Maternal and Child Health Library

This and past issues of the MCH Alert are available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/alert/archives.html.

November 23, 2005

1. SURGEON GENERAL RELEASES WEB-BASED FAMILY HEALTH HISTORY TOOL

My Family Health Portrait is a Web-based tool designed to help families gather and share their health information. The tool, released as part of the U.S. Surgeon General's Family Health Initiative, organizes information into a printout that an individual can use, in partnership with a health professional, to determine whether he or she is at increased risk for six common diseases with a known genetic contribution, and for other conditions that may run in families. Users can highlight certain diseases, such as heart disease or diabetes, and produce personalized diagrams or charts for each family member that can then be used to develop individualized diagnosis, treatment, and prevention plans. The tool is intended for use by individuals, families, and health professionals in understanding the importance of collecting a family health history and in making the process of gathering the information easier and more efficient. The tool is available in both English and Spanish at https://familyhistory.hhs.gov.

• Iron deficiency anemia was present in 1.2% of white children, 3.5% of black children, and 5.5% of Mexican-American children.
• The prevalence of iron deficiency anemia was 3.8% among children bottle fed for 12 months or less, 11.5% among those bottle fed for 13-23 months, and 12.4% among those bottle fed for 24-48 months.
• Among children of Mexican-American ethnicity who were bottle fed for more than 12 months, the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia was 18.5%, vs. 3.3% among children with neither of these two risk factors.
• Most children were bottle fed for less than 23 months; however, at 24-48 months, 36.8% of Mexican-American children were still being bottle fed, compared with 16.9% of white and 13.8% of black children.
• Mexican-American children were three times more likely to have iron deficiency compared with white children, and children bottle fed for more than 24 months were almost three times as likely to have iron deficiency compared with children bottle fed for 12 months or less.

• The concept of flavored cigarettes as a strategy for expanding the cigarette market has been revisited periodically over many years.
• Internally, the appeal of flavored cigarettes has long been associated with specific consumer populations, particularly young smokers and novice smokers.
• Product concepts targeting smokers ages 18-24 include aftertaste, tobacco satisfaction, and menthol aftertaste and aroma. The product technologies proposed to address these areas include nonconventional methods.
• Past research on flavor technology is directly linked to the development of today's flavored cigarettes.
• A physical examination of the filter confirmed the placement of a flavor-delivering pellet not visible to the consumer in certain Camel Exotic Blend cigarettes.
• The review identified few internal evaluations of the new product technologies used in today's flavored cigarettes.