Articles: mortality.
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A survey of deaths in children under the age of 7 years was made over a 1-year period in a rural area of The Gambia with few facilities for curative medicine but with a good record of infant immunizations. One hundred and eighty-four deaths were investigated. Only 12% of deaths occurred in a hospital or health centre but an attempt was made to establish a cause of death by interviewing the family of each dead child and by examining any health records that were available. ⋯ Acute respiratory infections, malaria and chronic diarrhoea with marasmus were the most frequent causes of death after the 1st month of life. Few children died of diseases that could have been prevented by routine immunizations. An effective immunization programme has probably had some effect on deaths in infancy and early childhood but it will be necessary to find ways of preventing deaths from malaria, acute respiratory infections and chronic diarrhoea/marasmus at the primary health care level if infant and childhood mortality are to be reduced further in rural areas of The Gambia.
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This paper examines the mortality experience in 1979-81 of three first generation Hispanic subpopulations in the United States, as defined by area of birth (Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico). Numerators were derived from National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) mortality tapes, which included codes for selected places of birth appearing on the death certificate. ⋯ Generally, mortality is relatively high among Cuban-born, Mexican-born and Puerto Rican-born adolescents and young adults, particularly males, largely due to violent deaths. Aged migrants, despite their disadvantaged socioeconomic status, exhibit relatively low death rates from heart disease and cancer.
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Historical Article
Firearms as a cause of death in the United States, 1920-1982.
We present the epidemiologic history of firearms in the United States. Firearms are among the nation's ten leading causes of death. Nearly one million firearm deaths occurred in the half-century 1933-1982. ⋯ An individual's risk of suffering a firearm death has generally risen with age. Increased firearm availability is associated with increased rates of firearm homicide and suicide. Strategies to prevent firearm deaths and injuries should be formulated in light of these findings, and heightened efforts to design, implement, and evaluate preventive measures are urgently needed.