MMWR News Synopsis for December 21, 2017

Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults, by Household Income and Education — United States, 2011–2014

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Lower levels of income and education are not universally associated with obesity. In US adults, the association between obesity and education/income is complex. The relationship varies between men and women and between racial and ethnic groups. In 2011-2014, among women, obesity was generally lower among those with higher income and a college education, but this is not true for every racial and ethnic group. Among men obesity prevalence is not lower among those with higher income and prevalence is lower only among non-Hispanic white college graduates.

Prevalence and Disparities in Tobacco Product Use Among American Indians/Alaska Natives — United States, 2010–2015

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Providing evidence-based, population-level, and culturally appropriate tobacco control interventions could help reduce tobacco-product use among American Indians and Alaska Natives. American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) have one of the highest rates of tobacco-product use among all racial/ethnic groups in the United States. During 2010–2015, current (past 30-day) tobacco-product use was significantly higher among AI/ANs than non-AI/ANs for any tobacco product (43.3 percent vs. 27.7 percent); for cigarettes (37.3 percent vs. 23.0 percent); for roll-your-own tobacco (7.1 percent vs. 3.5 percent); for pipes (1.9 percent vs. 0.9 percent); and for smokeless tobacco (6.6 percent vs. 3.5 percent). Among AI/ANs, prevalence of any tobacco product use was higher among males, persons aged 18–25 years, those with less than a high school diploma, an annual family income of $20,000 or less, those who lived below the poverty level, and among those who never married.

CDC Grand Rounds: National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Registry Impact, Challenges, and Future Directions

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There are more unknowns than knowns about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The National ALS Registry is working to bridge this knowledge gap. ALS is a rapidly progressive fatal neurological disease. There is no cure for ALS and the available treatments only extend life by an average of a few months. Like many other conditions, ALS is a non-notifiable disease in the United States. In October 2008, Congress passed the ALS Registry Act, directing CDC to create a population-based ALS registry for the United States. The main objectives of the National ALS Registry are to describe the national incidence and prevalence of ALS; describe the demographics of people living with ALS; and examine risk factors for the disease. This MMWR article describes the impact, challenges, and future directions of the National ALS Registry.

Update: Providing Quality Family Planning Services — Recommendations from CDC and the U.S. Office of Population Affairs, 2017

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To keep recommendations for providing preventive services for women and men of reproductive age current with the latest recommendations from across the CDC, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), and professional medical associations, CDC and OPA publish occasional updates that summarize newly published clinical recommendations. This update summarizes recommendations from guidelines published from January 2016 through April 2017. In 2014, CDC and the U.S. Office of Population Affairs (OPA) published recommendations on a key set of preventive health services for women and men of reproductive age (i.e., 15–44 years) to help them maintain and improve their overall health and achieve their desired number and spacing of healthy children. CDC and OPA developed these recommendations by conducting an extensive review of published evidence, seeking expert opinion, and synthesizing existing clinical recommendations from CDC, from agencies such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), and from professional medical associations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Because the scope of preventive services is constantly evolving as new scientific findings are published, and clinical recommendations are modified accordingly, being knowledgeable about the most current recommendations is an important step toward providing the highest quality care to patients.

Notes from the Field:

• Use of Asynchronous Video Directly Observed Therapy for Treatment of Tuberculosis and Latent Tuberculosis Infection Under Resource-Limited Conditions in a Long-Term-Care Facility for Cognitively Impaired Adults ― Puerto Rico, 2016‒2017

Quick Stats:

• Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years with Any Hearing Loss, by State — National Health Interview Survey, 2014–2016

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