JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Sudden death in young competitive athletes due to unsuspected cardiovascular disease has heightened concern and interest in the preparticipation screening available to high school athletes in the United States. ⋯ Preparticipation athletic screening for cardiovascular disease with standard history and physical examination, as presently employed in US high schools, is highly dependent on the state-approved questionnaires, which frequently are abbreviated and may be inadequate; is implemented by a variety of health care workers with varying levels of expertise; and may be severely limited in its power to detect potentially lethal cardiovascular abnormalities. These observations should represent an impetus for change and improvement in the preparticipation cardiovascular screening process for high school athletes.
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Breast cancer mortality is higher among African American women than among white women in the United States, but the reasons for the racial difference are not known. ⋯ Socioeconomic factors alone were not sufficient to explain the dramatic effect of race on breast cancer stage; however, socioeconomic variables in conjunction with cultural beliefs and attitudes could largely account for the observed effect.