Our most intriguing medical facts of 2006

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.

• 20,000 people contract Lyme disease each year.    (Dec. 25)
• Indoor air pollution is among the top 5 environmental risks to public health.    (Dec. 18)
• 31% of practicing internists are IMGs.    (Dec. 11)
• 17 states tax soft drinks.    (Dec. 4)
• 83% of Arizonians do not allow smoking in their homes.    (Nov. 27)
• 65% of elderly patients were on a drug they didn't need; 64% didn't get what they needed.    (Nov. 20)
• Thyroid cancer rates have doubled in the past 10 years.    (Nov. 13)
• On any given day, about 3,000 locum tenens physicians are on the job.    (Nov. 6)
• Bacteria can survive in soil for months.    (Oct. 23)
• A new strain of the TB virus is resistant to all available medications.    (Oct. 16)
• 54 million Americans live with disabilities.    (Oct. 9)
• 19.2 million Americans have chronic kidney disease.    (Oct. 2)
• People born in 2000 have an average life expectancy 7 years longer than for those born in 1960.    (Sept. 25)
• Medicare decided to delay physician payment for 9 days at the end of September.    (Sept. 18)
• Low testosterone levels are linked with earlier death in men.    (Sept. 11)
• 15 of the nation's top 100 golf-playing physicians are orthopedic surgeons.    (Sept. 4)
• Cosmetic surgeries outnumbered reconstructive surgeries 2 to 1 in 2004.    (Aug. 28)
• 80% of smokers started smoking by age 18.    (Aug. 21)
• In 2006, 29 states considered legislation that would require employers to pay for health coverage or face a fine.    (Aug. 14)
• Only 40% of health care workers get a flu shot.    (Aug. 7)
• 55 million people receive Medicaid.    (July 24)
• Each year more than 440,000 Americans die from diseases caused by tobacco use.    (July 17)
• 1 in 3 active doctors is older than 55.    (July 10)
• Three-quarters of the sodium in American diets is from processed, restaurant or fast food.    (July 3)
• Pain is the presenting complaint in the majority of clinical encounters outside the hospital.    (June 26)
• 129 million Americans had a chronic health condition in 2005.    (June 19)
• Half of all medical care is provided by primary care physicians.    (June 12)
• 75% of gallbladder removals were done with laparoscopy in 2001.    (June 5)
• 22,000 who die each year of cardiac arrest are potential organ donors.    (May 22)
• 1 in 6 adults ages 50 to 64 was uninsured in 2005.    (May 15)
• Hospital infections affect 2 million patients and cause about 80,000 deaths annually.    (May 8)
• 5-year survival rate for people diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer is 5%; at stage I, survival exceeds 60%.    (May 1)
• 13% of U.S. patients say they have received the wrong drugs or dose in the past 2 years.    (April 24)
• 32 states had permission to enroll Katrina evacuees in local Medicaid programs.    (April 17)
• Depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States.    (April 10)
• 3 in 4 Americans have acted on health information obtained from the media.    (April 3)
• Annual patient visits to alternative medicine practitioners exceed those to primary care physicians.    (March 27)
• 21 states allow employers to fire employees for smoking.    (March 20)
• 37 states use a lethal injection in executions.    (March 13)
• Alcohol abuse and dependence affect 17.6 million adult Americans.    (March 6)
• Only 1 cent out of every health dollar goes toward prevention and public health research.    (Feb. 27)
• 20% of people who have heart attacks have no traditional risk factors.    (Feb. 20)
• 43% of women ages 18 to 59 have some form of sexual dysfunction.    (Feb. 13)
• The CDC has 3.5 million flu shot doses stockpiled.    (Feb. 6)
• Osteoporosis affects 10 million people in the U.S., particularly postmenopausal women.    (Jan. 30)
• Nearly half of Americans maintained a healthy weight in 1972; in 2005 less than a third did.    (Jan. 23)
• The first of the baby boomers will become eligible for Medicare in 2011.    (Jan. 16)
• Fried chicken is the top-selling entree in many hospital cafeterias.    (Jan. 2)

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