Surveillance of attempted suicide among adolescents in Oregon, 1988.

In January 1988, Oregon became the first state to require hospital-based reporting of attempted suicide (AS) in all adolescents less than 18 years old. From January to December 1988, 644 cases of AS were reported (annual rate of 214 per 100,000 population, ages 10 to 17 years). We compared these 644 cases of AS with all 137 Oregon adolescents less than 18 years old who committed suicide in Oregon during the 10-year-period 1979 through 1988, and found that the strongest predictor of outcome was method used.

Survey of cause-of-death query criteria used by state vital statistics programs in the US and the efficacy of the criteria used by the Oregon Vital Statistics Program.

A survey of the 52 vital statistics registration areas in the United States revealed that at least 23 did not fulfill the minimum cause-of-death query guidelines recommended by the National Center for Health Statistics. The Oregon Center for Health Statistics is one of only a few that query certifying physicians at a comprehensive level. During August 1986-July 1987, a total of 2,453 of 23,238 death certificates were returned to the certifiers for additional information, not including those returned in a tobacco use study. More than one-half (56.1 per cent) resulted in new and more specific underlying cause-of-death data. Only 5.2 per cent of the queries were unanswered. One probable result of Oregon's program is that the state has the highest percentage of liver cirrhosis and disease deaths attributed to alcohol abuse in the United States. Nationally, 41.7 per cent of all liver disease and cirrhosis deaths in 1984 were listed as due to alcohol compared to 82.4 per cent in Oregon. The state's total liver cirrhosis and disease death rate (12.0 per 100,000 population) is only marginally higher than the United States rate (11.6). The query program also serves to locate maternal deaths that would otherwise not be reported, as well as to provide more accurate cause-of-death statistics in general.

Indochinese refugee fertility rates and pregnancy risk factors, Oregon.

Matching 471 Oregon birth certificates with official Indochinese arrival lists reveals a fertility rate of 126.7, 1.8 times the US rate of 68.5. Greater maternal and infant risk rates were noted, particularly for Hmong. Data indicate improvements in obtaining prenatal care and in reducing the number of low birth weight infants for refugees who have resided in the US three or more months: however, the improvements appear to be reversed after 12 months of US residency.

Surveillance of sylvatic plaque in Oregon by serotesting carnivores.

In Oregon, during 1974-1979, 10.3 per cent of 3.255 statewide blood samples from carnivores were positive for Yersinia pestis. The per cent positive rate and geometric mean positive titer increase monthly from January (6.5 per cent) to June (21.7 per cent), and decline thereafter. Data are presented on how geographic location, species, and time of year affect surveillance results. The correlation of carnivore plague surveillance with human cases in discussed.