Deaths From Excessive Alcohol Use—United States, 2016-2021
Deaths from causes fully attributable to alcohol use (i.e., 100% alcohol-attributable causes, such as alcoholic liver disease and alcohol use disorder) have increased during the past two decades in the United States. Rates were particularly elevated from 2019 to 2020, concurrent with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data furnished in the February 29, 2024 issue of the Morbidity And Mortality Weekly Report, average annual number of deaths from excessive alcohol use, including partially and fully alcohol-attributable conditions, increased approximately 29% from 137,927 during 2016–2017 to 178,307 during 2020–2021, and age-standardized death rates increased from approximately 38 to 48 per 100,000 population. During this time, deaths from excessive drinking among males increased approximately 27%, from 94,362 per year to 119,606, and among females increased approximately 35%, from 43,565 per year to 58,701.
Cancer Statistics, 2024
Each year, the American Cancer Society estimates the numbers of new cancer cases and deaths in the United States and compiles the most recent data on population-based cancer occurrence and outcomes using incidence data collected by central cancer registries (through 2020) and mortality data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics (through 2021). According to the January/February 2024 issue of CA, A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, in 2024, 2,001,140 new cancer cases and 611,720 cancer deaths are projected to occur in the United States. Cancer mortality continued to decline through 2021, averting over four million deaths since 1991 because of reductions in smoking, earlier detection for some cancers, and improved treatment options in both the adjuvant and metastatic settings. These gains are threatened, however, by increasing incidence for six of the top 10 cancers (e.g., breast, pancreas, uterine corpus cancers, prostate, liver (female), and kidney).
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY CORNER
Ant’s Biting System And Surgical Needle Holders
Over the millennia, humans have benefited from learning about the use of medications and other kinds of health interventions by observing animal behavior. As described in the February 27, 2024 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science of the USA, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley noted that the grasping and holding tools of robotics, microassembly, or endoscopic surgery operate in confined spaces. This fact limits their maximum size and performance. The investigators studied one of nature’s solutions for this problem: the ant’s mandibles, which combine strong biting performance with elaborate maneuverability of objects. Their mandibles are characterized by gliding joints, tilting axes, and changing power transmission during the opening and closing process. These three design principles then were transferred to a commercially available surgical needle holder. The result is that the grasping performance of the needle holder is improved substantially.
Robotic Surgery For Gall Bladder Cancer
Surgery is the most promising curative treatment for patients diagnosed with gall bladder cancer, Although there has been increasing adoption of minimally invasive surgical techniques in gastrointestinal malignancies, including utilization of laparoscopic and robotic surgery, there are reservations in utilizing minimally invasive surgery for gallbladder cancer. Published on February 27, 2004 in The American Journal of Surgery, researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine found that robotic-assisted surgery for this kind of cancer is as effective as traditional open and laparoscopic methods, with added benefits in precision and quicker post-operative recovery. Robotic-assisted resection safely and effectively treats gallbladder cancer. This intervention achieves equivalent oncologic outcomes compared to open and laparoscopic approaches. Technical advancements in robotic surgery enhance dexterity and precision during procedures. Further research is warranted to confirm its benefits and establish surgical guidelines.