Our most intriguing medical facts of 2004

At American Medical News we encounter a number of fascinating pieces of information every week. Here is a look back at the year just past, as reflected in our own selection of the most interesting or noteworthy fact from each issue. Click for the article.

• In colonial America, 1 in 10 ministers was also a physician.    (Dec. 27)
• Nearly one-third of all adults are obese.    (Dec. 20)
• Lawsuits based on technology have been evolving since advances in treating fractures were discovered in the 1800s.    (Dec. 13)
• Minnesota ranks as the healthiest state.    (Dec. 6)
• California's stem cell research funding dwarfs what any country is spending.    (Nov. 22/29)
• Medicare quality improvement groups offer physicians free consulting services on information technology.    (Nov. 15)
• Bone density is a better predictor of longevity than is cholesterol level.    (Nov. 8)
• 3,000 U.S. DOs practice emergency medicine.    (Nov. 1)
• In the 1950s, 26 companies developed and manufactured vaccines; today, only 4 companies do.    (Oct. 25)
• Only 38% of the nation's health care workers get a flu shot each year.    (Oct. 18)
• 36,000 U.S. deaths each year are caused by influenza.    (Oct. 11)
• 16.5 million women in America do not have health insurance.    (Oct. 4)
• 1 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in 2004.    (Sept. 27)
• California hospitals will spend $24 billion retrofitting to meet seismic standards.    (Sept. 20)
• 75 million Americans have chronic pain.    (Sept. 13)
• Medicare carrier call centers give the wrong answers to billing questions 96% of the time.    (Sept. 6)
• By age 25, half of sexually active young people will acquire an STD.    (Aug. 23/30)
• Half of the 43 million Americans with high blood pressure are not treating it.    (Aug. 16)
• Lyme disease cases rose 40% from 2001 to 2002.    (Aug. 9)
• 50% of Americans older than 85 will get Alzheimer's.    (Aug. 2)
• 3 million Americans have celiac disease, but only 10% have been diagnosed.    (July 26)
• Prices for the 197 most widely used prescription drugs rose 7% in 2003.    (July 19)
• More than 200,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed this year.    (July 12)
• Nearly 82 million Americans were without health insurance at some point in the past two years.    (July 5)
• 140,000 bariatric surgery procedures are expected to be performed in 2004.    (June 28)
• A fifth of patients visiting EDs have conditions that do not require emergency care.    (June 21)
• Half of all Americans used a dietary supplement this year.    (June 14)
• Damage done to health by lead poisoning is not reversible.    (June 7)
• Poor diet and inactivity account for 400,000 deaths a year.    (May 24/31)
• 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 7 boys are sexually abused by age 18.    (May 17)
• 26% of U.S. kids ages 2-12 are overweight.    (May 10)
• Only 24% of U.S. family physicians still delivered babies in 2003.    (May 3)
• 5,000 Americans die each year from a foodborne illness.    (April 26)
• 2 million TB deaths occur worldwide annually.    (April 19)
• 60 California hospitals have closed in the last decade.    (April 12)
• 3,000 to 5,000 Florida physicians are going without liability insurance.    (April 5)
• 48% of STDs are among young people, ages 15 to 24.    (March 22/29)
• Prescription drugs are second only to marijuana as the most commonly abused drugs.    (March 15)
• IMGs make up one-quarter of the resident work force.    (March 8)
• Kidney or liver disease can trigger itching.    (March 1)
• Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women.    (Feb. 23)
• 47 million Americans still smoke.    (Feb. 16)
• 850,000 U.S. businesses use, produce or store toxic industrial chemicals.    (Feb. 9)
• 80% of uninsured Americans are from working families.    (Feb. 2)
• The U.S. spent $1.6 trillion on health care in 2002, up 9.3%.    (Jan. 26)
• Anthrax can begin infecting cells in as little as 10 minutes.    (Jan. 19)
• 10 million fewer injectable vaccines were produced in 2003 than in 2002.    (Jan. 12)
• 80% of people with sleep apnea go undiagnosed.    (Jan. 5)

Last year's index - Back to top.

• American Medical Association -
• AMNews home -
• Latest issue -
• Site guide -
• About -
• Contact