditions.

Public health researchers and practitioners have begun to recognize the dynamic nature of disability, promote the health of people with disabilities, and develop strategies to prevent secondary conditions among them. To understand the epidemiology of secondary conditions, the authors developed the Massachusetts Survey of Secondary Conditions, a longitudinal study of adults with major disabilities (n = 656) based on a conceptual framework linking disability, mediating factors, and health outcomes. This paper reports baseline data on the number of secondary conditions experienced by survey respondents.