Journal of general internal medicine
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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a growing public health concern that overwhelmingly affects older adults. National guidelines have called for earlier referral of CKD patients, but it is unclear how these should apply to older adults. ⋯ More information is needed on the decision-making behavior of physicians for upstream referral decisions like those being advocated for CKD. Exploring the role of geriatric factors like cognitive and functional status may help facilitate more appropriate use of resources and improve patient outcomes.
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In recent years, the decline in youth smoking rates has stopped as the tobacco industry strives to successfully reclaim market areas where it has lost favor. The plateau in lung cancer incidence and stagnation in progress toward smoking abstinence illustrates the necessity for renewed efforts to fight tobacco use. ⋯ Primary care physicians (PCPs) are uniquely poised to successfully treat nicotine dependence with strategic targeting of these barriers, improved training in smoking cessation techniques, and focused political efforts in tobacco control. Herein, this article describes the landscape of tobacco use in America and provides background, methodology, and resources for PCPs to help achieve the goals of Healthy People 2010 in reducing the illness, disability, and death that occur as a result of tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.