Does poverty increase antibiotic prescribing rates through underlying health conditions? Ecological study using parallel mediation analysis.

Objective: Effect of social determinants on antibiotic prescribing rates is poorly studied in modern literature. The objective of this study was to explore the effect of the prevalence of poverty (annual household income <$24,999) in each state on antibiotic prescribing rates in outpatient settings per 1,000 population through chronic health conditions (ie, prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) while also adjusting for confounders (ie, prevalence of population aged ≥65 years and physician density in each state).

Design: Ecological study.

Alcohol-attributable deaths and years of potential life lost--11 States, 2006-2010.

Excessive alcohol consumption, the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the United States, resulted in approximately 88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) annually during 2006-2010 and cost an estimated $223.5 billion in 2006.

Traditional risk factors for Helicobacter pylori infection not found among patients undergoing diagnostic upper endoscopy-Republic of Georgia, 2007-2008.

Objectives: Helicobacter pylori causes gastritis, duodenal ulcers, and gastric cancer. Although household crowding, low socioeconomic status (SES), and poor sanitation are associated with infection elsewhere, risk factors of infection in the Republic of Georgia (ROG), a country with a high prevalence rate (>70%), remain unknown. In this study we explored potential risk factors of infection among symptomatic patients in ROG.

Long-term outcomes of 217 botulism cases in the Republic of Georgia.

Background: The acute paralytic syndrome of botulism has been well-described; however, little is known about its long-term consequences.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study in the Republic of Georgia to evaluate the health of patients > or =6 months after they had experienced an episode of botulism. Case patients were selected on the basis of who had had a clinical diagnosis of foodborne botulism reported to the national surveillance system from 1998 through 2003.