Biomedical subjects

Daniel Fishbein

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel Fishbein.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

A middle school immunization law rapidly and substantially increases immunization coverage among adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the effectiveness of a middle school vaccination requirement for raising second-dose measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and hepatitis B vaccine coverage among adolescents. METHODS: Random-digit-dialed telephone surveys were conducted before (1998) and after (1999) the implementation of a vaccination requirement for entry into the seventh grade in San Diego, Calif. RESULTS: Vaccination coverage was higher among children subject to the vaccination requirement (seventh-grade students; 60%) than among fifth- and sixth-grade students 1 year before the requirement (13%, P <.001), and 8th- through 12th-grade students not subject to the requirement (27%, P <.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Middle school-entry vaccination requirements can rapidly and substantially raise vaccination coverage among students subject to the law.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Are cardiac transplant patients more likely to have periodontitis? A case record study.

In several large epidemiological studies chronic periodontitis has been implicated as an additional risk factor, independent of other risk factors, for the development of ischaemic heart disease. The underlying mechanism is thought to be a localised infection giving rise to an inflammatory host response, and some experimental data agree with this hypothesis. Recently, however, some studies have questioned the post dated relationship between the two diseases. The current case-record study was undertaken to evaluate the prevalence of chronic periodontitis and the severity of such periodontal disease in a heart transplant population, assuming the latter represented a relatively severely compromised cardiovascular patient population. The study demonstrated that 76% of the patients had various degrees of periodontal disease prior to undergoing a heart transplant. Thus, it is possible that a relationship between cardiovascular disease and periodontal disease exists, but further, large intervention studies will be needed to confirm such a conclusion.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Vaccine coverage levels after implementation of a middle school vaccination requirement, Florida, 1997-2000.

OBJECTIVE: Little information is available about the effectiveness of school entry vaccination requirements at the middle school level. This study examined coverage levels among students entering seventh grade in Florida following implementation of a school entry vaccination requirement in 1997. METHODS: The authors analyzed county-specific vaccination coverage levels (three doses of hepatitis B vaccine, a second dose of measles, mumps, and rubella [MMR] vaccine, and a booster dose of tetanus and diphtheria toxoids [Td]) among students entering public and private schools in Florida from 1997 through 2000. In 1998, a survey of all county health departments was conducted, and the resulting data were linked to county-specific vaccination rates. RESULTS: During the 1997-1998 school year, the first year the requirement went into effect, at school entry 121,219 seventh-grade students (61.8%) were fully vaccinated, 72,275 seventh grade students (36.9%) lacked one or more doses of vaccine but were considered in process, 1,817 were non-compliant (0.9%), and 763 had medical or religious exemptions (0.4%). In the 2000-2001 school year, the proportions of students reported fully vaccinated at school entry had increased to 66%. Most of this change was related to an increase in hepatitis B coverage. There was a significant inverse relationship between the proportion of students fully vaccinated and the size of the county's seventh grade population. CONCLUSIONS: The seventh grade vaccination entry requirement was associated with sustained high levels of vaccination coverage. Passing a school entry vaccination requirement appears may be sufficient to increase coverage, but other strategies may be required to achieve full immunization of middle school students.

Adolescent↗