MMWR

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

Persons Tested for HIV – United States, 2003-2006

PRESS CONTACT: National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
(404) 639-8895

An analysis of national HIV testing data conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that after several years of steady increases in overall testing associated with targeted strategies, HIV testing rates leveled off between 2001 and 2006. CDC analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey to determine the estimated number of adults in the United States who have ever been tested for HIV. Data collected in 2006 show 40.4 percent of the U.S. population (an estimated 71.5 million persons) reported ever being tested for HIV. These findings indicate that many persons in the United States have never been tested for HIV infection. About 10.4 percent of adults reported being tested for HIV in the preceding year. Among those, 83 percent were tested in a health care setting. Early diagnosis of HIV infection is critical and can allow infected persons to obtain life-extending medical treatment, as well as adopt behaviors to prevent HIV transmission. Since 2006, CDC has recommended that voluntary HIV screening become a routine part of medical care for all persons between the ages of 13-64. CDC continues to encourage this approach to reach the estimated more than 250,000 HIV-positive Americans who are unaware of their infection.

Smoking Prevalence Among Women of Reproductive Age – United States, 2006

PRESS CONTACT: Matt McKenna, Director
CDC, Office of Smoking and Health
(770) 488-5493

The prevention and reduction of tobacco use among women of reproductive age are essential to reducing the burden of reproductive health complications from smoking, adverse health effects of children’s exposure to secondhand smoke, and improvement in the life expectancy of the women themselves. According to 2006 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), there is a six-fold difference in current smoking prevalence between the states and territories among women of reproductive age (18-44). The median prevalence was 22.4 percent with a range of 5.8 percent in the United States Virgin Islands to 34.7 percent in Kentucky. Current smoking prevalence was highest among non-Hispanic whites (24.5 percent), those with high school education (29.4 percent), those with less than high school education (28.3 percent), and divorced, widowed, or separated women (34.7 percent). These variations are likely due to differences in socioeconomic determinants (e.g. race/ethnicity, education, marital status) of smoking, differing social norms around tobacco use and variation in implementation of tobacco control programs and policies in states. Evidence based comprehensive tobacco control programs that can prevent initiation, increase cessation, and eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke should be fully implemented to further reduce tobacco use.

Fatalities from Fires Associated with Smoking During Oxygen Treatment – Four States, 2000-2007

PRESS CONTACT: Division of Media Relations
(404) 639-3286

People should not smoke where medical oxygen is being used. The report describes the result of a study examining fatalities from fires associated with smoking during long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) in four states (ME, MA, NH, OK) from 2000-2007. Of the 38 deaths identified most occurred at night in elderly smokers on LTOT in private residences. Prevention of this type of fatality is dependent on smoking cessation, careful assessment of the need for LTOT, and strategies to prevent injuries from fires such as smoke alarms and sprinklers.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES