Our most intriguing medical facts of 2007

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.

• The average American's diet contains 2 to 3 times the recommended amount of salt.    (Dec. 24)
• A third of practices have partners who refuse to use an EMR system already installed.    (Dec. 17)
• Skin cells have been reprogrammed to achieve pluripotency.    (Dec. 10)
• Nearly half of U.S. adults with emphysema and 41% of those with chronic bronchitis are current smokers.    (Dec. 3)
• 37% of U.S. adults say those with unhealthy lifestyles should pay higher health insurance premiums.    (Nov. 26)
• 60% to 70% of patients do not read or understand informed-consent documents.    (Nov. 19)
• The number of MRSA infections tripled from 2001 to 2005.    (Nov. 12)
• Americans spent $5,283 per capita on health care in 2004.    (Nov. 5)
• In 1997, the top 10 health plan companies made up 27% of the market vs. 57% in 2007.    (Oct. 22)
• About one-third of Hispanics have no health insurance.    (Oct. 15)
• 92% of adults say they always wash their hands after using a public restroom but only 77% actually do.    (Oct. 8)
• Statins are the best-selling drugs in the history of medicine.    (Oct. 1)
• Iraq's civilian hospitals have only 35% of the doctors needed.    (Sept. 24)
• The elderly consume about 40% of all prescription drugs.    (Sept. 17)
• Multisymptom cold and cough medicines can have 5 or 6 components.    (Sept. 10)
• 3.42 billion prescriptions were written in 2006.    (Sept. 3)
• 5% to 10% of patients diagnosed with MS don't have the disease.    (Aug. 27)
• 50 million to 70 million people in the U.S. have a sleep disorder.    (Aug. 20)
• 75% of emerging human diseases originated in animals.    (Aug. 13)
• Doctors say pretrial panels resolve 70% of medical liability cases.    (Aug. 6)
• 78% of patients want doctors to shake hands in the first meeting.    (July 23)
• More than 100 antibiotics are available by prescription.    (July 16)
• 10 states still have eugenic sterilization laws.    (July 9)
• People who get migraines are more likely to have a psychiatric illness.    (July 2)
• Mental health professionals experience nonfatal violent crime at 5 times the average rate.    (June 25)
• In the first second of an ischemic stroke, 32,000 brain cells die.    (June 18)
• With today's medical tools, doctors could have saved President Lincoln's life.    (June 11)
• Chronic diseases are responsible for 70% of U.S. deaths each year.    (June 4)
• Risks are about equal for taking an aspirin a day, driving a car and being a firefighter.    (May 28)
• 60 species of mosquitos in the U.S. have been found infected by West Nile virus.    (May 21)
• 15 states require physician presence during executions.    (May 14)
• 1 in 5 adults has been diagnosed with arthritis.    (May 7)
• Only a third of doctors know how much their patients spend on prescription drugs.    (April 23)
• 90,000 patients die from hospital-acquired infections each year in the U.S.    (April 16)
• One researcher took out a $1 million life insurance policy, with her fungus flies as beneficiary.    (April 9)
• Half of oncologists are age 50 or older.    (April 2)
• 6,000 to 7,000 IMGs in the U.S. are waiting for residencies.    (March 26)
• 76 million illnesses a year can be blamed on foodborne pathogens.    (March 19)
• Physicians handle an average of 6 patient problems in a routine office visit.    (March 12)
• Smoking is depicted in more than 70% of PG and PG-13 films.    (March 5)
• 25% of in vitro fertilization clinics do not offer embryo screening.    (Feb. 26)
• 64% of adults in West Virginia are overweight.    (Feb. 19)
• 2% of drugs on the market never have been approved by the FDA.    (Feb. 12)
• 9 million children in the U.S. do not have health insurance.    (Feb. 5)
• California's universal care plan would put a 2% tax on physicians' gross revenues.    (Jan. 29)
• 17,000 people die from catheter-related bloodstream infections each year.    (Jan. 22)
• The number of blogs written by clinicians has grown at least tenfold in the past 2 years.    (Jan. 15)
• Migraines increase the risk of cardiac disease for men.    (Jan. 1)

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