Population‐level impacts of natural and anthropogenic causes‐of‐death for Hawaiian monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands

Access to health care is an important determinant of health, but it remains unclear whether having more physicians reduces mortality. In this study, we used Taiwan’s population-level National Death Certification Registry data to investigate whether a greater supply of physicians is associated with lower rates of amenable mortality, defined as deaths that can be delayed with appropriate and timely medical treatment. Our baseline regression analysis adjusting only for age and sex shows that an increase in the number of physicians per 1000 is associated with a reduction of 1.7 ( P < .01) and 0.97 ( P < .01) age-standardized deaths per 100 000 for men and women, respectively. However, in our full analyses that control for socioeconomic factors and Taiwan’s health insurance expansion, we find that physician supply is no longer statistically associated with amenable mortality rates. Nevertheless, we found that greater physician supply levels are associated with a reduction in deaths from ischemic heart disease (−0.13 ( P < .05) for men, and −0.066 ( P < .05) for women). These findings suggest that overall, physician supply is not associated with amenable mortality rates after controlling for socioeconomic factors but may help reduce amenable mortality rates in specific causes of death.

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Improving the usefulness of mortality data in Brazil: reclassification of ill-defined causes of death

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.049 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

E França ◽

L Ishitani ◽

R Teixeira ◽

C Cunha ◽

F Marinho

Keyword(s):

Interpersonal Violence ◽

Large Scale ◽

Causes Of Death ◽

Age Groups ◽

Family Health ◽

Routine Data ◽

Population Level ◽

Mortality Data ◽

Access To Health Services ◽

Underlying Causes

Abstract Background Garbage codes (GC) among registered causes of death can bias mortality analysis. In Brazil, more than one million deaths occurred annually in 2006-2017 and around 100,000 deaths per year were originally attributed to GC ill-defined causes of death (IDCD) in the Mortality Information System (SIM - Sistema de Informação sobre Mortalidade). To provide more accurate cause-of-death analysis, routine investigations of IDCD in the health surveillance system have been implemented in the country since 2005. The objective of this study was to analyze specific underlying causes for deaths originally assigned as IDCD in the SIM in 2006-2017. Methods For all IDCD (ICD codes from chapter 18, or R-codes) identified in the SIM, municipal health professionals collected information about the final disease obtained from hospital records, autopsies, forms of family health teams, and home investigation. Proportions of reclassified deaths by cause-specific mortality fractions (CSMF) derived from the reclassified IDCD by age and four calendar periods were analyzed to assess specific causes detected after investigation. Results A high proportion of deaths due to IDCD was investigated in 2006-2017 (32%). From a total of 257,367 IDCD reclassified, chronic diseases (56.6%), injuries (7.2%), and infectious (5.2%) or neonatal, maternal, malnutrition (1.7%) were the underlying causes detected among IDCD. Neonatal-related conditions, interpersonal violence, ischemic heart disease and stroke were the leading causes detected in the age groups 0-9 years, 10-29 years, 30-69 years, 70 years and over, respectively. Conclusions High proportions of IDCD reassigned to more informative causes after review indicate the success of this approach to correct misclassification in the SIM, an initiative that should be maintained. Training physicians on death certification along with better quality of medical care and access to health services would lead to further improvement. Key messages Investigation of IDCD as part of routine data collection on a large scale as had occurred in Brazil in 2006-2017 is an innovative approach to strengthen population-level mortality statistics. In addition to reducing the proportions of IDCD by their reclassification into specific causes, this initiative opens up the prospect of using these results for redistributing remaining cases of IDCD.

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Sighting patterns reveal unobserved pupping events to revise reproductive rate estimates for Hawaiian monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands

Marine Mammal Science ◽

10.1111/mms.12761 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Stacie J. Robinson ◽

Albert L. Harting ◽

Tracy Mercer ◽

Thea C. Johanos ◽

Jason D. Baker ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hawaiian Islands ◽

Reproductive Rate ◽

Monk Seals

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Movements and home ranges of monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands

Marine Mammal Science ◽

10.1111/mms.12429 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

pp. 1080-1096 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Kenady Wilson ◽

Charles Littnan ◽

Andrew J. Read

Keyword(s):

Hawaiian Islands ◽

Home Ranges ◽

Monk Seals

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Organochlorine contaminants in endangered Hawaiian monk seals from four subpopulations in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Marine Pollution Bulletin ◽

10.1016/j.marpolbul.2007.09.034 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 56 (2) ◽

pp. 231-244 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Gina M. Ylitalo ◽

Matthew Myers ◽

Brent S. Stewart ◽

Pamela K. Yochem ◽

Robert Braun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hawaiian Islands ◽

Organochlorine Contaminants ◽

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ◽

Monk Seals

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Survey for Selected Pathogens and Evaluation of Disease Risk Factors for Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals in the Main Hawaiian Islands

EcoHealth ◽

10.1007/s10393-006-0059-z ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 232-244 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Charles L. Littnan ◽

Brent S. Stewart ◽

Pamela K. Yochem ◽

Robert Braun

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Hawaiian Islands ◽

Monk Seals

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Population-based Carrier Screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy in Saudi Arabia

10.22541/au.164062797.73082334/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mohammed Al Jumah ◽

Saad Al Rajeh ◽

Wafaa Eyaid ◽

Ahmed Al-Jedai ◽

Hajar Al Mudaiheem ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carrier Frequency ◽

Causes Of Death ◽

Muscular Atrophy ◽

Population Level ◽

Population Based ◽

Carrier Screening ◽

Type I ◽

Type Ii ◽

Level Data ◽

Spinal Muscular Dystrophy

Spinal Muscular Dystrophy (SMA) is one of the leading causes of death in children from heritable diseases. It is reported that the incidence of SMA is higher in the Saudi population. 4198 healthy volunteers between 18 to 25 years old were included in this study of which (54.7% males vs 45.3% females). Whole blood was spotted from finger pricks onto IsoCode StixTM and genomic DNA was isolated using one triangle from the machine. Carrier frequency and population-level data were used to estimate the prevalence of SMA in the population utilizing the life table method. Results showed the presence of one copy of the SMN1 gene in 108 samples, two copies in 4090 samples, and a carrier frequency of 2.6%. Carrier figurine was twofold in females and 27% of participants were children of first-cousin marriages. The birth incidence of SMA was estimated to be 32 per 100,000 birth and the total number of people living with SMA in KSA to be 2,265 of which 188 are type I, 1,213 are type II, and 864 are type III. The SMA carrier rate of 2.6 % in Saudi subjects is slightly higher than the reported global frequency with links to the consanguineous marriages.

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