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Injuries are a critical public health problem and a tremendous economic burden.
| PRESS CONTACT: Office of Communications CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (770) 4884902 |
Every day, children are abused, teenagers are killed in car crashes, and older adults are injured in falls. Injuries are a critical public health problem, just like heart disease and cancer. For children, injuries are the leading cause of death. This study examined the medical costs of injuries in 2000 and found that injury-attributable medical expenditures cost an estimated $117 billion, approximately 10% of total medical expenditures. Most injuries are preventable. CDC provides communities and decision makers with scientific evidence on which injury prevention interventions are effective. Effective interventions, which would save lives and reduce the cost of injuries, include: increasing use of child restraint systems, smoke alarm programs, and multifaceted programs to prevent falls among older adults.
On-time immunization is the most effective way to protect children and adolescents from the risks of vaccine preventable diseases.
| PRESS CONTACT: Gregory Wallace, MD, MS, MPH CDC, National Immunization Program (404) 6398257 |
Each year, CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) reviews the recommended childhood and adolescent immunization schedule to ensure that it is current with changes in manufacturers' vaccine formulations and contains revised recommendations for the use of licensed vaccines, including those newly licensed. The recommended childhood and adolescent immunization schedule for January July 2004 is presented. In addition, a catch-up immunization schedule for children and adolescents who start late or who are >1 month behind is presented. The catch-up schedule was introduced for the first time in 2003 and remains the same in content. The recommendations and format have been approved by the ACIP, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The percentage of individuals with no reported risk factors for heart disease and stroke is decreasing.
| PRESS CONTACT: Clark Denny, PhD CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion (770) 4882424 |
Heart disease and stroke are the first and third leading causes of death for men and women in the United States. The percentage of people with no known risk factors for heart disease and stroke decreased from 42% to 36% between 1991 and 2001. The percentages of persons with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity have increased during the decade. The decrease in persons with no known risk factors suggest that a decreased percentage of U.S. adults have no recognized risk factors for heart disease and stroke; and thus, may lead to higher healthcare costs in the future. As we begin the New Year, individuals and clinicians should renew their commitment to controlling weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and smoking cessation.
| PRESS CONTACT: Division of Media Relations CDC, Office of Communications (404) 6393286 |
No summary available.
| PRESS CONTACT: Division of Media Relations CDC, Office of Communications (404) 6393286 |
No summary available.
| Embargoed until 12 PM, EST | January 15, 2004 Contact: CDC Injury Press Office (770-488-4902) |
Injuries cost the United States an estimated $117 billion in medical fees each year suggests a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This estimate represents approximately ten percent of total medical spending and is similar in magnitude to the medical costs associated with other leading public health concerns such as obesity and smoking.
The medical costs associated with injuries are staggering but its just the tip of the iceberg, said CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding. When we add in productivity losses, decreased quality of life and the emotional toil that injuries and disabilities have on families, the problem is enormous.
The report, Medical Expenditures Attributable to Injuries in the United States, 2000 published in the January 16 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), revealed that approximately 16 percent of the civilian, non-institutionalized population in the United States reported treatment for at least one injury in 2000. Falls accounted for at least 33 percent of the total medical cost of injuries and motor vehicle crashes accounted for at least 18 percent.
Motor vehicle crashes, homicides, suicide, and debilitating falls are so common that unfortunately many have accepted that injury is inevitable, said Dr. Gerberding. This is tragic because so many injuries are preventable.
Dr. Sue Binder, director of the CDC Injury Prevention Center, said that communities can have a dramatic impact on reducing injuries by implementing prevention programs that work. We know that seat belts and child safety seats and smoke alarms are effective. And we can prevent falls among older adults through exercise programs that include balance training, vision correction, and reduction of medications to the fewest number and doses, and environmental changes.
Researchers noted that the actual cost of injuries is much greater than the estimate reported above, which is solely limited to medical costs. Lost wages, caregiver costs and non-medical costs resulting from injuries are likely to exceed the medical burden of injuries. A future CDC study will examine the costs of injuries from this broader perspective.
This report can be found at CDCs web site. For more information about CDCs Injury Prevention programs, link to www.cdc.gov/injury.
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| Privacy Policy | Contact Us This page last reviewed January 15, 2004 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
