MMWR News Synopsis for September 7, 2017

Health-Related Behaviors and Academic Achievement Among High School Students — United States, 2015

CDC Media Relations
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Academic outcomes and student health-related behaviors are linked. CDC researchers analyzed data from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a school-based survey that measures health risk behavior among 9^th-12^th grade students in the United States, to better assess the relationship between academic achievement and 30 health-related behaviors, including dietary, physical activity, sedentary, substance use, sexual risk, violence-related and suicide-related behaviors. While the results do not address causality, they confirm that students with lower grades reported higher levels of health risk behaviors – and students with higher grades were more likely to report healthy behaviors. Authors found that students who received grades of mostly Ds/Fs were: nine times more likely to have ever injected any illegal drug; five times more likely to have missed school because of safety concerns; and more than four times more likely to have had sexual intercourse with four or more persons than students who received mostly As. Authors also found that students who received mostly As were more than two times more likely to have eaten breakfast seven days a week and almost 1.5 times more likely to be physically active five days a week than students who received mostly Ds/Fs. Schools face tremendous pressure to reach educational goals. These findings suggest that efforts from schools to improve health among students might contribute to achievement of educational goals.

Update: Increase in Human Infections with Novel Avian Influenza A(H7N9) Viruses During the Fifth Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness — China, October 1, 2016–August 18, 2017

CDC Media Relations
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Avian influenza A(H7N9) viruses remain a pandemic concern. The fifth annual epidemic of Asian Lineage Avian Influenza A(H7N9) Viruses in China is marked by extensive geographic spread in poultry and in humans. The number of human infections reported in the fifth epidemic is almost as many as were reported during the previous four epidemics combined. The increased number of human infections appears to be associated with wider geographic spread and higher prevalence of Asian H7N9 viruses among poultry rather than any increased incidence of poultry-to-human or human-to-human spread. Human infections with Asian H7N9 viruses from poultry are rare, and no efficient or sustained human-to-human transmission has been detected. Among all influenza viruses assessed using CDC’s Influenza Risk Assessment Tool, the Asian H7N9 virus is ranked as the influenza virus with the highest potential pandemic risk. Continued vigilance is important to identify changes in the virus that have epidemiologic implications, such as increased transmission from poultry to humans or transmission between humans.

Notes from the Field:

• Clostridium perfringens Outbreak at a Catered Lunch — Connecticut, September 2016

Quick Stats:

• Age-Adjusted Death Rates from Unintentional Falls Among Adults Aged ≥ 65 Years, by Sex — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2000–2015

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