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JUNE 25, 2001
An ounce of these
is worth a pound of cure
The best preventive medicine
by Terri Mauro
Parents of children with autism may have their doubts about the MMR vaccine, but not the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: A study sponsored by the CDC and conducted by the nonprofit Partnership for Prevention calls that vaccination, along those for polio and hepatitis among others, to be the most effective preventive medicine there is.
The study ranked preventive measures by a score made up of both their effectiveness in reducing disease or injury and their cost effectiveness. For those of you who like keeping track of this sort of thing, here are the top 15 most effective preventive measures:
1. Vaccinate children: DTP/DTaP, MMR, Oral Polio/IPV, Hib, Hep B, Varicella
2. Assess adults for tobacco use and provide tobacco cessation counseling
3. Screen for vision impairment among adults over 65
4. Assess adolescents for drinking and drug use and counsel on alcohol and drug abstinence
5. Assess adolescents for tobacco use and provide an antitobacco message or advice to quit
6. Screen for cervical cancer among sexually active women over 18
7. Screen for colorectal cancer (FOBT and/or sigmoidoscopy) among all persons over 50
8. Screen for hemoglobinopathies, PKU, and congenital hypothyroidism among newborns
9. Screen for hypertension among all persons
10. Vaccinate adults over 65 against influenza
11. Screen for chlamydia among women aged 15 to 24 years
12. Screen for high blood cholesterol among men aged 35 to 65 years and women aged 45 to 65 years
13. Screen for problem drinking among adults and provide brief counseling
14. Vaccinate adults over 65 years against pneumococcal disease
15. Assess infant feeding practices and provide counseling on: breastfeeding, use of iron-enriched foods, risk of baby-bottle tooth decay
Wondering about the rest? Dying to read long technical paragraphs about the scoring and methodology used? Go to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine site and download away.
copyright (c) 2001 by Terri Mauro